# Which Johnny Cash album should I buy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 20, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-johnny-cash-album-should-i-buy/619428 "2012-04-20T17:47:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-johnny-cash-album-should-i-buy/619428/21 "2012-04-21T02:38:05Z")
OK. My first mistake was that I stopped at a small town Walmart on my way home tonight to buy some JC. They didn’t have the coveted live albums, but they did have the Essential album, and I didn’t want to leave empty handed. So, I bought and listened to the Essential album. Out of 38 songs, I knew or recognized about 8. That wasn’t a surprise since my tastes in music never ventured over to country. However, this is the crux, Johnny Cash doesn’t seem (to me) to fit into the “country music” pigeon hole anyway. Johnny Cash is part folk, part country, part early rock and roll, and part totally fucking awesome. As a Canadian, I’ve always been a Gordon Lightfoot fan. The musical styles are similar, except Johnny’s been recording since the mid-50s. I think Johnny’s live stuff will be more impressive. I’m getting some more this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-johnny-cash-album-should-i-buy/619428/22 "2012-04-21T03:06:47Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Though I beg everyone to not dismiss “Live at San Quentin”, it’s less famous but every bit as good as Folsom Prison. I think of “San Quentin” as the Yang to “Folsom”'s Yin - practically [proto punk](http://images.easyart.com/highres_images/easyart/7/3/73866.jpg). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-johnny-cash-album-should-i-buy/619428.md?page=1)