Best Country Songs

Ray Charles’s Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Volumes 1 & 2 are major landmarks in American culture. Charles demonstrated that great songs with signature performances work in all genres. “I Can’t Stop Loving You” was a standard in country, soul and R&B, as he proved. Modern Sounds also brought America together during the Sixties’ civil rights movement. Charles became one of the first recording artists to have ownership and complete control of the masters. Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music has been listed among the greatest slbums of all time, along with the Beatles, Dylan, Motown, Springsteen, Hendrix and the Beach Boys.

A 3 CD boxed set which includes 73 songs - all the original recordings, and a booklet from Mercury with a 5,700 word essay by Colin Escott, 84 rare photographs, brief biographies on all 73 Artists. The 3 CDs provide over 3 hours of total playing time.

Part of the ongoing PLAYLIST series of budget-priced single artist anthologies in minimal eco-friendly packaging, PLAYLIST: THE VERY BEST OF MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER is a solid overview of the country-folk singer-songwriter's career. All of Carpenter's best known songs are here in these 14 tracks, from the Cajun stomp of "Down at the Twist and Shout" to the jangly pop-rockers "I Take My Chances" and "He Thinks He'll Keep Her." The package also includes a CD-ROM data track that contains complete liner notes and photos.

A 3 CD boxed set which includes 73 songs - all the original recordings, and a booklet from Mercury with a 5,700 word essay by Colin Escott, 84 rare photographs, brief biographies on all 73 Artists. The 3 CDs provide over 3 hours of total playing time.

J.J. Cale's 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection gathers a dozen of his best-known songs, including "Magnolia," "Crazy Mama," and "Call Me the Breeze," as well as "Cocaine" and "After Midnight." The collection focuses on his '70s work, featuring not only singles, but album tracks from Naturally, Really, 5, and Okie, among others. Though it's not as extensive a collection as Anyway the Wind Blows: The Anthology or The Very Best of J.J. Cale, this compilation does provide a good, concise primer on Cale's influential mix of earthy blues-rock and finely crafted songwriting.