You can't leave out The Man in Black, bro.

I should have thrown an inclusive "like" in there somewhere since there is a ton of good country music. The good stuff like Johnny just gets no air time.

At least Rick Rubin helped him create his last four albums, which lots of folks young and old totally dug.

Since we have digressed into a discussion of country-western music... ;)

I like Toby Keith's earlier stuff. His more recent hits tend to leave me cold, although I did get a smile out of "Whiskey for my men, beer for our horses." C/W has its moments. At its best, it has very clever lyrics which are plays on words and a great rock beat. At its worst it, can be some horribly twangy rendition of a variant on that infamous song, "My Coonhound done left me."

A lot of female C/W singers are doing some cool stuff - Allison Krauss, Shania Twain, and The Dixie Chicks come to mind. I adore "Goodbye Earl" by the Chicks and "That don't impress me much" by Shania. Great sassy songs by uppity southern belles!

Lyle Lovett is a riot! Somehow he's gotten labeled as C/W - mostly I think because he is so eclectic that they don't know what else to do with him. "I like penguins," "If I had a pony," and "She'll be happy when I'm gone" are great songs by Lyle.

Mary Chapin Carpenter and Nancy Griffith also are often relegated to the Country bin, and they are both singer/songwriters of great talent. Wonderful lyrics and wonderful voices to back the lyrics up.

I listen to all sorts of music, INCLUDING C/W. To dismiss an entire genre of music like Country out of hand is a mistake. There's some treasures back there in those lost bins at the back of the record store!

While we're talking about Lyle Lovett, I want you all to make sure you listen to Here I Am, and Church, among others. His album, "Lyle Lovett and His Large Band" is like two EPs in one disc, half jazz/pop, half country/western. Quite intriguing. Also excellent is "Joshua Judges Ruth".

Allison Krauss and Union Station may be the best, tightest band ever. They're the only group that actually make me want to cry when they play some of those slow, sad bluegrass songs. Perfectly complementary vocals, superb musicianship, and a firm grasp on traditional roots music without going for top 40 glory. Yay AKUS.

Diamond Rio has it down too. A little poppier, but they are all classically trained musicians, and sing dern good together. Their guitarist has a really unique style, as does their mandolin guy.

Sam Bush, Nickel Creek, Hal Ketchum are all great too. The latter for his songwriting more than his delivery.

I'm really coming off as some kind of elitist cock, but I don't mean to. I just really like those bands.

Love Allison Kraus! She has turned bluegrass into an art form! "forget about it" always brings a tear to my eye and her renditions of traditional southern mountain music are right on. She sings some of the songs my grandma who grew up near the Cumberland Gap used to sing.

Nickle Creek - terrific, and yeah, Diamond Rio's not a band group either. If liking these folks makes one elitiest, then I guess I'm one of the more elite NASCAR attendees around! ;)

YAY!

Ok, I've got two words for you: Paul Burch and the WBA Ballclub!

I'm huge on Nickel Creek, Sam Bush, and Allison Krause/Union Station. Mandolin = good country