A tribute to the toughest Nashville queen ever, this record has a steely spine. There are feisty anthems (Carrie Underwood belting "You're Lookin' at Country"), weepers (Lucinda Williams' take on "Somebody Somewhere") and "Coal Miner's Daughter," blasted out by Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert and Lynn herself. And who knew Paramore's Hayley Williams could honky-tonk? As for Kid Rock's "I Know How": He doesn't know how (to sing this song), but his heart's in the right place.

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“1999”

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.