Sara Evans Essentials

Missouri-born Sara Evans came into country music as a modern traditionalist, and her early supporters included George Jones, Willie Nelson, and legendary songwriter Harlan Howard. But her second album, 1998's No Place That Far, added plenty of Nashville polish and the strategy worked; the No. 1 title song began a string of hits that lasted until 2007. Personal struggles including a publicly contested divorce sidelined her for a few years, but 2011's aptly-named “A Little Bit Stronger” returned her to the top.