Best Country/Rock - Poll

Look for anything with Gram Parsons, from the Parsons-era Byrds to the Parsons-era Flying Burrito Brothers (especially the classic "Gilded Palace of Sin") and then to his solo records (especially "Grievous Angel"). For something a bit more modern, check out the Jayhawks' "Blue Earth," "Hollywood Town Hall," or "Rainy Day Music." For something a bit obscure, but still great, try the Silos' "Cuba" or self-titled records. A few more names, off the top of my head: Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Rosanne Cash, Steve Earle, Kasey Chambers, Neko Case, and maybe the greatest country-rock album of them all, Lucinda Williams' "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road."

Sorry I didn't give more specific examples in my first post. If I were going to recommend a beginner's library of great country rock, it would have to include the following, specifically:

The International Submarine Band – Safe At Home
The Byrds – Sweetheart of the Rodeo
The Flying Burrito Brothers – The Gilded Palace of Sin
Gram Parsons – Grievous Angel
Buck Owens – The Buck Owens Collection
The Jayhawks – Rainy Day Music, Blue Earth, and Hollywood Town Hall
Rank and File – Sundown and Long Gone Dead
The Silos – Cuba
Steve Earle – Copperhead Road and El Corazon
Rosanne Cash – Interiors and Kings Record Shop
Jimmie Dale Gilmore – After Awhile and Spinning Around the Sun
Joe Ely – Honky Tonk Masquerade
Neil Young – Comes A Time
Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
Kasey Chambers – The Captain
The Old 97s – Fight Songs
Jo Carol Pierce – Bad Girls Upset By the Truth
Neko Case – Blacklisted
The Blasters – American Music
Trailer Bride – Whine de Lune
Drive-By Truckers – Decoration Day
The Bottle Rockets – The Brooklyn Side and 24 Hours a Day
Jason and the Scorchers – Fervor
Elvis Costello – Almost Blue
Gary Allan – Tough All Over
Buffalo Springfield – Buffalo Springfield Again

These are in no particular order, hardly comprehensive, and lean too heavily on alt-country (sorry, but I could never get much into the Uncle Tupelo/Son Volt/Wilco branch of the tree). Sorry for repeating what's already been mentioned...

DC,

I'll see if I can track down the Cowboy album you mentioned. Sounds interesting. Do you know if it's in print?

I agree with you about the way your view seems to widen the more you get into this stuff. Admittedly, the definiton of country-rock is as subjective as the albums on any given list. For example, Neil Young's "Comes A Time" and "Harvest" strike me as country rock, but "Tonight's the Night" and "Rust Never Sleeps" don't. Dylan's "John Wesley Harding" (mentioned earlier) doesn't sound like country-rock to me, but "Nashville Skyline" (which I obviously should have listed) does. I love the Band and Creedence Clearwater Revivial, but they don't really strike me much as country-rock either. Who really knows?

My grandpa used to play clawhammer banjo and guitar in a bluegrass outfit, and not long before he died somebody played him a couple of tracks off a Randy Travis album to get his reaction to "new" country music. He paused for a moment after listening and said, "Well, if that's country music then I'm a Baptist preacher." He wasn't.

In general, if it's got a fiddle, a banjo, a dobro, a pedal-steel guitar, or a harmonica in it, there's a good chance I'll like it. If somebody got cheated on, or somebody died, or somebody got too drunk, the chance doubles.

A poser, alas. Just a big fan of the band.

PS I agree with you about "Cuba"...great album!