In one aspect, cutting tools are described having coatings adhered thereto which, in some embodiments, demonstrate desirable wear resistance and increased cutting lifetimes. A coated cutting tool described herein comprises a substrate and a coating adhered to the substrate, the coating including a refractory layer comprising plurality of sublayer groups, a sublayer group comprising an aluminum oxynitride (AlON) sublayer or a composite AlON sublayer and an alumina (Al2O3) sublayer or composite alumina sublayer.