Idol Chatter & Voice Views

This past year wasn’t quite as busy as 2012 in terms of album releases by former American Idol contestants.

But we still got albums from four past winners — Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia, Scotty McCreery and Lee DeWyze — and lots of good music.

Here are my picks for the top five Idol albums of 2013. Oh, and I didn’t consider Kelly’s because it’s a Christmas album.

This is the second in my season of Year in Review blogs. For a look at my picks for the top five Idol videos of 2013, head here.

Coming tomorrow: My picks for the Top 10 Idol songs of 2013.

Speaking of which, you can head here for mini reviews of all the albums from the past year and a list of the non-album singles released by former Idol contestants.

I’ve tried to be all-inclusive, but I’m sure I missed a couple. If I did, let me know and I’ll be glad to add them.

Now, my picks for the top five albums ….

5. Scotty McCreery, “See You Tonight”

The songs about summer seem a bit misplaced on an album released in October, but this record is full of tunes that will get stuck in your head. Having watched Scotty perform several of them live at the Jingle Bell Jam in York, I can certainly attest to that. Among the best: “Feelin’ It,” “Blue Jean Baby” and “I Don’t Wanna Be Your Friend.” Oh, and Scotty has five songwriting credits, after singing exclusively other people’s tunes on his debut album.

4. Crystal Bowersox, “All That for This”

I’ll forever insist Crystal should have won Season 9 of Idol and she remains one of the most underrated of the show’s finalists. She followed up her brilliant debut album (2010’s “Farmer’s Daughter) with another solid effort this year. Be sure to check out the track below, plus the single “Dead Weight,” the title track and one of my personal favorites, “Til the Whiskey’s Gone.”

3. Kellie Pickler, “The Woman I Am”

With this album, Kellie found a happy middle ground between the fun-loving persona of her first two albums and the traditional country sound of her third. Fun, upbeat tunes like “Ring for Sale,” “No Cure for Crazy” and “Bonnie and Clyde” are balanced by a couple of the best ballads Kellie has committed to album yet — “Where Did Your Love Go” and “Someone Somewhere Tonight.” My favorite Kellie album to date.

2. Lee DeWyze, “Frames”

Anyone who wrote Lee off after a lackluster post-Idol debut needs to listen to this album. Three of the first four songs are better than almost anything on 2010’s “Live It Up.” Lee can’t quite keep up that pace through the rest of the album, but “Don’t Be Afraid” and “Little Did I Know” are second-half highlights. And, as a bonus, Lee provides a deluxe album with acoustic versions of all the songs, many of which are wonderfully suited to that treatment.

1. Fantasia, “Side Effects of You”

Before the album was released, Idol’s Season 3 winner said she hoped the use of one producer (Harmony Samuels) for nearly the entire project would result in a more cohesive sound. Mission accomplished as Fantasia delivers her best album yet. That distinctive voice of hers is put to especially good use on the second half of the album on tunes like “Get It Right,” “So Much to Prove” and the first single, “Lose to Win.”