wes,... I understand... maybe it was just because I was still kinda new here when I first heard them, and I really didn't expect them to sound that good. Not all of em are "stellar" mixes, but when I listened to "Alright" it sounded like I had just tuned-in to a "New Country" radio station...
And now for something completely different...

(not directed at anyone, of course... just my personal views about semi-related topics)
I understand some people dislike "competition"... but quite frankly... I don't.. and I think it's healthy. If you want to hear only nice things about yourself and your endeavors, then by all means.. find a nice planet somewhere where everybody is identical and where there is no such thing as "good" or "bad"... cause until you do that,.. you're gonna be faced with a hard cold reality: It is possible for you to suck.

And since that reality exists, you've got two choices... You can whine aboot how you think it's unfair that you suck, and get all bitter aboot those who have "made it", and try to convince everyone that they're no better than you, but they just got "lucky", and then try to convince people that you don't really like that stuff anyway cause it's over-rated and you prefer to be "true" to the "real" music... (and blah blah blah)... OR... you can shut the h#ll up and work harder.

I quite frankly choose the latter. Right now my mixing skills suck... and my song-writing ability is bordering just above mediocre... but I don't feel the slightest need to bash those who are better than me, or even belittle their superior abilities, just because I'm not "there" yet. I will continue to listen to
one standard...
my own... and continue to press on toward that standard.
But I would encourage everybody around here to not get caught up in trying to convince yourself that you "don't want" the things that you know we all want. Set your own
personal standards
high and don't stop until you reach them... cause wallowing around in the "no one's really any better than anyone else" mentality will never get you anywhere.
WATYF
P.S. This was meant to be an encouragement.. not a slam on anyone.