Blake Shelton's Barn and Grill

On 2004’s Barn and Grill, Blake Shelton continued his partnership with legendary songwriter-turned-producer Bobby Braddock. Precious few people in Nashville have deeper respect for songcraft than Braddock; he cowrote George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” widely regarded as one of the greatest country songs of all time. Aside from his unpretentious delivery and persona, the thing that sets Blake Shelton apart is his good taste in songs—a discernment no doubt honed by Braddock, who introduced Shelton to Paul Overstreet’s “Some Beach,” which became the album’s No. 1 hit. Shelton looks for the timeless qualities that make good songs: a story cleverly told, an image that lingers in the mind after the song ends, a new twist on a universal experience. In particular, he's attracted to nuanced pictures of the working people that he grew up with. For instance, though there are hundreds of bar songs, Shelton is more interested in singing from the bartender’s perspective: “And even if they don't remember/I try to make their bar tender.”