New Traditionalists

The '80s marked the rise of the New Traditionalists, a catch-all phrase applied to a number of artists who sounded more like old country and less like the pop country that was played on the radio. In all, it was a great era for country music, and a great mix of progressiveness and homage to tradition. The best of the '80s stands up to any country music ever made.

John Anderson
Greatest Hits

Anderson was a great, Lefty Frizell-influenced singer who had a bunch of hits in the early '80s before fading out of sight by the end of the decade. This collection would be here just on the strength of a couple all-time classic songs: Wild and Blue and Would You Catch a Falling Star. Anderson made a strong comeback in the '90s with Seminole Wind, but this early material is clearly his strongest.

Note: There are other collections that seem to be better than this one, but they are all either later-period songs or re-recordings. Buyer beware.

Clint Black
Killin' Time

One of the best country albums ever made. Black was a huge star in the late 1980s, but his understated style sort of got blown out of the water with the emergence of Garth Brooks. There has not been a better traditional country record since this came out.

Ricky Skaggs
16 Greatest Hits

Skaggs was already a music veteran in his mid-'20s, having done time in Ralph Stanley's and Emmylou Harris's bands, plus several other bluegrass albums with various collaborators. There's never been anything quite like his '80s country sound, which was heavily bluegrass-influenced, but undeniably contemporary. Skaggs has a distinctive, powerful tenor voice and is a massively talented multi-instrumentalist. This stuff still sounds fresh today.

George Strait
Greatest Hits, Vol. 2

Pure mainstream country music, done with impeccable taste. Strait comes from the Texas dancehall tradition, and has some overt Western Swing influences to go along with the standard honky tonk feel. While he's not a writer, Strait has his pick of songs from the top songwriters.

Further Listening: This pick could just have easily been his Greatest Hits, Volume 1, which has more of the same.

Randy Travis
Storms of Live

Another great recording from the 1980s. Travis has never equalled this brilliant debut, which features his mournful, country-as-hell baritone voice and a whole lot of incredbile songs. Highly recommended.

Keith Whitley
Don't Close Your Eyes

Whitley's tragic death from alcohol poisoning ended a promising career as a hard-country singer. This album, his breakthrough, showcases a mournful, powerful baritone voice on a strong set of songs like I'm No Stranger to the Rain, When You Say Nothing at All, and Lefty Frizell's tearstained classic I Never Go Around Mirrors.

Further Listening: He's hardly recognizable to most country fans, but Whitley cut a bluegrass album with Ricky Skaggs, Second Generation Bluegrass. Both were in their teens and members of Ralph Stanley's band at the time. It's an interesting set of Stanley Brothers classics.

Dwight Yoakam
The Very Best of Dwight Yoakam

Yoakam may be the most significant figure in country music since Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, the legendary Bakersfield figures who clearly influenced him. Aided by producer Pete Anderson, Yoakam was a modern, clearly rock-influenced update to traditional country. And he was (and is) a brilliant songwriter. This collection has some oddball covers of Cheap Trick and Queen, but also adequately covers the of standards and his own songs that made him famous.