My Top 10 Country Music Albums of All Time

I'm a fan of Classic Rock. My all-time favorite group is the Beatles. One thing I love about them is that throughout their recording career, they wrote so many songs in just about every genre of music, from bluegrass to heavy metal, before it was called heavy metal. Because I loved the group so much, I became interested in all styles of music, which has helped me a lot with my guitar playing.

One style of music I used to mock, country, has grown on me over the years, as I have been exposed to different artists. Because I found it interesting, I was able to discover music, and artists, I might have otherwise overlooked. Some I heard on the radio, some I found through mail-order CD clubs, when I had to pick 14 CDs in the introductory offer, and I just picked an album I might have heard of, but never heard. What follows are some of the country music recordings I have come to love, in no particular order.

k.d. lang; Shadowland - Produced by the legendary Owen Bradley. It is steeped in traditional playing, stellar song writing, and heartbreaking vocal performance. Not a weak track on the album.

The Mavericks; What A Crying Shame - This is the album I recommend as a primer in country music songwriting, singing, and guitar playing. The band plays with style, humor, and deep respect for the music.

Ray Charles; Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music - This was a somewhat unexpected turn for R&B and soul legend Ray Charles, but completely natural for this ground-breaking artist. Recorded in three days in 1962, Mr. Charles' unique take on C&W songs is a blueprint for any artist wishing to explore new boundaries.

Lyle Lovett; Joshua Judges Ruth - Though not strictly a country album, this was my first exposure to Mr. Lovett's thoroughly entertaining style of music. Combining the best elements of jazz, R&B, rock, country, and anything else that comes to mind, I've always found his music highly listenable, and never dull. Favorite track - You've Been So Good Up To Now.

Willie Nelson; Red Headed Stranger. A recording as eclectic and wide-ranging as Mr. Nelson himself, this is the first Willie Nelson album I owned, but not the last.

Patsy Cline; 12 Greatest Hits - Certainly not a token country artist, Ms. Cline set the table for almost all true vocalists to follow, and not just the women. With uncanny sensitivity to the lyrics, you feel what she felt, on every anguished word she sang.

Hank Williams; 40 Greatest Hits - For someone with such a short recording history, the man was a prolific and prodigious songwriter. His music, at times almost quaint by today's production standards, needs no embellishment.

Bob Dylan; Nashville Skyline - B.D. is not to everyone's taste, but if you get him, then you get this.

George Strait; Strait Country - One of the last 'traditional' country artists, before the crossover explosion of the last decade, George Strait gets it right every time. The man knows how to honor his roots.

Alison Krauss; Now That I've Found You - Actually, you can't go wrong with anything by the most honored country music performer of all time, and with good reason. Surrounded by the cream of the country music crop, Ms. Krauss never fails to satisfy your listening pleasure.