Don't forget Marty Robbins. Admittedly more western than country.
And no list could be complete without an extra special nod to the late, great Roger Miller.
Posted on 05/09/2008 10:56:24 AM PDT by GSWarrior
I always get in on music threads after about 100 posts so I thought I'd start my own.
What is the best country music...old and new? Here's mine.
Buddy Miller
Kieran Kane
Billy Joe Shaver
Slaid Cleaves
Hayes Carll
LeeAnn Womack
Charlie Rich
Paul Burch
Thad Cockrell
Amen. I call it “crock” music ( pun intended ). Country/rock it is garbage. Murder on Music Row by King Geirge and Alan Jackson sums it up.
From my collection (some old, some new):
1. Hank Jr
2. Travis Tritt
3. Gary Allen
4. Josh Turner
5. The Mavericks
6. George Jones
7. Jerry Reed
8. Johnny Cash
(This list is not intended to imply any kind of order, it’s just off the top of my head...)
Where on this list are our American Idols: Carrie Underwood, Kelly Pickler and that Bucky guy?
(Don’t ZOT me. That was a joke.)
I’ll add early Brooks and Dunn, Shenandoah, Lonestar ( before they went city ), Patty Loveless, Alan Jackson, and Conway Twitty ( forgive me for this particular oversight ).
BR5-49!
Willie Nelson. Even leaving aside the absurdly long list of country hits that he wrote, he’s got to be on this list since he almost single handedly saved country music from the Urban Cowboy folks, at least for a few years.
Oh yeah. I like them. The Derailers are good too.
Great list I agree 100% except I’d add George Strait.
Ricky Skaggs
Patty Loveless
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Guy Clark
Joe Ely
EmmyLou Harris
Danny Barnes has resurrected Bad Livers. Can't wait to see them!
Pat Green!
Robert Earl Keen
Lyle Lovett
Lucinda Williams
Fred Eaglesmith
Steve Earle
Singer/songwriters all. Steve Earle is a self-professed Socialist, but he’s the best singer/songwriter alive today...when he stays away from political songs.
If you haven’t heard Fred Eaglesmith, he’s from southern Ontario and sounds like he’s from southern Tennessee.
Have to admit lately I’ve been listening to bluegrass. That’s where all great country singers go when Nashville runs them out. Tom T. Hall, Marty Raybon (of Shenandoah), Ricky Skaggs, and Merle Haggard all have recent bluegrass cds. Steve Earle did one with Del McCoury Band, and Fred Eaglesmith did one. If you want to hear the state of country music listen to Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time’s “Murder On Music Row.”
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings - Sing That Rock ‘n Roll
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AchmYEqztWg&feature=related
There's alot of fuzziness out there, with lines blurring in country, alt-country, folk, rock and blues.
Hem's folky alt-country really. Steve Earle's rock country. Solomon Burke is R&B country on some of his albums, when he's not straight R&B or blues.
Bad Livers, like BR549, are straightup shitkicking country. Great stuff!
Lester and Earl
Emmy Lou
Patsy
Dolly
Porter
If you’re into that kind of thing (looks like you are)...
Robert Earl Keen
Ray Wylie Hubbard
Joe Ely
Alison Krauss
Pat Green (Live at Gruene Hall is my favorite)
For something a little more ‘off the grid’ try:
Todd Snider
Bluground Undergrass
I expect leftist politics from Steve Earle and it doesn’t bother me. What I find hypocritical is folks like the Dixie Chicks who run around spouting “Oh yeah, we hate Geoge Buch, too. Now here is something from our latest album.”
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