Reba McEntire - Whoever's In New England (1986)

Reba McEntire made her first real mark as a recording artist with a pair of roots-oriented mid-1980s albums: My Kind of Country and Have I Got a Deal for You. But always the musical chameleon, she soon outgrew this retro niche and set out to conquer the mainstream. Whoever's in New England marked the beginning of the singer's gradual transition from honky-tonk rodeo gal to sophisticated contemporary country-pop diva. New England particularly hits the mark that quite a few of McEntire's subsequent albums miss with its natural balance between the down-home countrified charm of cuts like "Little Rock" and the more sophisticated country-pop urbanity of songs like the title tune. Whoever's In New England proved to be McEntire's long-awaited commercial breakthrough, as well, and the first of her many million-selling albums. --Bob Allen