Congratulations to the Carolina Chocolate Drops, who have been named among the year's best in the 2010 Nashville Scene Country Music Critics' Poll. The band's Grammy-nominated Nonesuch debut album, Genuine Negro Jig, comes in at No. 7 on the Best Album list. The band itself is on the lists of Best Duos and Groups and Best New Acts, both at No. 5, and have tied for No. 7 as Artists of the Year with Carrie Underwood and Elizabeth Cook. Band member Rhiannon Giddens has tied with Laura Bell Bundy for the No. 10 spot among Best Female Vocalists. Chocolate Drops' label mates Punch Brothers have also made the Critics' Poll, coming in at No. 9 among Best Duos and Groups.

Nashville Scene's Geoffrey Himes calls the Carolina Chocolate Drops "the most surprising string band in this year's poll," given that they are "about as far from the Music Row mainstream as an act can get." Even so, there's no denying their place throughout the critics' list. Himes contends that "no country act rocked harder or shouted more contagiously in 2010 than this one."

You'll find the complete results of the 11h Annual Country Music Critics' Poll at nashvillescene.com.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops released their second Nonesuch record—a four-song EP—earlier this week. This new EP is a collaboration with the New York City–based Romanian gypsy punk band Luminescent Orchestrii, along with human beatboxer Adam Matta. To pick up a copy of the new, self-titled EP and Genuine Negro Jig, head to the Nonesuch Store.

The Chocolate Drops’ begin their 2011 tour next week with a February 2 engagement on Lincoln Center’s prestigious American Songbook series—a Critics' Pick in Time Out New York—and 20 additional shows around the Northeast, South, and Midwest into April. Matta and multi-instrumentalist Hubby Jenkins join the band on the road. For more information, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.