Vintage Years: 1955-1963
Artist: Johnny Cash

To a large degree, this compilation of Cash's early work has been superseded by Rhino's own Sun Years (which goes into his '50s work in some greater depth), CBS' Columbia Years 1958-1986 (which goes into his early Columbia work in much greater depth), and the Bear Family 1954-1958 box set (which goes into his early work with as much detail as... Read More

Ballads of the Hills and Plains
Artist: Hank Williams, Jr. & the Cheatin' Hearts
Songs of Hank Williams
Artist: Hank Williams, Jr.
20 Greatest Hits - MCA
Artist: Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn

20 Greatest Hits contains every one of Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty's hits from the '70s, including the number one singles "After the Fire Is Gone," "Lead Me On," "Louisian Woman, Mississippi Man," "As Soon As I Hang Up the Phone," and "Feelins'." In addition to the obivious hit singles, there are a number of lesser-known album tracks which... Read More

Gum Tree Canoe
Artist: John Hartford

Hartford's most even Flying Fish album, with equal measures of songwriting whimsy and expert musicianship, Gum Tree Canoe includes a number of tunes that would remain concert staples for the length of his career. From the relaxed stroll of the album's title track to a rendition of Doc Watson's "Your Long Journey" to an original breakneck... Read More

Angel Band
Artist: Emmylou Harris

Angel Band is yet another fascinating left turn, an acoustic record comprised of country-gospel songs like "We Shall Rise, " "If I Be Lifted Up" and "Someday My Ship Will Sail, " performed with great subtlety and nuance. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide Read More

Chill Factor
Artist: Merle Haggard

Merle Haggard's Chill Factor is one of his best efforts of the 1980s, marked by passionate singing and some of his strongest writing of the decade. The songs on the album, most of them written by Haggard, survey his usual concerns: love lost, love found, growing older, and the state of the world. Throughout, Haggard exhibits wisdom in his... Read More

Live, Vol. 2
Artist: Patsy Cline

A sequel to Live at the Opry, it's not called Live at the Opry Vol. 2 because it wasn't taken from Opry broadcasts, but from radio shows produced for the U.S. Navy and Armed Forces. The twelve performances date from 1956 to 1962, and are of special interest in that they include five songs that she never recorded in the studio for commercial... Read More

Columbia Records 1958-1986
Artist: Johnny Cash
Community Score: 6.25

Released in 1987, Columbia Records 1958-1986 is an excellent summary of his two and a half decades at the label, even if it is not perfect. First of all, the title is slightly misleading, because this compilation stops roughly around 1986 and the one new track, the opener "Oh, What a Dream," is really an outtake from the early '60s.... Read More

Songs My Father Left Me
Artist: Hank Williams, Jr. & the Cheatin' Hearts