Does anyone like country

to my ears, 98% of what's marketed as country, including most of the mainstream cowboy hat stuff, ranges from inconsequential to really terrible (although in fairness, you could say the same thing about rock). the 2% of country that's good, however, is very good--soulful, poignant, emotionally direct. i most of muzikat's picks; i'd also throw in roseanne cash, hank williams, foster and lloyd, townes van zandt, old 97s, gillian welch and the jayhawks (genre lines get kinda blurry)

I used to say with a snobbish attitude, I listen to all kinds of music, except country music. I don't say that anymore. Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Johnny Cash, old Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and George Jones are as good as any pop/rock singers. The righful heirs to this tradition are Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams, Shelby Lynn, Wilco, and other artists mentioned above, not the marketing-driven poseurs that pass for country musicians these days. What people call "alt-country" (I hate that term) is closer to real country music IME.

Great thread! I mostly listen to "rock" but have been collecting C&W for 40 years. Agree will all that has been said above.

There was a ton of stuff released in the 60's & 70's that is straight out country. You can find a lot of stuff on ebay that is still sealed for reasonable prices (and some not so reasonable). Any Haggard or Owens from the sixties sound real good.

Avoid the "Nashville Sound" and "Countrypolitan" style records from the sixties and seventies unless you like your country with orchestration.

You may want to check out the Gary Stewart records from the 70's- some straight country and some really good rockin country ala Jerry Lee Lewis and others.

There is still some hard core country being made, like honk tonk and what not, but you have to search it out.

Willie's Place on XM still plays a lot of straight country.

For some current Texas style straight country check out "Heart of Texas Records."

http://www.hillbillyhits.com/

You might find something you've never heard and like it!

Big fan of alt-country and bluegrass although right now maybe more alt-bluegrass as well. To add to Muzicat and LoomisJohnson's lists, include:
Lyle Lovett
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Tift Merrit
EmmyLou Harris
Patty Loveless (esp Mountain Soul, one of the best "bluegrass/americana" records in many a year)
Guy Clark maybe qualifies.
some Cowboy Junkies covers qualify
If you like country swing, give Asleep @ the Wheel a try.

For an interesting (to me anyways) blend of folk/bluegrass/country type sounds, w some swing in there as well, try
Eddie From Ohio.

I really like a lot of old country (hated it as a kid in KY where everyone listened to it). I'm not a fan of most of the new stuff you hear on the radio today because it just sounds like pop with a country accent.

I like a lot of the older artist listed above, as well as most of the alt-country listings above. A couple of my favorites that are not listed above are David Ball (Thinkin' Problem) and Dwight Yoakum. Thinkin' Problem and most of DY's stuff is recorded very well and sounds great.

For something a bit different, try some Jam-Grass. If you like Greatful Dead or Phish and want to ease into some country, check out Blueground Undergrass. Here's a like to a download site where you can either download lots of their concerts or stream one to try it out. It's fun and it's free! Try it.......
http://www.archive.org/details/bgug2006-12-01.flac16

Enjoy,

TIC