The Outsider (2005)

Rodney Crowell's last two discs ditched country for deeply introspective reflections; although justly acclaimed, they were too navel-directed to honestly be much fun. Now on The Outsiders, he's looking outward, angry about America's sociopolitical landscape — but while agitprop usually augurs even less playfulness than autobiography, this indignation gets him rocking so righteously that the album's an unexpected ball. For a chill-out on this career-best, he duets with Emmylou on a gorgeously key-shifting cover of Dylan's ''Shelter From the Storm.''