Good Country recordings

I'll add Christina McBride and Lyle Lovett albums.

Opps I meant Martina McBride...

Vince Gill put out a 4 CD set last year called These Days for which I believe he won a Grammy or AMA award. Great playing and top engineering.

Emmylou and Mark Knopfler - All The Road Running - is amazing production - some will call this country, some not-

Also new and very good is the Cowboy Junkies new version of The Trinity Session called Trinity Revisited - some will call this country, some not-

Martina McBride on Timeless is old classics, played by old players on old instruments but thoroughly SOTA recording

Willie Nelson on You Don't Know Me - songs of Cindy Walker also turns the trick - classic country writing with great production

Again you may or may not put them in the category but the Dixie Chicks work has been consistently well produced, especially to my taste Taking The Long Way

Finally I much like Allison Moorer - her new album Mockingbird is pretty sweet

Most of Lyle Lovett's recordings are audiophile quality. "Joshua Judges Ruth" is wonderful, both artistically and sonically.
Also, the new Drive By Truckers album is worth a listen.

I really like Johnny Cash's "Live from Folsom Prison" and "Orange Blossom Special" in addition to all of the American albums that he produced in his later years. Not really country either, but excellent records.

Willie Nelson has some incredible stuff out including "Willie and Family Live" and "The Red-Headed Stranger".

Steve Earle's Guitar Town is a great one, but borders on the Americana genre.

Dwight Yoakam has several great selections that sound fantastic. His big hit albums "This Time" and "There was a Way" are both excellent. His greatest hits record is also very good.

But, I think my favorite country album is David Ball's "Thinking Problem". I love this 1994 release and probably listen to it more regularly than any other country record I own.

Enjoy,

TIC