Re: Country Music
Oh dude I'm so glad you asked this.
Obviously Cash like Jay mentioned, and Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, All those guys. Artists that I particularly enjoy:
-Ryan Adams, mainly his first album "Heartbreaker", and his albums with The Cardinals "Cold Roses", "Jacksonville City Nights" and there's one other that I don't own...I think it's just called "29" or something like that.
-Guy Clark. I just have "The Essential Guy Clark", but the other albums of his that I've heard are great too.
-Townes Van Zandt. I've got "High, Low, and In Between" and "Texas Rain" which is a comp of him with various other artists. I like Texas Rain more, and would totally recommend it.
-Steve Earle. Would recommend "Train A'Comin' " more than his later albums. I think it's live, and it's mainly acoustic. A lot of his later albums are electric, and even though they still have a country feel, they're more alt country/rock. If you're more into rock though, check out "Transcendental Blues" or "Jerusalem".
-Josh Ritter. A lot of folk/country influence. Fucking AMAZING lyrics. "Golden Age of Radio" is one of my favorite albums ever. "Hello Starling" and "Animal Years" tend to move a little bit away from country/folk, but they're still great albums if you like his songwriting.
-Those Poor Bastards. I found this EP called "Country Bullshit" on an independent record website. Apparently they have another album out, but I haven't picked it up yet. It's kind of an odd album; they describe it as "gothic country", really dark and depressing with obvious country influences. Not for everyone, but I really like it.
-and lastly Tom Waits who isn't technically country, but a lot of folk/country influence and great song writing. Check out "Rain Dogs" or "Small Change".