My absolute favourite is Dolly Parton’s ‘Travelin’ Thru’ (nominated for an Academy Award in 2006), but others that come close are:
Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash - ‘Jackson’
Dixie Chicks - ‘Long Time Gone’
Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings & Kris Kristofferson - ‘Highwayman’
Loretta Lynn - ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’
June Carter Cash - ‘The Heel’
Dolly Parton - ‘Coat Of Many Colours’
I don’t have a favorite really – there are just so many good ones. But I’ll pick a Don Williams song for this thread, just because I love him, and nobody else has mentioned him, and he’s so sadly underrated.
So, Good Old Boys Like Me. A beautiful song that doesn’t talk down to the listener – it is, in fact, exactly what all of those trying-too-hard ‘southern pride’ songs want to be.
There’s a handful of country songs I don’t mind hearing.
Always liked “Flowers On The Wall”:
Counting flowers on the wall
That don’t bother me at all
Playing solitaire till dawn with a deck of 51
Smoking cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo
Now don’t tell me I’ve nothing to do
Also, “Six Days On The Road” and “El Paso”.
Crimanetly! I guess I could have picked just one: Johnny Cash’s version of Sunday Morning Comin’ Down. It’s our family anthem.
Pretty high on my list as well ;).
Normally a Johnny Cash tune would probably get the nod, but today I am reminded of Tom T. Hall’s silly and slightly deranged Sneaky Snake, which was introduced to me by a fellow student when I was taking herpetology in college.
My favorite? Not hardly, really - it’s just a novelty tune. But it always makes me smile.
That one is at the top of my list.
I also like Crazy, but only the Patsy Cline version
Ain’t That Lonely Yet, Dwight Yoakam
Neon Moon, Brooks and Dunn
Back In The Saddle, Matraca Berg
Tryin’ To Get Over You, Vince Gill
She’s Got The Rhythm, I’ve Got The Blues, Alan Jackson
Lie No Better, Delbert McClinton
2 More Bottles Of Wine, Emmylou Harris
My Maria by Brookes and Dunn.
There hasn’t been one mentioned yet that I’d change the station for when it came on. 
To avoid repitition, I’ll add:
Always - Kinda borderline, but with Patsy Cline singing it, it’s country
Forty Hour Week - Alabama. I come from solid blue collar people, so they’re singing about my family. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38b3RVg7Jpo
Jambalaya - Hank Williams. Just a fun song to sing and dance to.
Hillbilly Highway - Steve Earle. Another song about my family http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT-yIYR7vV8
I Walk the Line - Johnny Cash. An awsomely simple love song.
And there are so many more out there.
Modern country (defined as the last 20 years or so):
Hard Rock Bottom Of Your Heart by Randy Travis
Last Dollar (Fly Away) by Tim McGraw
Monday Mornin’ Church by Alan Jackson
Troubadour by George Strait
Cheap Whiskey by Patty Loveless
Classic country:
Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man by Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty
What’s Made Milwaukee Famous by Jerry Lee Lewis
Daddy Sang Bass - Johnny Cash with June Carter and the Statler Brothers
Y’all Come Back Saloon by the Oak Ridge Boys
You Win Again by Hank Williams
Bluegrass/old timey:
Footprints In The Snow by Bill Monroe
Rank Strangers by The Stanley Brothers
Way Down The Old Plank Road by Uncle Dave Macon
Wildwood Flower by Mother Maybelle Carter
Hello Stranger by The Carter Family
Waiting For A Train by Jimmie Rodgers
Fireball Mail by Roy Acuff
Sallie Ann by Earl Scruggs with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Rollin’ In My Sweet Baby’s Arms by Flatt and Scruggs
I love country music and bluegrass in particular.
Yay! We can list more!
[ul]“Folsom Prison Blues” - Johnny Cash[/ul]
[ul]“Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord)” - Johnny Cash and the Carter Family[/ul]
[ul]“Always On My Mind” - Elvis Presley[/ul]
[ul]“Bed of Roses” - the Statler Brothers[/ul]
[ul]“Old Home Place” - J.D. Crowe and the New South[/ul]
[ul]“I Sang Dixie” - Dwight Yoakam[/ul]
[ul]“Tiger By the Tail” - Buck Owens[/ul]
[ul]“Branded Man” - Merle Haggard[/ul]
[ul]“Golden Ring” - George Jones and Tammy Wynette[/ul]
[ul]“Louisiana Woman Mississippi Man” - Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn[/ul]
[ul]“Hello Darlin’” - Conway Twitty[/ul]
[ul]“Don’t Come Home a-Drinkin’” - Loretta Lynn[/ul]
[ul]“(Don’t Take Her) She’s All I Got” - Johnny Paycheck[/ul]
[ul]“Leaving Louisiana In the Broad Daylight” - the Oak Ridge Boys[/ul]
[ul]“Jolene” - Dolly Parton[/ul]
[ul]“Joshua” - Dolly Parton[/ul]
[ul]“Ruby Don’t Take Your Love to Town” - Kenny Rogers and the First Edition[/ul]
[ul]“Green, Green Grass of Home” - Porter Wagoner[/ul]
[ul]“Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)” - Waylon Jennings[/ul]
[ul]“Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” - Willie Nelson[/ul]
[ul]“Go Rest High on That Mountain” - Vince Gill[/ul]
Crap. Missed the blasted edit window.
Here’s the real link for “Bed of Roses”.
Too many to list, here’s a few quick ones:
John Anderson - Straight Tequila Night
Dierks Bentley - Lot of Leavin Left to Do
Clint Black - When My Ship Comes In
Blackhawk - Goodbye Says It All
Mark Chesnutt - I Just Wanted You To Know
Confederate Railroad - Queen of Memphis
Joe Diffie - John Deere Green
Vince Gill - When I Call Your Name
Alan Jackson - You Can’t Have It All
Toby Keith - I Shoulda Been A Cowboy
Tracy Lawrence - Renegades, Rebels, and Rogues
Chris Ledoux - County Fair
Clay Walker - Hypnotize the Moon
There are lots of country songs I love, and many more that I like, but for me it comes down to Hank Williams’ "I’m so Lonesome I could Cry." To me, his combination of sincerity and simplicity wins me over every time. There’s lots of other Hank (“My Heart Would Know”, “The Angel of Death”, “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive”, “Move it on Over”, “Lovesick Blues”, “Hey, Good Lookin’”, “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, I could go on and on…), but for me that one sums up so much of what was great about his music.
Totally going to cop out here, I love about 90% of the ones listed, but I will add my wedding song - “When You Say Nothing At All” - Alison Krauss
Also going to add two Martina McBride - “On My Daughter’s Eyes” and “Whatever You Say”
Have you heard the tribute song, “I Walk the Line (Revisited)” by Rodney Crowell (Johnny’s ex son-in-law)? It’s a charmer:
“All these long years later it’s still music to my ears
I swear it sounds as good right now as anything I hear
I’ve seen the Mona Lisa
I’ve heard Shakespeare read real fine
Just like hearing Johnny Cash
Sing ‘I Walk The Line’”
Yes, I have. I had the privilege of being in the studio (another project) the day Rodney recorded it. Good stuff.
Another song that I thought of, Paulette Carlson and Highway 101’s Whiskey, If You Were a Woman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W29U3I9jXi8&feature=related Her graveled voice is perfect for this number.
And speaking of whiskey, how about Whiskey Lullaby http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZbN_nmxAGk Written by Bill Anderson, it also showcases two of my favorite artists, Alison Krauss and Brad Paisley.
One more, if Cajun music can be lumped in with country:
Jolie Blon’ - A Cajun standard, you can’t leave the dance without going around the floor to this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGmwnkVegZg
tammy wynette - stand by your man
I don’t hear the original Jeanne Pruett version played much lately.
Satin Sheets
I like George Jones, Hank Williams, Don Williams, and Glen Campbell. They all have favorites of mine.