One hesitates to tell Willie Nelson what to do, but maybe the man should always sing songs with the word always in the title: "Always on My Mind" is one of Nelson's most enduring classics, and now "It Will Always Be" — the stately opening title track to his latest album — is the perfect beginning to Nelson's strongest album since 1996's Spirit.

Unlike some of his more homespun recent releases, the mostly mellow, thoughtful Always — produced with real style by James Stroud — draws on the best Nashville has to offer. An improbable highlight: the goofball, rollicking take on Greg Allman's "Midnight Rider" with Toby Keith.

“The A Team”

This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.