I would also recommend The Outlaws, or Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson’s solo stuff.
I must confess that I don’t really like country music, but if a song by Lonestar comes on the radio while I’m switching stations, I’ll generally stop and listen to the whole song. The lead singer is very good. The latest song from them I’ve heard is: “Let’s go back to us”? or something like that.
I’m just going to give a blanket agreement with Big Bad Voodoo Lou… he’s telling it like it is.
For my part, one look at your picture told me that it’s unlikely that you are going to be interested in the whole Garth Brooks, “New Country” thing. Really, it’s just AM radio, Top 40, Mall music.
But Johnny Cash, the Man in Black… give him a chance (actually, you shouldn’t write off Patsy Cline quite so quickly either). I highly recommend American IV, and would also suggest you check out Live at San Quentin and Murder. I play all three albums quite a bit. Some good depressing tunes there, you’d like 'em.
For the newer stuff, there’s a lot of really great alt-country (god, I hate that term) happening these days. I think there’s a chance you might like the following bands (some have been mentioned already)…
Uncle Tupelo
Son Volt
Wilco
Neko Case
Carolyn Mark
Nick Cave
Trailer Bride
The Handsome Family (Goth Country… I mean, come on!)
The Old 97’s
Split Lip Rayfield
Giant Sand
Calexico
Old Reliable
The Willard Grant Conspiracy
Fiftymen
Deadbolt
Richard Buckner
Fred Eaglesmith
David P. Smith
Wanda Jackson
Tom Waits
Not all of them are strickly country… but what the hell.
Do not do this. You will seriously be cheating yourself. I absolutely hate country aside from a select few older performers (mainly George Jones, Johnny, and Hank Sr.) and Johnny Cash is by far my favorite out of them.
Hell, he’s barely even pure country and I cannot think of one instance where he is “twangy.”
Go buy this album, sit down and listen to it, and then thank yourself for giving yourself such a nice gift.
I’d say your cheating yourself by dismissing all contemporary country, although I certainly understand the temptation given the crap you hear on the radio. But you’re missing out if you don’t listen to Union Station, Lyle Lovett, Dwight Yoakam, and many of the others listed her.
Ok, so how about we come up with a list of, say, 5 or 6 “really really good songs” --preferably ones that they actually have at iTunes–so I can check them out?
Thanks for all the recommendations.
Hurt - Johnny Cash
Portland, Oregon - Loretta Lynn and Jack White
Sam Stone - John Prine
Amanda - Waylon Jennings
Crazy - Patsy Cline or Willie Nelson
Tear Stained Eye - Son Volt
I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow - Union Station
The Lucky One - Allison Krause
Maybe - Allison Krause
There’s Your Trouble - The Dixie Chicks
Long Time Gone - The Dixie Chicks
Passionate Kisses - Lucinda Williams
Lake Charles - Lucinda Williams
You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive - Patti Loveless
That’d be a pretty good start. These are all ‘accessible’ for non-country fans.
I never thought Hurt was a particularly good Johnny Cash song. In fact, I actually like the Nine Inch Nails version better and I don’t even like Nine Inch Nails.
For a beginner…start off with Ring of Fire or The Baron. Maybe even A Boy Named Sue if you want something a little lighthearted/funny.
I hated country music growing up, but recently my kids have started me listening to some of the newer stuff and it’s pretty good. I don’t like the really twangy steel guitar stuff as a general rule, but a few of my favorite artists are:
Rascal Flatts - their Melt CD is great, especially I Miss Mayberry and Love to Love You Out Loud.
Keith Urban - Who Wouldn’t Want to Be Me
Toby Keith - I don’t like his recent patriotic songs so much, but I do like How do You Like Me Now? and I Should Have Been a Cowboy.
There are quite a few other artists similar to these that aren’t quite pop, but they don’t have the old twang of the traditional country either.
How about some Australian country? Check out Allan Caswell.
Since you like “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” you should try the other songs on A Decase of Hits, especially “The Legend of Wooley Swamp”. There’s lots of samples in this box set you can check out.
The Kentucky Headhunters have a similar style. Check out “Grass String Ranch” here and their covers of “Spirit in the Sky” and “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” here.
For a laugh, try Hayseed Dixie, a group of serious rockers whose true identities are kept secret. Their harmony on songs like “You Shook Me All Night Long” (here) is fantastic.
“Decase”? :smack:
“Decade”, of course.
I think this Sam had a good list, even if he misspelled Alison Krauss. 
Here are a 5 random picks list from me, Opal. I’ve confirmed that all can be downloaded from iTunes.
Whiskeytown - Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart
Iron and Wine - The Rooster Moans
Uncle Tupelo - Sauget Wind
Iris Dement - Let the Mystery Be
Alison Krauss + Union Station - The Lucky One
Another vote here for Mayberry (sp?). I HATE Rascall Flatts but I love this song. It’s the only song by them that doesn’t make me change the station.
I just thought of a couple of excellent intros for a non-country fan (both of these fall in the ‘alt-country’ category, I guess).
First, Mermaid Avenue by ** Billy Bragg and Wilco**. I can’t say enough good things about this album. It’s a bunch of unrecorded Woodie Guthrie songs (lyrics), set to new music and recorded by BB and Wilco. It is a fantastic album.
Second, Heartbreaker by Ryan Adams. Strong album from start to finish, and very accessible to a non-country fan.
I would also highly recommend John Prine’s eponymous debut album. It’s as much folk as it is country, but that entire album consists of songs that have become standards (“Hello in There”, “Sam Stone”, “Donald and Lydia”, “Paradise”, “Angel From Montgomery”…)
John Prine is one of the best songwriters of our era (an equal of Dylan, IMO). And this is his best album. Everyone should own it. Especially now that you can buy it at those ‘super-saver’ prices.
I got hooked onto Country after I stumbled upon a Kenny Rogers collection.
Kenny Rogers - The Gambler, Coward of the County, The Stranger, and many many others. The lyrics are awesome. Most read like O. Henry short stories written to music.
If there’s one person I want to listen to at a live concert, it’s Kenny Rogers. I just hope he sings long enough for me to make it to one.
I also like Don Williams, John Denver, and Bob Dylan.
As a wise man once said, “Remember, country music is like cholesterol: there is the good kind, too”
Anyway, here’s my couple o’ cents. It’s hard not knowing what you like to listen to now (though the pic helps a little). Start with the Man In Black himself (after all, your wardrobe matches), Johnny Cash. I haven’t heard the NIN cover yet, but everything else he did was great, so I’m sure it is too.
Here’s my take on the general landscape of country music:
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There’s modern pop country “Nashville” (though I think it’s really more Hollywood). Shania Twain, Garth Brooks and the like. I don’t much care for it, and I don’t think you will either (just because from your picture, I’m guessing you don’t like top 40 ‘rock’ either), but you can find out by tuning in to a country music radio station.
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Old school country. It all starts with Hank Williams Senior (NOT junior! stay far away from junior). It’s definitely worth a buck to have “I’m so lonesome I could cry” if you can get it from iTunes or wherever. It might sound corny and cliched to you, but remember the only reason it’s cliched is because he did it so well everyone tried to do it just like him. Also do check out Patsy Cline (“Crazy” is good to start). A lot of people who don’t like most country really dig Patsy – the songs and arrangements are much more like a torch song than twangy country, but still more honest and real than a broadway show tune. Maybe think Ella or someone like that.
From there old school continues with a mix of slow songs about dealing with the universal problems of life (not enough money or respect, romantic hearbreak, and the inevitable loss of loved ones to the great beyond), and faster honky-tonks about enjoying what you can. Johnny Cash, old Willie Nelson, and others fit in here.
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This is where I have to put in a non-musical aside, and say “Hi Opal! Enjoying your thread?”
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Bluegrass overlaps a lot with country, but generally has a different sound. You know the instrumental sound – “Duelling Banjos” and the “Beverly Hillbillies theme” – and the high, lonesome vocal harmonies. You probably know if you want to hear classic bluegrass or not. A Good beginning is the “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack.
Sometimes the oldest stuff is a little to raw and poorly produced to get into – I suggest Newgrass Revival as a great mix of classic bluegrass and a more modern sensibility (they covered Bob Marley, and the banjo player, Bela Fleck, went on to play jazz/blues/country/space music). Alison Krause and Gillian Welch are a couple modern good bluegrassists.
Though I’d appreciate if anyone can recommend to me more NewGrass Revival types that can both do old-school harmonies like “Walkin’ in Jerusalem” as well as reggae covers. For some reason Old and In the Way never gave me the same feel, but they are in the right ballpark.
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Folk songwriters blend right on in to country, of course. John Prine stands right at the intersection and is one of the best songwriters around, ever. “Angel From Montgomery” is a classic, and you can get Bonnie Raitt’s version if you’d want. Most anything from his first album (‘John Prine’) and ‘The Missing Years’ album is good (I think “All the Best” is a great little gem). Lucinda Williams, too, is folk/country with some straight up blues as well.
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Alt-country is REM meets old school country. Bands who like the sound of banjos but also of electric guitars and also like complicated lyrics. Son Volt and the that crowd (“Tear Stained Eye” is good, but be aware there are harder rocking tracks on that album, too) I’d say the Cowboy Junkies fall in here, though I think they peaked with their first album. (they did a great “I’m so lonesome I could cry” and a decent version of Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane”). Obviously this shades into folk and modern bluegrass as well (Gillian Welch and Lucinda Williams could be called alt.country). I suspect (again from the clothing) that you’re more of an anti-Deadhead, but one could make a good argument that the Grateful Dead’s ‘American Beauty’ and "Workingman’s Dead’ albums were among the first alt.country albums, so if you can get a hold of them it might be worth a listen (Know that these two albums are very very different from a 45 minute aimless electronic guitar sounds and drum jam in the middle of a live show. )
Wow, a I guess I got a ittle carried away here.
Anyway in closing, we all know that you get Satanic messages when you play heavy metal backwards. What do you get if you play a country music album backwards?
Answer: You get your job, your wife, your dog and your truck back… but you lose Jesus.
5 or 6 songs for the person entering country eh?
Drive Alan Jackson
Long Time Gone Dixie Chicks
Ain’t Nothing About You Brooks & Dunn
Rodeo Garth Brooks
Let Me Touch You For a While Allison Krauss & Union Station
Hurt Johnny Cash
There are plenty more which would rock, but that is a good start
Bluegrass, based on that description, does not sound like something I’d be interested in.
Garth Brooks - Rodeo --I like this song. I remember it from back when I was a dancer, when the girls who liked country would play it for their stage sets. I like “The Thunder Rolls” better though. What other Garth Brook songs do you recommend?
I like a lot of folk music. I have a whole lot of Peter, Paul and Mary stuff, and quite a lot of Joan Baez stuff… I grew up with that stuff.
Anti-Deadhead? Hmm… I am actually something of a hippy (when I’m not out dancing and looking goth) but yeah, the Dead have never really done anything for me. I confess I haven’t heard jack squat by them though, just a few of the aforementioned wandering doodling type things that just seem kinda boring.
Another song I have liked for a while is “Travelin’ Soldier” by Dixie Chicks. I heard it on tv at some awards thing or something and thought it was really pretty. More like that?
“It don’t mean a thang if it ain’t got that twang.” 
That aside, I’ll throw in yet another recommendation for both. Patsy Cline did a lot more than “Crazy”, almost all great, and J.C. has something to appeal to just about anybody.