Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joe FitzGerald on March 25, 2012 at 6:33pm

Wow! I love it. Thanks.

Essential Collection--Bill Morrissey

Dream Cafe--Greg Brown

Blues At Newport 1959-1964----Gary Davis, John Lee Hooker, Jesse Lone Cat Fuller, Skip James, Sleepy John Estes and others

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Permalink Reply by Javier Tijuana on January 31, 2012 at 7:45am

... NRBQ?

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Permalink Reply by Brian Morris on January 31, 2012 at 10:02am

Great list but doesn't include many albums from the last decade.  For example, how about the last Avett Brothers record (I And Love And You) or the recent debut by The Head and The Heart or the last Fleet Foxes album (Helplessness Blues)? 

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Permalink Reply by Rick Varner on January 31, 2012 at 5:13pm

Here is the original criteria used to compile the lists, along with months of interviews, e-mails & phone conversations with musicians, some of which are included on these lists. The albums you have mentioned I'm sure are worthy of inclusion at some point however at 200 albums now I'm reluctant to add more at this time.

 

Background: Americana is a subset of American roots music, best defined as "classic American music" ranging in style from & including elements of folk, country blues, bluegrass, alternative country, rockabilly, neo traditional & roots rock.

Criteria: These albums were chosen for best identifying, inspiring & encapsulating the heart of tradition & the American experience. As with all lists, this is a subjective list and makes no claim of an official nature.

Background: Americana is a subset of American roots music, best defined as "classic American music" ranging in style from & including elements of folk, country blues, bluegrass, alternative country, rockabilly, neo traditional & roots rock.

Criteria: These albums were chosen for best identifying, inspiring & encapsulating the heart of tradition & the American experience. As with all lists, this is a subjective list and makes no claim of an official nature.

Background: Americana is a subset of American roots music, best defined as "classic American music" ranging in style from & including elements of folk, country blues, bluegrass, alternative country, rockabilly, neo traditional & roots rock.

Criteria: These albums were chosen for best identifying, inspiring & encapsulating the heart of tradition & the American experience. As with all lists, this is a subjective list and makes no claim of an official nature.

Background: Americana is a subset of American roots music, best defined as "classic American music" ranging in style from & including elements of folk, country blues, bluegrass, alternative country, rockabilly, neo traditional & roots rock.

Criteria: These albums were chosen for best identifying, inspiring & encapsulating the heart of tradition & the American experience. As with all lists, this is a subjective list and makes no claim of an official nature.

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Permalink Reply by Randy Brown on January 31, 2012 at 10:52am

Rick, the only thing more impressive than your list is the commitment it took to create it!  Awesome!

 

I will begin work on my own list;  this may take a while.

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Permalink Reply by Rick Varner on January 31, 2012 at 5:18pm

Thanks for the compliment. I have compiled app 25 lists on our site, digitaldreamdoor.com

Most of the Blues lists, most of the Jazz lists, psychedelic lists, the Forgotten album list and the Crazy, Wacky and Quirkiest album list which was a blast to put together but the most satisfaction came from the Americana lists. The Greatest Americana Song list also was fun and will be posted next. Thanks

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Permalink Reply by Rick Varner on January 31, 2012 at 5:21pm

Greatest Americana Songs

 

  1. American Music - The Blasters
  2. Tecumseh Valley - Townes Van Zandt
  3. Honky Tonk Masqueade - Joe Ely
  4. City of New Orleans - Steve Goodman
  5. Boulder To Birmingham - Emmylou Harris
  6. Taxes On The Farmer, Feeds Us All - Ry Cooder
  7. Tear Stained Eye - Son Volt
  8. Hello In There - John Prine
  9. Copperhead Road - Steve Earle
10. Choctaw Bingo - James McMurtry
11. Desperado's Waiting For The Train - Guy Clark
12. California Bloodlines - John Stewart
13. King of California - Dave Alvin
14. Car Wheels On a Gravel Road - Lucinda Williams
15. No Depression - Uncle Tupelo
16. Sin City - The Flying Burrito Brothers
17. Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight - Rodney Crowell
18. Memphis In The Meantime - John Hiatt
19. Purgatory Road - Ray Wylie Hubbard
20. Boomer's Story - Ry Cooder
21. Rio Grande - Dave Alvin
22. Christmas In Washington - Steve Earle
23. Mr Bojangles - Jerry Jeff Walker
24. L.A. Freeway - Guy Clark
25. Common Man - The Blasters
26. F.D.R. In Trinidad - Ry Cooder
27. Long White Cadillac - The Blasters
28. Gabriel's Mother's Hiway Ballad #16 Blues - Arlo Guthrie
29. New Madrid - Uncle Tupelo
30. We Can't Make It Here - James McMurtry
31. From A Kitchen Table - Dave Alvin
32. Eats Away The Night - Butch Hancock
33. Cooler-N-Hell - Ray Wylie Hubbard
34. The Dark - Guy Clark
35. Highway Kind - Townes Van Zandt
36. Green Blanket - Peter Case
37. The Last of The True Believers - Nanci Griffith
38. Paradise Etc - Peter Case
39. Me and Billy The Kid - Joe Ely
40. Train Leaves Here This Morning - Dilliard and Clark
41. Sundown - Rank and File
42. Brass Buttons - Gram Parsons
43. Someday - Steve Earle
44. Nine Volt Heart - Dave Alvin
45. Boxcars - Joe Ely
46. Billy The Kid - Ry Cooder
47. Concrete and Barbed Wire - Lucinda Williams
48. Musta Notta Gotta Lotta - Joe Ely
49. God's Own Jukebox - Jesse Winchester
50. Tennessee Plates - John Hiatt
51. Pancho and Lefty - Townes Van Zandt
52. Passenger Side - Wilco
53. I Am The Ride - Chris Smither
54. Windfall - Son Volt
55. Dust of The Chase - Ray Wylie Hubbard
56. Whiskey Bottle - Uncle Tupelo
57. The Pugilist at 59 - Tom Russell
58. Jericho Road - Steve Earle
59. Drive South - John Hiatt
60. Take Me With You (When You Go) - The Jayhawks
61. Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown - Jimmie Dale Gilmore
62. Presidential Rag - Arlo Guthrie
63. Spell of Wheels - Peter Case
64. Over Yonder (Jonathan's Song) - Steve Earle
65. Many A Long & Lonesome Highway - Rodney Crowell
66. Trudy and Dave - John Hiatt
67. Link of Chain - Chris Smither
68. Making Pies - Patty Griffin
69. Turn Your Radio On - John Hartford
70. Highway 17 - Rodney Crowell
71. If I Had a Boat - Lyle Lovett
72. Blackjack David - Dave Alvin
73. Atmosphere - Son Volt
74. Lost In The Ozone - Commander Cody & The Lost Planet Airmen
75. Dallas - The Flatlanders
76. 6 String Belief - Son Volt
77. Darkest Hour - Arlo Guthrie
78. Return of The Grievous Angel - Gram Parsons
79. Red Rose - The Blasters
80. The Great Comprimise - John Prine
81. The Brand New Tennessee Waltz - Jesse Winchester
82. Oh My Sweet Carolina - Ryan Adams
83. Gold - John Stewart
84. Some Humans Ain't Human - John Prine
85. Drive In Movies & Dashboard Lights - Nanci Griffith
86. Braden River - Chris Smither
87. Holiday - James McMurtry
88. In My Own Mind - Lyle Lovett
89. Kerosene Hat - Cracker
90. Roving Gambler - Peter Case
91. Play Me The Waltz of The Angels - The Derailers
92. Dancing With The Women at The Bar - Whiskeytown
93. Clay Pigeons - John Prine
94. I've Got My Pride (But I Got To Feed The Kids) - Rodney Crowell
95. Mercenary Song - Steve Earle
96. Movin' The Country - BR5-49
97. What Work Is - Tom Russell
98. Empty Baseball Park - Whiskeytown
99. Photograph - Charlie Robison
100. Screw You, We're From Texas - Ray Wylie Hubbard

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101. Baby Likes To Rock It - The Tractors
102. I've Been To Memphis - Lyle Lovett
103. Old America - Tom Russell
104. Slate - Uncle Tupelo
105. Abilene - Dave Alvin
106. The South Coast of Texas - Guy Clark
107. The Streets of Baltimore - Gram Parsons
108. Jimmie Brown The Newsboy - Jimmie Dale Gilmore
109. Andersonville - Dave Alvin
110. U.S. Steel - Tom Russell
111. Crescent City - Lucinda Williams
112. Blue Umbrella - John Prine
113. Junior & The Old African Queen - Grayson Capps
114. Casino Queen - Wilco
115. Ten Degrees - J.D. Crowe & The New South
116. Moses - Patty Griffin
117. Pineola - Lucinda Williams
118. 1000 Dollar Car - The Bottle Rockets
119. Coulda Shoulda Woulda - Peter Case
120. Letter To Laredo - Joe Ely
121. Crocodile Man - Chris Smither
122. Bag of Bones - Guy Clark
123. Grand Central Station March 18, 1978 - Steve Forbert
124. The Kid From Spavinaw - Tom Russell
125. Christmas Morning - Lyle Lovett
126. Burgundy Shoes - Patty Griffin
127. I Got Mine - Ry Cooder
128. Back Into The World - Son Volt
129. Last Train To Amsterdam - Ray Wylie Hubbard
130. Immigrant Eyes - Guy Clark
131. Nothing At All - The Waco Brothers
132. Angelyne - The Jayhawks
133. Trains - Ryan Adams
134. New Orleans Waltz - Grayson Capps
135. I Ain't Long Like This - Rodney Crowell
136. Horseshoe - The North Mississippi Allstars
137. Last Lonely Eagle - New Riders of The Purple Sage
138. Carl Perkins Cadillac - The Drive By Truckers
139. Washboard Lisa - Grayson Capps
140. Water When The Well Is Dry - Buddy Miller
141. Inn Town - Whiskeytown
142. Road of Ruin - The Beat Farmers
143. Tulsa Queen - Emmylou Harris
144. Bem McCulloch - Steve Earle
145. Radio King - Golden Smog
146. Ooh Las Vegas - Gram Parsons
147. Sell A Lot of Beer - The Warren Brothers
148. Laredo Rose - The Texas Tornado's
149. Pocatello - James McMurtry
150. I Must Be High - Wilco
151. Snake Farm - Ray Wylie Hubbard
152. January 23-30 1978 - Steve Forbert
153. Comeback - The Warren Brothers
154. Boats To Build - Guy Clark
155. 1968 - Dave Alvin
156. Riverside - The Beat Farmers
157. Epitaph - Blue Mountain
158. The Beautiful Lie - The Amazing Rhythm Aces
159. Moon Song - Emmylou Harris
160. Cold River - John Hiatt
161. Oh No, Not Another One - Doug Sahm
162. Cold Dog Soup - Guy Clark
163. Lungs - Townes Van Zandt
164. Wild Northland - Kingfish
165. Two More Bottles of Wine - Emmylou Harris
166. Teen Angst - Cracker
167. Southern Baptist Heartbreak - The Warren Brothers
168. Beaujolais - The BoDeans
169. Down The Road - Steve Earle
170. Streets of Sin - Joe Ely
171. The River's Gonna Run - Buddy & Julie Miller
172. A1 On The Jukebox - BR5-49
173. Easy Wind - The Grateful Dead
174. Highway In The Wind - Arlo Guthrie
175. How Can I Miss You, When You Won't Go Away - Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks
176. 16 Days - Whiskeytown
177. Ridin' Out The Storm - Rodney Crowell
178. Hammers and Nails - Radney Foster
179. A Train Robbery - Levon Helm
180. Six Hours Ahead of The Sun - Steve Goodman
181. Seven Days - Cracker
182. Old School - Russell Smith
183. Healing Bones - Jules Shear
184. Rock of Ages - Gillian Welch
185. Thrice All American - Neko Case
186. Farewell Angelina - New Riders of The Purple Sage
187. Christ For President - Billy Bragg & Wilco
188. Long Walking Down To Misery - The Beau Brummels
189. Trust Jesus - Slobberbone
190. Victoria Lee - The Old 97's
191. American Hotel - Tom Russell
192. Dire Wolf - The Grateful Dead
193. Oklahoma Dust - The Notorious Cherry Bombs
194. Jerusalum Tomorrow - David Olney
195. Love Reunited - The Desert Rose Band
196. Bethlehem Steel - Grant Lee Buffalo
197. Moonshine - The North Mississippi Allstars
198. Broken Down Row - The Waco Brothers
199. My Front Pages - Arlo Guthrie
200. Rock This Town - The Stray Cats

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Permalink Reply by Derek on March 25, 2012 at 7:59am

Dwight Yoakam, Hillbilly Deluxe.  

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Permalink Reply by Tim George on March 25, 2012 at 4:30pm

Awesome list:

I second pocos pickin up the pieces....

And ive always loved the minimalism of Willie Nelson's Yesterday's Wine

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Permalink Reply by Will James on March 25, 2012 at 8:28pm

Yes, great to hear from one of my favorite and little appreciated Willie albums, his first "concept" album "Yesterday's Wine." I LOVE that album. And to me it was the turning point, farewell Nashville, take this parting shot.

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Permalink Reply by Tim George on March 25, 2012 at 8:32pm

Yes sir...I find very few people who appreciate this album...i am far from religious and find this to be one great f-ingasterpiece...

"therell be a mixture of teardrops and flowers, crying and talking for hours, about how wild i was..."

I always saw the first part of that at face value but also "teardrops and flowers" as a deacription of different kinds of individuals...

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