25 Country Albums You Need to Hear (Even If You Hate Country Music)

18. GUITAR TOWN
Steve Earle
With a series of musical and political left turns, Earle exiled himself from mainstream country quite a while ago, so it's sometimes hard to remember what an effect his 1986 debut had on Nashville. He was Music Row's smart and impassioned answer to Bruce Springsteen, and songs like ''Fearless Heart'' still sound like best-case-scenarios for if the Boss went twangy. Nowadays, Nashville-based artists cover songs by Springsteen, Mellencamp, and Petty at a moment's notice, without any sense of what made those rockers great. But Earle got it, and has earned his way into their ranks as a contemporary.