Southeastern
by Jason Isbell
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Jason Isbell bestography
Southeastern is ranked as the best album by Jason Isbell.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
Listen to Southeastern on YouTube
Southeastern track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
Southeastern rankings
(Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). (Last updated: 2 hours ago).
Rhyner
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covecoveSoutheastern collection
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Southeastern ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 186 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 06/25/2026 16:53 | Exist-en-ciel | 15,324 | 70/100 |
| ! | 05/12/2026 18:05 | Jakor | 5,437 | 70/100 |
| ! | 04/29/2026 01:49 | oilnoilnoilnoil | 272 | 78/100 |
| ! | 03/13/2026 18:57 | tmurf | 52 | 77/100 |
| ! | 02/25/2026 22:07 | DaveH68 | 1,363 | 76/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)
This album is rated in the top 4% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 76.4/100, a mean average of 75.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.6.
Southeastern favourites
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Southeastern comments
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Isbell > Adams
The 2010s ushered in new master songwriters in the Americana Country-folk, including Sturgill Simpson and Valerie June. The prime King and Queen of this new Americana era is undoubtedly Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires, talented songwriters who are bonded in marriage. Shires had a major breakthrough in her "To the Sunset" album in 2018, proving her talent beyond her usual role as supporting musician to Isbell.
Southeastern is unassuming at first. This genre has been flooded with several artists and the genre itself isn't known for its glamorous presentation. After several listens, it becomes apparent that this project was very well thought out and personal. It is very reminiscent of Ryan Adams's "Heartbreaker" LP.
Southeastern and Isbell's follow-ups continue the string of modest genius releases. I personally recommend them all.
Highly Recommended.
Career Highlight: Cover Me Up
planetneutral 02/20/2021 07:20 | #266533
Some intensely personal and strong songwriting. Doesn't really appeal to me musically.
HoldenM 08/20/2019 01:15 | #241416
Did someone order the modern country classic with ALL THE TEARS???
This album gets a 100% from me. Generally, Im not a Country Music fan, but this guy reinforces the idea that passion transcends everything. Raw emotion drenches this record from top to bottom. Very refreshing.
Graeme2 07/27/2016 11:34 | #171874
ONLY giving it a 90, for now. On first listen. But it's hard to find fault at all. And I don't even like Ryan Adams, or at least I didn't think I did. Wor lass has heartbreaker so will have a listen!
Favourite album for years. Southeastern is so darkly beautiful.
buzzdainer 03/11/2016 03:59 | #161719
This was the album that took Jason Isbell from very good to top of the songwriting hill. These are songs of heartache and addiction, but also profound redemption and gratitude. Isbell's singing has never been stronger, too, as evidenced by the powerful and fantastic opener, "Cover Me Up."
This isn't Ryan Adams? This record reaches the soul damn! A+ MEZ
glitter-bubbles 01/15/2015 16:10 | #131601
Amazing voice, amazing song writer. Cover me up is one of my favorite songs of all time.
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