That Old Time Country Music

For me, there's a huge divide separating the Garth Brooks Christian Conservative NASCAR country of today and the traditional country western of yore. When I think country I think of The Real Thing, ole timey hillbilly, ballads, yodeling, bluegrass, that sorta thing. Starting in the 1920s, country music was a mix of traditional American folk music, Celtic music, gospel, blues, jug bands, and hokum. Today's country can be blamed on the legacy of the Bakersfield sound of the 1970s full of eighteen wheelers and imitation outlaws, but then what can you expect from Bakersfield? Turning their backs on the past, the 70s and 80s brought us a generation of bad "urban" country, but we don't have to listen to it. In case you'd like to hear some of the good stuff, I've put together a list of some of my favorite country CDs, some kitschy, some beautiful, all great.