I must say I'm pretty out of the loop on current country. I seem to go through phases where I'm really liking new artists or not so much.

Earl Thomas Conley also had a great song in Too Many Times with Patti LaBelle(?).
I always enjoyed the parodies (ala Weird Al) of country songs...Ben Coulder (aka Sheb Wooley) did a lot of them.
I also like the fact of the different genres within the genre. The bluegrass sounds of Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Allison Kraus to name a very few. Allison's CD with Robert Plant is excellent.
The rockabilly of Sun records, Jerry Lee, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash etc really expanded the definition of country music.
Then there's the "old-timey" country ala the Carter Family, Hank Thompson, Little Jimmy Dickens etc.
Then you have Ernest Tubb, Jimmy Rodgers for Texas Swing.
Females you have Kitty Wells, Patsy Kline, Brenda Lee, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton and many more. Rosanne Cash did a CD called The List that contains songs that her dad (Johnny) wrote down for her when she was 18 years old and he told her these are the songs that are true classics. Excellent CD.
You have your "orchestral" country with Eddy Arnold, Marty Robins etc.
The Lounge sounds of Ray Price...
Plus the Bakersfield sound of Buck Owens (followed by Dwight Yoakum).
Then there's the Hag...Merle was always pretty much his own man. Really like his I am What I am CD that's semi-recent.

It's a great genre that does in fact deserve a thread of it's own. Good job Dr. Fever!

Yeah, that's just one of those once-in-a-lifetime type songs. Singing it still sometimes makes her cry onstage; tons of Youtube videos told me that. See, told you I was obsessed.

When you do shoot me a smoke. Maybe we can meet up.

I REALLY like that song. Very well done IMO.

Bah. I'm with you on most of that but I really can't stand that song. And it's not like it was good and then got played out, I never liked it.

Maybe I'm getting cranky as I get old.

Radney Foster- geek cowboy. Great song though.

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Out of all that I love Earl Thomas Conley, Tammy Wynette (her last album was really great and very under-rated btw), Rosanne Cash... Tennessee Flat Top Box... c'mon what a great song.... Eddy Arnold, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Dwight Yoakam (the man), Buck Owens, Alison Kraus and of course Johnny Cash. There's a lot of win in there.

Speaking of Tammy Wynette....here is another classic

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If you like Rosanne Cash you really need to look into The List. One of her best efforts since 7 year ache. She really is a great singer.

I also forgot to mention the instrumental country of Chet Atkins, that man was one of the absolute best guitar players of all time. Roy Clark was also a heck of a picker.

Now you've done it. That's another all time fav of mine. Radney is still a great writter for other artists and that song is to me about me and my ex.

Foster and Lloyd was a great duo before Brooks N Dunn came along. Very soulful.

You know...I noticed that we haven't had any Buck Owens.

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Love that suit... :)

I've heard The List. Great stuff. Rosanne has gone the way of too hip for country radio... like Shelby Lynn, Lyle Lovett and Mary Chapin-Carpenter. Fringe/alt country.

KS Smitty check this out. Tammy Wynettes last hit from 1990. I don't think she lost a thing. Great song.

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Yeah, that's probably why I don't listen to radio. Some of the new stuff I get is from reading reviews in Rolling Stone and other outlets, the rest just because it's a new CD by (enter name here).

Hank III has been an interesting trip. Shooter Jennings is one that I really like and think he has improved and defined himself better with each new album.

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Some of those guys just went way over the top with those suits. It was great. Gawd, now I'm remembering some of the records my parents had when I was a kid. Buck, Waggoner/Parton, Kitty Wells, Haggard, Jones... I think they had Eddy Arnold too but I hated that bastard for some reason. I didn't hear much, if any, pop or rock music in the late sixties because this was what was in our home.

Jamey Johnson. Do youself a favor.

I haven't even gotten started here yet.