I don't know a whole lot about country music, but I like Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash and there's something about Reba's voice that is nostalgic to me.
Some of these really pop when you see them preformed on the show but they hold up fine just on the audio.
unrelated to the show...or anything else...this is a song that always sticks in my head when the subject of good country comes up - naturally, not the sort of thing you'd ever hear on the radio
The illustrious Iowahawk has said that you get to be a snob about three things, after that you're just an asshole. We'll I'm a snob about beer, iced tea, and country music. Country music, good, real country music isn't about the country, or trucks or any of the nonsense I have a peripheral knowledge of regarding country radio. I gave up on country years ago, and I'm country as fuck. It holds nothing. It's a cargo cult of hollow emotion dressed up in a cowboy hat. Real country is about heartache, loss, decisions and their eventual consequences. Not to say it can't be fun or humorous, but it has to have that underlying core. My beloved named a few artists, I will expand. American Aquarium Sturgill Simpson Jason Isbell The Damn Quails Turnpike Troubadours Jason Boland Honey Honey Band Deertick ....and Wheeler Walker Jr. Trust me on that one.
Another one of my favorite bands is Sons of Bill out of Virginia, authors of one of the best lyrics in "country" music. Hank Williams might've been a lovesick drinker But bein' a lovesick drunk don't make you Hank