Real Fine Place (2005)

A red-state darling who can conjure Patsy Cline but really prefers modern radio pop, Sara Evans scored a No. 1 hit last year with the surprisingly twangy she's-left-home single ''Suds in the Bucket.'' Her fifth album, Real Nice Place, plays to Nashville's recently revived class consciousness (the faintly incongruous ''Coalmine'') without skimping on the string-laden power ballads — smart, since no woman currently does big-country schmaltz with more class and better hooks. Her inevitable back-to-the-roots album should be a humdinger.