# Help me listen to Johnny Cash **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-listen-to-johnny-cash/317904 "2005-08-20T18:46:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-listen-to-johnny-cash/317904/1 "2005-08-20T18:46:02Z")
iTunes has 16 Biggest Hits and the Essential Johnny Cash 1955-1983. Are either of these worth starting out with or should I be getting individual albums? ---
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-listen-to-johnny-cash/317904/2 "2005-08-20T18:58:04Z")
well, im not too well up on this new-fangled i-tunes malarky, i just bought “Man in Black” one of his greatest hits albums. Put it on the car cd, and go for a looonng drive. Standout tracks are “sunday morning coming down” “folsom prison blues” and “Highwayman”. Oh, and “The Wanderer”. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-listen-to-johnny-cash/317904/3 "2005-08-20T19:16:04Z")
Might I suggest a different approach, **Chairman Pow**? I am a huge fan of Johnny Cash’s “comeback” albums produced by Rick Rubin. I usually recommend these albums before listening to the older stuff. In order of production, these albums are: American Recordings Unchained American III: Solitary Man American IV: The Man Comes Around While I love listening to Boy Named Sue and Ring of Fire, I think that the later stuff is absolutely amazing. Some of it’s haunting, some of it’s intense, all of it is good. Try **American IV**. It has Hurt, Personal Jesus, I Hung My Head, We’ll Meet Again - hell the whole album is great. … On the other hand, if you’re hellbent to listen to older Cash NOW - then I would suggest buying the Johnny Cash iTunes essentials (the Basics) rather than the box set. I think it’s a fairly good introduction. - Peter Wiggen ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-listen-to-johnny-cash/317904/4 "2005-08-20T20:53:13Z")
I have the CD set “The Complete Sun Recordings”, which is, of course, the very oldest Johnny Cash available. I prefer his older recordings, _Home of the Blues, Mean Eyed Cat, Hey Porter_, and so forth. Diffrent strokes and alla that. Either way, it’s hard to go wrong with Johnny Cash. ---
**Author:** ![rorty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@rorty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rorty)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-listen-to-johnny-cash/317904/5 "2005-08-20T21:29:53Z")
The _16 Biggest Hits_ collection is fine for new listeners. It will give you a decent overall idea of his work, but his newer stuff is definitely worth a listen. One of my favorites is _Unearthed IV: My Mother’s Hymn Book_ in which he sings his favorite childhood hymns. Just Johnny with his guitar, a very personal album. But, my mainstay Cash albums are his live ones: _At Folsom Prison_ and _At San Quentin_. They both give great insights into Cash’s character as well as being very entertaining listens. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-listen-to-johnny-cash/317904/6 "2005-08-21T16:15:09Z")
There’s a terrific 3-disc box set called **Love God Murder** , which takes songs from the full range of his career (Sun Records to American Recordings) and organizes them by each of these 3 themes. They also include live tracks, so you’ll get a good balance, as well as see how incredibly varied his observations on these three topics could be–frightening, uplifting, tragic, extremely personal and touching.