Twelve standout country albums that turn 30 this year

4. American Recordings by Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash was already a legend by 1994. But he hadn’t been a relevant recording artist for more than a decade when Rick Rubin came calling. The producer who had launched the careers of many of hip hop’s earliest stars had a plan to re-launch Cash. Eventually, there would be six albums in the American Recordings series, featuring many stars who would walk over hot coals for the chance to record with Cash. But for this first one, it was just Johnny – his guitar and his voice. That’s all it took to make the public cry for more.

Cash sang a handful of original songs, plus a range of gems from the likes of Nick Lowe, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, and Loudon Wainwright. “Drive On,” a wry commentary on returning to life after Viet Nam, could have been from his classic era. He gives Glenn Danzig’s “Thirteen” indescribable gravitas. He does the same for Cohen’s “Bird on a Wire,” while he has lots of fun with Jimmy Driftwood’s 1959 classic “Tennessee Stud.” And he takes a gospel turn with his Highwayman brother Kris Kristofferson’s “Why Me Lord.”

3. Read My Mind by Reba McEntire

Reba McEntire had released 18 albums prior to Read My Mind. She had already dominated country music, winning four consecutive CMA Female Vocalist of the Year awards in the mid-‘80s. As the calendar turned over, Reba had her sites set higher. Some purists denigrated the direction of her stylistic changes.

They didn’t even consider Read My Mind a country album. It was too electric. Too pop. Too rock & roll. Never mind that country singers of the opposite gender had been moving in this direction for a long time with little complaint. But then, male singers never caused near-riots by showing up at the CMAs in a low-cut red dress the way Reba did in 1999.

Reba didn’t seem to care. Neither did her fans. The dynamic twin punches of “She Thinks His Name Was John” and “Why Haven’t I Heard From You” blew away any resistance. The first was a heartbreaking ballad – the first major country song to confront the AIDS crisis. The second was a fun-loving romp through all the less serious pitfalls romance can create.

Those two songs get plenty of support from the country-pop rock of “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter”  to the power ballad “I Wish That I Could Tell You.” From the bluesy opener “Everything That You Want” to the high drama of the closer “Till You Love Me.” It’s a juggernaut of an album