There’s no shortage of great music coming out of San Antonio these days, so we were thrilled when we realized that seven of our music writers’ 10 favorite albums of the year were by Alamo City artists. From spacerock-infused country and spooky synthwave to shoegaze and jazzy sonic experiments, this town continues to produce amazing and diverse sounds. We’d sure love to see more of SA’s homegrown acts hit the road and acquaint the rest of the world with their greatness.

Garrett T. Capps & NASA Country: People Are
Beautiful (Spaceflight Records)

While San Antonio alt-country singer Garrett T. Capps draws a lot of praise for his frequent tips of the 1o-gallon hat to forebears including Doug Sahm and Augie Meyers, People Are Beautiful earns its spot on this list by standing Texas-fried conventions on their heads. Sure, there’s plenty of twang in these eight tunes, but it’s all underpinned by elements of spacerock and ambient music, as if Capps has taken his “cosmic cowboy” mantel literally. “Time Will Tell” may be the great country song Hawkwind never got around to writing. — Sanford Nowlin

Brandon Guerra and Nick Mery: Deathbloom (Self-released)

San Antonio musicians Brandon Guerra and Nick Mery’s Deathbloom is a jazz-infused soundtrack to the unprecedented Texas snowstorm that left more than 5 million residents without power in 2021. Released on the anniversary of…