It’s easy to dismiss Sugarland as being simply a talented yet pop-infused duo that writes and records tunes that are, in the end, throwaways.  But to do that would be to dismiss the beautiful song “Stay” and some of the other good to great songs the duo has released since arriving three years ago.  While our selection of “All I Want To Do” within our Top 40 songs of the year certainly rubbed a few people the wrong way, it was what we like most about summertime singles: infectious and memorable.  To follow-up that single, Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles teamed with Bobby Pinson once again to write “Already Gone.”
 
A shimmering folk-leaning ballad (Bush’s mandolin is audible throughout), “Already Gone” finds Nettles singing about how she’s a restless soul ready to spread her wings and while some have complained about the use of recoloration in the story arch, it does help emphasize the theme about being someone ready to live life to its fullest, no matter the roller-coaster you may be about to jump onto.  The final verse about her whole life ‘down to one box’ is something anyone who has gone off to college or left somewhere to go into the unknown should be able to relate to. 
So while there are still going to be detractors to this song and Sugarland in general, the editorial staff of Roughstock fully believes in the band’s talent enough to select this song as one of 2008’s best singles.