favorite country & western albums

[puroagave]

You rarely read or hear about a country album considered to be audiophile caliber or demo material. So let this be the best county and western music and LP/cd recommendation thread. Anything country music and all its permutations are allowed: country/rock, alt.country, country/pop, rockabilly, honky tonk, etc.

willie nelsons stardust and the eagles desperado are obvious pics for sound and music if not exactly straight ahead C&W. son volt, old 97s, early wilco and ryan adams are certainly c&w inspired. I'll kick off the thread with a few LPs, the first three I consider to be accessible musically and reference quality for sound:

Merle Haggard - It's all in the game
Randy Travis - Old 8X10
Rosanne Cash - 10 Song Demo
George Jones - Wine colored roses
The judds - heartland
christmas with the judds
chester & Lester (chet atkins and Les Paul)

 

[Shaffer]

^^^ Arguably, my favorite Western record of all time. I like quite a bit of C&W, ironically called Alternative Country these days.

 

[LL21]

Cannot say i have a lot of country...i really dont. But 2 of my college roommates were from Texas. And my wife went to university in TX as well, though she aint a big country/western fan either.

- Dwight Yoakam
- Bonnie Rait

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

Dixie Chicks and Alison Krause.

 

[NorthStar]

-- Big Johnny Cash's fan here; several albums of his.

 

[LL21]

-- Big Johnny Cash's fan here; several albums of his.

ahhh...good call. if i am looking for just one all-time-great Johnny Cash album...what do you recommend?

 

[NorthStar]

-- I can't Lloyd; just too many. ...'Unchained' (1996)?

Check his American Series, starting with:

- 'American Recordings' (1994)*
- 'American III: Solitary Man' (2000)
- 'American IV: The Man Comes Around' (2002)
- 'American V: A Hundred Highways' (2006)
- 'American VI: Ain't No Grave' (2010)

And 'My Mother's Hymn Book' (2004)

* Only one; get that red one above (1994).

 

[LL21]

-- I can't Lloyd; just too many. ...'Unchained' (1996)?

Check his American Series, starting with:

- 'American Recordings' (1994)*
- 'American III: Solitary Man' (2000)
- 'American IV: The Man Comes Around' (2002)
- 'American V: A Hundred Highways' (2006)
- 'American VI: Ain't No Grave' (2010)

And 'My Mother's Hymn Book' (2004)

* Only one; get that red one above (1994).

Thanks!...just found a 2cd set with both American REcordings and Unchained....for 7 bucks.

 

[jazdoc]

"The Fabulous Johnny Cash" original Columbia 6-eye from 1958 sounds mighty fine!

"That Lonesome Song" by Jamey Johnson is also a great sounding disc of great songs and music

 

[puroagave]

The Johnny Cash american recordings is also one of my favorite Cash albums of his second wind or resurgence in his career. I added the Jamey Johnson cd last year its very well recorded too.

Here are a few more of my favorites, some crossover to other genres but its still definately roots or country based:

Wailin' Jennys - Live at the Mauch Chunck Opera House
Jorma Kaukonen- Blue Country Heart
Peter Case - Blue Guitar
Ryan Adams - heartbreaker
Whiskeytown - Pneumonia
Steve Earle - guitar town
allison krause - new favorite
willie nelson - red headed stranger
shelby lynne - revelation road
Lyle lovett - pontiac
gillian welch - time (the revelator)
timeless - hank williams (tribute)
guy clark - cold dog soup
lucinda williams - car wheels on a gravel road
kd lang - shadowland
john hiatt - bring the family

 

[NorthStar]

Thanks!...just found a 2cd set with both American REcordings and Unchained....for 7 bucks.

God deal. :b

The Johnny Cash american recordings is also one of my favorite Cash albums of his second wind or resurgence in his career. I added the Jamey Johnson cd last year its very well recorded too.

Here are a few more of my favorites, some crossover to other genres but its still definately roots or country based:

Wailin' Jennys - Live at the Mauch Chunck Opera House
Jorma Kaukonen- Blue Country Heart
Peter Case - Blue Guitar
Ryan Adams - heartbreaker
Whiskeytown - Pneumonia
Steve Earle - guitar town
Allison krause * - new favorite
Willie Nelson - red headed stranger
shelby lynne - revelation road
Lyle lovett - pontiac
gillian welch - time (the revelator)
timeless - hank williams (tribute)
guy clark - cold dog soup
Lucinda Williams - car wheels on a gravel road
kd lang - shadowland
john hiatt - bring the family

Rob, those in darker characters; all excellent! ...And they have some true 'audiophile' recordings as well.

* BTW, Alison Krauss.

_____________________

=> I am extremely HUGE on Lucinda Williams. ...I got ALL her CDs, and some DVDs too.
If members here don't know her, please, investigate, because you just might discover another chapter on your musical journey towards ecstasy.

 

[KeithR]

I love country (Texan). I can't stand pop country like Swift, etc. I'm looking now for some new red dirt, but some recent stuff I like:

Jamie Jones
Brad Paisley
Texas Troubadours

 

[slowGEEZR]

I like some "Country", though I'm mostly a jazz or blues or rock listener. The trouble with classifying the artists I listen to as "Country", is that they often have Blues or Jazz or Rock influences and may be considered as some sort of crossover artists, or even as artists who mostly do other types of material, but also do some "Country". With that said, here are some that I own and like...

Artist...Album
The Derailers...Full Western Dress
Joe Ely...Letter To Laredo
Joe Ely...Satisfied at Last
Nickel Creek...Reasons Why: The Very Best
Willie Nelson...Teatro
Ray Wylie Hubbard...Delirium Tremolos
Lyle Lovett...any album
Guy Clark...Worbench Songs
Delbert McClinton...any album

 

[WLVCA]

Country isn't my favorite genre but I do concur with the Lyle Lovett recommendations.

My favorite Lovett album is Joshua Judges Ruth.

Shelby Lynne Lynne is excellent as well. I really like her Just a Little Lovin' album. Guess that's not really country though since its a Dustry Springfield cover.

Someone already mentioned Lucinda William's Cars Wheels on a Dusty Road.

One more - Kathy Mattea's album - Coal

My taste leans towards alternative country, not pop country.

 

[mep]

"The Fabulous Johnny Cash" original Columbia 6-eye from 1958 sounds mighty fine!

I picked up a new copy of the Johnny Cash LP at AXPONA and will give it a spin on Friday.

 

[treitz3]

Alan Jackson - Like Red on a Rose album
Vince Gill - When Love Finds You album
Trace Adkins - Greatest Hits, Vol.1

Tom

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

 

[NorthStar]

---- Dwight is a great actor too: 'Crank' and 'Crank 2: High Voltage'. :b

 

[NorthStar]

-- Yeah, me too I like Delbert McClinton ...And Vince Gill has few audiophile albums.
...Lyle Lovett as well.

Also:

- Buddy & Julie Miller
- Bap Kennedey
- Stacey Earle (Steve's sister)
- Nanci Griffith
- Emmylou Harris
- Steve Forbert
- Mary Chapin Carpenter
- Rosanne Cash
- Loretta Lynn
- Chris Isaak

 

[Joe Galbraith]

Asleep At The Wheel "Ridin' with Bob"
k.d.lang "Absolute Torch and Twang"
Marshall Tucker Band "A New Life"
"O Brother, Where Art Thou" soundtrack
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band "Dirt, Silver, and Gold"