Come On Over (International Version)

Among the 16 song titles that make up Shania Twain’s Come on Over, there are no fewer than six exclamation points. They’re there to tell you that Twain’s excited and isn’t—modesty and gender expectations be damned—afraid to say it. But in a way, it’s the other number—the 16 songs—that says even more. Not only did Come on Over prove that there was plenty of room for pop-country to explore before it became Madonna, but it also gave Twain the kind of space (a full hour of music) to show off the breadth of her songwriting in ways that were unheard of for most country songwriters, female or otherwise.

So, while its biggest singles (“You’re Still the One,” “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” “From This Moment On,” “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”) captured the dissolving border between Nashville and the rest of the world, they were also part of a wave of ’90s albums—including Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill, Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom—that centered a feminine experience without selling it short. You could rock with it, reflect with it, night-out with it, and happily-ever-after with it—and all on Twain’s uplifting, empathetic terms. And seeing as it was the work of a married woman teamed with her producer/songwriter/husband (Mutt Lange), you could submit it as proof that embracing progress doesn’t mean sacrificing tradition.