Why Country Music? | TheaterFire

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Weekly_Quail_5717@reddit

Like any genre of music, there is lots of good and lots of bad. Unfortunately, radio country tends to reward the bad more often that not. There are also tons of sub-genres within country and the artists you mentioned tend to be in the most reviled sub-genres such as bro-country and hip-hop-country. Some good country artists currently out there include the more well-known Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, Turnpike Troubadours, Zach Top, Charley Crockett, Sierra Ferrell and Colter Wall. Others that may be lesser known include the Deslondes, Nick Shoulders, Theo Lawrence, Melissa Carper, Dean Johnson, Esther Rose, Emily Nenni, Ellis Bullard, Sentimental Family Band, and Rattlesnake Milk. Also, Daniel Romano's first four albums include some of the best country music this millennium. Despite the noise, damn good country music is alive and well.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

I appreciate these names. Interesting take about radio country rewarding the bad. Kind of like news shows and television overall for that matter.

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darxide23@reddit

"Excluding country, all the musicians" - Fat Mike

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CalgaryChris77@reddit

Country music has been big my whole life’s it’s never been my very favourite music but I have always appreciated it. The weird thing though is my wife always hated country and then we went to Nashville a couple of years ago and now she is a huge country fan, bigger than me.

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Bourbon-No-Ice@reddit

i used to and still say "easy to say what i don't listen to, i don't really enjoy most country" that is still true, but..... i have gotten into Zach Bryan lately. i see him more as a singer/songwriter than "country" is it in the country realm? yea. but more chill than commercial country imo. anyhow, on the same drive, i'll jam some of that then i'll switch over to Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Future. I was a mid 90s rap kid then a late 90s alternative with a mix. i like good music and i am moody. i am not a "bro-country" fan either.

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AccomplishedIron816@reddit

Zach has rejected Nashville which is why I think he’s so good. Writes all his songs himself, produces a decent amount of them, and looks up to the greats of the past. That’s what the Morgan Wallen of the world do not do. They are just the image for a committee of writers in Nashville. And so maybe that’s why I connect more to Zach’s music because it feels authentically him and not some experiment in Nashville

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Funny enough I feel the same about Zach Bryan’s music, even though he seems like an odd dude. Sam Barber is another in that general realm of new country songwriters that I can appreciate on some level. Appreciate your comment.

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Bourbon-No-Ice@reddit

I couldn't think of Sam barbers name. Lol

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Bourbon-No-Ice@reddit

Darrell Scott is an old school, still relevant, singer songwriter. He's written a lot of songs that became big hits sung by other artists. My brain was blanking his name. I could see his face, name nope. Haha... Need.... More... Sleep.....

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LineImpossible3958@reddit

It’s like the new version of hair metal, but worse. Morgan Wallen and his ilk will be looked back at like Poison and Warrant in the decades to come. All the songs are about the same dirt roads, trucks, girls, church, beer, absolute lowest common denominator themes. I can’t even tell the singers apart half the time.

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AccomplishedIron816@reddit

I hope you are right but I do worry since the younger kids love Morgan Wallen and he’s breaking all these records that he may still be massive in 10-20 years. I find it such disrespect to the genre that he gets to use Nashville backing and their radio to push heavily autotuned pop with twang. Considering some pretty good country artists like Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, and Turnpike exist and don’t get the radio play or respect Wallen/Jelly Roll do. Who knows. But I deeply hope you’re right. Because I don’t even see how his music is enjoyable. His last album had 36 songs and mentioned the word or brand of whiskey 135 times. Once you’ve heard one song you’ve heard them all lyrically

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

It’s true. I picture the 9 year old version of me, but instead of Def Leppard he’s listening to Dan + Shay.

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LilAbeSimpson@reddit

It’s not country music. They listen to Nashville Pop. It’s atrocious.

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AccomplishedIron816@reddit

Sadly if you say this those same fans who swore they hated the genre 7 years ago but somehow love it now will say “music evolves and has subgenres and you need to quit being a gatekeeper.” And I do agree music evolved but it doesn’t evolve into a completely separate genre. Country should be identifiable. This modern day stuff is pop music with twang. If you took the twang out of a Morgan Wallen song you’d have a Justin Bieber song. So is that our only identifier for what is and isn’t country music? If so I guess everything could be lol

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Allerjesus@reddit

I love Zach Bryan and Jason Isbell. Maybe more Americana than Country, but as I get older I appreciate a solid lyricist.

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AccomplishedIron816@reddit

It’s funny because a lot of the modern massive “country” fanbase crowd hates them. Maybe it’s because Wallen is the king to them and Isbell hates Wallen and donates all the royalties he gets from Wallen’s version of Cover Me Up to the NAACP. Or maybe they view Zach and Isbell as the only direct competitor to pop country? But I sit here and think those guys are as close to what the greats of the past are. I mean I realize no one is truly an outlaw anymore but Zach Bryan hates Nashville. He won’t work with their writers, regularly dosses them, and has decided he does a lot of the process on his own. Which is so rare nowadays. But the old greats would’ve loved him. He’s not some manufactured curated image made by Nashville like Wallen, Jelly Roll, etc are. And I kind of respect that about him and am amazed how massive he has gotten

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Carrie-Nation@reddit

Country music these days feels stagnant and miserable. I feel stuck in quicksand when I listen to it and it’s always against my will. Everything after Tim McGraw Faith Hill Shania era physical hurts me to listen to.

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Jerkrollatex@reddit

I went to a wedding recently. All country all night long. It was fucking awful. Also not what I expected for a lesbian wedding. I was expecting like Chappelle Roan, Billie Ish and maybe Addle. Nope

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

That seems like a swing and a miss by somebody. At least tell me the dance floor was dead as a result?

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Jerkrollatex@reddit

Nope it was hopping.

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Olelander@reddit

Nice work with the raindrop on the window anecdote, ***Raymond Carver***… It bloomed in my brain and lit up synapses that haven’t fired in 30 years… I passed through core memory sights, smells and sounds… all because of that sentence.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Appreciate the note and the compliment. It led me to some great new music on your previous posts. One more memory: I saw Pinback on Halloween back in 2009. Someone in the crowd was wearing a costume that might have been the Easter bunny from the North Shore Mall. Now, every time I hear the song, I think about how much that bunny loved dancing to Penelope.

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Olelander@reddit

Ahhh you found my music nerd-dom in full flourish then… sorry about that, I don’t have anyone in my real life to share my music passion with anymore, so arguing on reddit about music it is for me!

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StaceyPfan@reddit

https://preview.redd.it/sbotp51wtm5g1.jpeg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=82f0c19d616c50167b7f956711a937e75880365b

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Ha. It’s true.

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Ok_Breakfast5425@reddit

Did you forget the big surge in popularity country had in the 90s?

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Seven22am@reddit

Chuck Klosterman has a really interesting piece on how Bruce Springsteen stepped back for a while and Garth Brooks sort of took his place. Then Springsteen started touring again and Garth basically disappeared and we all forgot he existed. (Yes he did do that very weird Chris Gaines thing that didn’t do him any favors).

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Allaplgy@reddit

Don't tell 16yo me I said this, but give Garth over Bruce any day. The E Street Band is one of the few acts I actively despise. Bruce is ok as a human that's a celebrity, but gawd is the music awful.

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Cheezslap@reddit

I felt the same way until I got my hands on some live stuff. Live Bruce is completely different from the shit that I got waterboarded with as a kid.

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Allaplgy@reddit

I just can't stand his voice, and the band is just far too noodly in that east coast grooveless way for me. I admit I have not delved deep into the live stuff, but mainly because of how bad the recoded hits are. I've heard a few love cuts that were more "singer songwriter" style focused on Bruce that weren't terrible because he dialed back the yodel and the band wasn't overplaying everything. I am totally used to being downvoted to hell for this opinion on open Reddit, but I stand by it. 🙃

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StaceyPfan@reddit

I completely agree with you.

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Allaplgy@reddit

Right? How though? How is he so popular? It's sooooo bad. We listen to a lot of classic rock at my shop and every time he comes on I can't not howl and yodel along with it and generally do whatever I can to at least make it funny, if it can't be good.

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Cheezslap@reddit

Dude, I think you're allowed to feel that way. Stand, Sir.

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Seven22am@reddit

I… I mean… You… Of all the opinions out there, this is certainly one of them. I mean I wouldn’t say I’m a fan exactly but awful!? They have so many songs that are just part of the soundtrack to the past 30 years. Plus when they play live, they play *for hours*. Still. In their 70s. Plus Steven Van Zandt played Silvio!

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prstele01@reddit

While I don’t think Bruce’s music is awful, I will say I’m another Xennial that was never into Bruce Springsteen, even a little bit. I‘m 43 and I can’t name a single song of his.

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BritOnTheRocks@reddit

He has a pretty bad cover of Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

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StaceyPfan@reddit

That was recorded in the city near me.

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Stevie-Rae-5@reddit

I just find this exceedingly hard to believe. Not a fan? Sure, I buy that. Can’t name a single song? No way.

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Allaplgy@reddit

I can listen to some of the deeper cuts, but any of the hits are just sooooo bad. Thunder Road, Rosalita, Born to Run, Blinded by the Light (Manfred Mann version sounds like the original and Bruce's sounds like a horrible live cover). He sounds like a yodelling basset hound about taking girls from their daddies and the band just noodles, groovelessly, endlessly in something I can only describe as making me picture frumpy middleaged NYC office marms letting loose at the office Christmas party. Give me some Seger instead for all the same elements, but actual good singing and grooves. Again, Bruce seems like a decent guy for a rock star. But musically it's just atrocious.

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Seven22am@reddit

I salute your conviction and your boldness.

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Stevie-Rae-5@reddit

My conviction do you mean wrongness and by boldness do you mean…well, again, wrongness?

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Allaplgy@reddit

My dad's wife rode a motorcycle for 50 years and is a boomer from the east coast. We agree to just never discuss Bruce 😅.

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Cloud_Disconnected@reddit

>Give me some Seger Eeehhhh wow. I was giving you the benefit of the doubt for saying Born to Run is soooo bad because I'm not the Springsteen fan myself. But when you say a constipated Chevy truck commercial is better than Born to Run, I just have to assume that like your favorite bands are Coldplay and Creed.

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Allaplgy@reddit

Lol. I can't stand either of those bands either. Coldplay, I couldn't name a single song, just know them as bland af moody ambient bullshit, and Creed is god awful Christian garbage late 90s pop rock. Still would prefer either to Born to Run. And Like a Rock is a great song that you probably only hate because you associate it with those Chevy commercials.

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Cloud_Disconnected@reddit

I just can't do Bob Seger, I feel the same way you do about Springsteen. Seger's voice is so gutteral and raspy, it's like nails on a chalkboard for me. Listening to him feels like going to a singles bar with my dad.

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Allaplgy@reddit

Lol. That's not exactly a terrible description, and I can see that too. If we all liked the same things, life would be quite boring.

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WhatTheCluck802@reddit

YES! 👏🏻

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shulemaker@reddit

I can’t think of a single Springsteen song that was in the soundtrack to my life.

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WhatTheCluck802@reddit

HALLELUJAH, FRIEND!! I too am someone who thinks Springsteen music is wasaaaaay overrated.

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Allaplgy@reddit

Like, I enjoy some terrible music myself, but at least I know it's bad! Springsteen is this God of rock and I just don't get it.

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WhatTheCluck802@reddit

![gif](giphy|dt5wUdCvLWQghI7xqy|downsized)

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illwill79@reddit

Way off topic, but Levi is looking mighty Luigi in that gif.

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RamboJane@reddit

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Neither-Principle139@reddit

https://preview.redd.it/kgaiwvwpxb5g1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fbb31772bae740947e405c0910a7f169097017ac

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doctor-rumack@reddit

It’s time to play OLD! FRENCH! WHORE!

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Stevie-Rae-5@reddit

I love this episode of SNL.

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BoyznGirlznBabes@reddit

I think my whore is dead.

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Neither-Principle139@reddit

Mine smells like whisky and feet.

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GorillaMonsoonGirl@reddit

My husband and I still shout these lines at each other on a regular basis.

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MagnumPIsMoustache@reddit

That fucking soul patch makes me cackle every time I see it

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RamboJane@reddit

That’s the cherry on top. 😂

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Upbeat_Tear3549@reddit

Garth disappeared by choice to be there for his kid(s) when they were teens. I don't care for him, but that seemed admirable.

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Seven22am@reddit

Well Klosterman’s was more that his impact completely faded. He was a huge star and then… nobody talked about him, nobody played his music, nobody missed him. Which was weird given how ubiquitous he was for a period. All of his crossover appeal seemed to vanish immediately.

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prstele01@reddit

Part of this I believe was his exclusive deal with Wal-Mart in the early ‘00s. No other streaming services were allowed to carry his music. I believe Spotify and some others still don’t. So it’s not JUST that he retired from public view, all of his music basically did too. He bet on the wrong horse, in the early 2000s, you went from being able to get his music at any music store to only being able to buy his albums at Walmart. It happened around the exact time that MP3’s got popular, and so stores shifted away from physical media. Which is why for a while, the few remaining CDs you could buy at Walmart usually had Garth Brooks in there somewhere. So the entire two generations after us (Gen Z and Gen Alpha) have had basically zero exposure to Garth Brooks or his music. It’s a shame.

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Upbeat_Tear3549@reddit

There is some speculation he continues to do that for no other reason than the ego related to artificially pumping his total record sales numbers with this sales stunts. I don’t know that for certain, but some Nashville insiders speculate that’s a big factor.

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prstele01@reddit

That seems wild. As an artist myself, I can’t imagine trading the exposure of my art to two entire generations for some extra cash that he really doesn’t need.

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Upbeat_Tear3549@reddit

I may not have been clear. The rumor is that it’s his desire to sell the largest number of records possibles for the sake of having sold the largest number of records. One of the things he was doing for a few years was selling the big box sets of like four CDs that counted as four records sold at a steeply discounted rate. Again for the sake of setting number of sales records. I bought one myself because I liked his debut record and it was the only way I could hear it. So for something like $20, I purchased a box set of his first four records. Three of which I never listed to.

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GoodEnoughByMudhoney@reddit

A few Christmases ago, they were selling these vinyl box sets for about 9 bucks [on Amazon.](https://a.co/d/5WBVCRv) Each set counted as 12 albums.

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prstele01@reddit

Oh, that does clarify a bit. Interesting you like the first record more than the others. I believe it was his second and third records that really shot him into superstardom.

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Usof1985@reddit

I believe he has or at least had an exclusive contact with Sirius XM for streaming. That's why he never made it on Spotify. I haven't had it in a few years but he had his own channel back then at least.

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SilentSerel@reddit

He's on Amazon Music and it looks like that's about it, unless you count the YouTube videos of varying audio quality.

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Secret_Elevator17@reddit

I have yet to go to a wedding that doesn't play I've got Friends in low places where everybody sings at some point. To be fair I am in the South though.

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Hatta00@reddit

Did this in Minnesota last month.

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Seven22am@reddit

Yeah, this is fair. That song has definitely has had staying power. I always forget that it's Garth Brooks, tbh.

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acquaman831@reddit

You will hear Friends in Low Places at a karaoke bar in any city in the world.

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prstele01@reddit

It’s more than that, see my comment below.

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sweetassassin@reddit

Shout out to Chris Gaines! I bought your CD

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Olelander@reddit

That’s where this crap started… it’s a blight on humanity

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CompletelyBedWasted@reddit

I didn't. I *loathe* country. I grew up in a small town in the south. Literally the only thing to do (90's) was line dance at the roller rink or get drunk and shoot fireworks at each other in a field. It. Was. Inescapable....

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716Val@reddit

I have a country music award and an academy of country music award and I can’t stand country music LOL

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CompletelyBedWasted@reddit

![gif](giphy|s239QJIh56sRW|downsized)

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716Val@reddit

Broadcasting award. You can he an excellent broadcaster regardless of genre.

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CompletelyBedWasted@reddit

🫡💜

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VicdorFriggin@reddit

I, too loathe country music. My mom was the same... She's turned since she's gotten older. Ugh. I grew up in a state that thinks it's in the south there was more country stations than any other genre. Had a coworker about 20 years ago that would listen to the same country music station all day everyday to be heard all around her. I swear they played the same 10 songs. I'm a pretty pacifistic person, but on the days I didn't have my headphones and was forced to listen to that shit, I got pretty homicidal.

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CompletelyBedWasted@reddit

Ditto. While working for a mobile pet vaccination clinic, we often set up inside Tractor Supply and like stores. I didn't think there was anything worse than country until I had to listen to *Christmas* country 2 months out of the year. 🤬

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SteveEcks@reddit

I was there for it. Even Achy Breaky Heart hit I was deep into country. It lasted a couple weeks. This has been living in my head rent-free since about 1993: Hey pretty lady won't you give me a sign I'd give anything to make you mine, all mine I'll do your biddin' and be at your Beck and Call. Oh I've never seen anyone looking so fine, Man I gotta have her; she's a one of a kind. I'm going once, going twice- I'm Sold to the lady in the second row She's an 8, she's a 9, she's a 10 I know. She got Ruby Red lips, brown hair, blue eyes And I'm about to bid my heart, goodbye!

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InfectedSteve@reddit

Damn, that is an old one. Though, one of the better ones. Around this time country music actually was fun and decent to listen to. Don't dip much into country, but there was that small ( for me) window in the 90s, that I enjoyed, and still could listen to for a bit now a days. I'll drop you with this one in return: Bubba shot the juke box last night, Said it played a sad song that made him cry, Went to his tuck and got a .45, Bubba shot the juke box last night.

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Superpriestess@reddit

Yesssss John Michael Montgomery

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Randa08@reddit

I love in the UK and my first concert at 13 was Garth Brooks. Went on my own.

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username__0000@reddit

I hate country. But some of the older stuff was ok. Chattahoochee was kinda a jam. It’s one of those “it’s hard to not feel good” when you listen to it kinda songs.

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DenvahGothMom@reddit

Some of that country was pretty subversive and awesome. I remember hearing "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" by Mary Chapin Carpenter from other horse girls (I was more Ace of Base, sadly) and loving the empowering, feminist message. Wayyyyy better than the crap OP is talking about.

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Josef_Kant_Deal@reddit

Sometimes I find myself listening to 90s country on YT. There were some amazing songs. "Independence Day" still gets me choked up during the last verse ("Talk about your revolution, it's Independence Day.")

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mypostingname13@reddit

That was country music, though. This pop rock with twang. It's not the same

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jelloslug@reddit

That made me hate country even more.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

I tried to. I just feel can’t shake the feeling it’s on another level now.

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Staggerlee024@reddit

Must be where you live or who you associate with. I don't know anyone that likes modern country music regardless of what generation they are.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Northeast, not far from Boston. None of my friends listen to popular country - just the “kids” at work. Happy to hear I might be misled.

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neckbeardsghost@reddit

I’m in Southern California and at my last job it was the same. All the interns and younger people on my team were really into country music. I can’t stand it. I did try a few reeducation campaigns, and at least one of the interns liked the DJ mixes. I was pointing him to. There might be one convert… Lol.

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tim8104@reddit

I live in the same area and all my friends listen to country. I tried going to a concert with them this summer. It was one of the most boring things I’ve ever witnessed.

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prstele01@reddit

The 90s were the last great decade for popular country music. While there are some sub genres of country music today that are fantastic (Tyler Childers, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson), the broke country that you despise is the result of the country/pop formula that evolved in the early 2000s. It is awful, it sounds like AI music.

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Loocha@reddit

9/11 destroyed country music. The shift was almost overnight to a new archetype. I stopped listening very shortly after.

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stopatthecatch@reddit

I remember watching the rain drop races too. This, this was how kids entertained themselves before screens.

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amyldoanitrite@reddit

My kids call that “the snake show”. Lol

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Frosty_Cloud_2888@reddit

Don’t play that song, that achey breaky song

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ApatheistHeretic@reddit

I never cared for country, but I do remember the back-pocket-less jeans that the kicker girls were wearing in the 90s.

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Gonna_do_this_again@reddit

Even more than that, the surge after 9/11. 90s country was poppy, but it was generally still pretty neutral about everything. Bonnie Raitt, Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, Shania Twain...some greats. 9/11 made a visceral shift to 100% Pro America and if you don't like it you can get the fuck out.

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MaracujaBarracuda@reddit

We got Lee Greenwood and his horrible anthem and the Chicks got canceled.

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be_more_constructive@reddit

But his song is from the 80s. Growing up, I loved it because it would get played during the fireworks on July 4th. Now, not so much.

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lost_horizons@reddit

I always considered Bonnie Raitt more blues rock/singer songwriter, but I agree with the rest of what you said.

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abernathym@reddit

I was going to point out that two of the top selling artists of the 90s were country acts

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SalukiKnightX@reddit

There’s a huge difference between Brooks and Dunn, Trisha Yearwood, The Judds, Reba MacIntire, Travis Tritt and Garth Brooks compared to Morgan Wallen and the Bobby Bones ilk (talk to my brother and he’s all about the Outlaws like Willy Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash). All that out of the way, country remains my least listened to genre because it’s literally the only music played on radio. I mean they all but killed the Oldies/50’s-70’s, Rock/80’s-00’s and Classic Rock/60’s-70’s stations in my town. It’s why I now have to have streaming services in order to get something else. It sucks.

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gwmccull@reddit

Ugh I remember going away for the summer and we were all listening to rap, and when I came back to school, everyone was wearing shit kickers and listening to country. I felt like I had whiplash. I think it was summer of ‘95

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xRVAx@reddit

Achy Breaky Heart! Friends in Low Places! Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee! Cotton Eye Joe!

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Allaplgy@reddit

One of my favorite recent memories is from 2020. The Labor Day fires were still burning, and the northwest was a smokey hellscape. I was at a friend's apartment when it finally started raining. His roommate pulled up "And the Thunder Rolls". We stood on the porch singing along, and the thunder seemed to know it's role, no pun intended. It would rumble every time "...and the thunder rolls...." *Boom, rumble rumble* By the end of the song, multiple apartments of people, and randos on the street, were singing along, celebrating the rains we'd been desperately waiting for.

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Negative-Wrap95@reddit

![gif](giphy|m7FdxI252QN3y)

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Throw-away17465@reddit

I’m guessing you live in the south and/or a rural area. I live in Seattle and I literally can’t remember any instance where I may have heard a country song, at least in the past few years. I can’t name any songs or artists. So I think this greatly depends on your surroundings more than what “kids these days” are doing.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

I would generally agree, except that I’m in metro Boston. I’m envious of and encouraged by your bro country-free existence. As an aside, I debated moving to the PNW after grad school and have often wondered how my life would be different.

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Throw-away17465@reddit

I’m surprised and dismayed at your bro country experience in Boston of all places. Here’s hoping you have a solid set of headphones and time and space to get away from all that. Have you ever visited the PNW? I highly encourage it if you can! I’ve traveled and spent time in Boston and Western Massachusetts, and in so many ways it’s like a different country. Yes we all have the same fast food chains and use the imperial system for measurements, but what is culturally popular or even acceptable is night and day.

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pharmessy@reddit

In general, I hate country music. I remember telling our wedding DJ - nothing country or even country-adjacent. He was a bit surprised. If I were forced to pick some to listen to, it would be artists from my parents era (Willy, Waylon, Johnny, Dolly, Barbara Mandrell, etc).

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DameKitty@reddit

I got my hands on Queens greatest hits, found a radio station created by a guy in his basement (odd assortment of songs is never heard before), listened to a radio station do a London crossover (the London station and the NY station played the top 10 of the week from the other station at the same time every week), found the local punk scene, and worked too much. I don't like much country, even the crossovers (pop-country, country-rock, etc).

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

As former music director for my college’s radio station, I appreciate the impact of non-commercial radio. So much. Why would we listen to contrived nonsense built to appeal to the masses when we had access to so much more?

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DameKitty@reddit

I checked out the local college radio a few times, when I was doing driving in circles for work and could get a good signal. I love small station radio, they play a larger variety of music.

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BigOldBee@reddit

Every generation thinks they grew up with the best music.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Touché

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jasonmoyer@reddit

I have absolute no nostalgia whatsoever for most of the music that was popular when I was a kid or a teenager and it always makes me cringe when I hear shit like the Gin Blossoms or the Spin Doctors or whatever on a store's muzak system, like of all the shit I never thought I'd be subjected to 30 years later.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Love this. I’ve also used the intentional mispronunciation of the inescapable pop culture icon bit before. I still don’t get the allure of that Dan Matthews Band.

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jasonmoyer@reddit

Everytime someone mentions DMB it reminds me of when they were current and boomers were always "I ONLY LISTEN TO CLASSIC ROCK AND DMB". Never ever saw the appeal.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Huh. Yeah. I think you may be on to something.

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capthazelwoodsflask@reddit

The funny thing is that country music peaked during our heyday when Ween released 12 Golden Country Hits. I hate generational comparisons between music and I've never been a big country fan but popular country just sucks now. It's music for people who live in McMansions on 5 acres in the outer suburbs and drive F-250's. It's like they heard Kid Rock's back story and decided to make it country this time.

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Lambears@reddit

Omg Ween! Piss Up a Rope!

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halfcabheartattack@reddit

I love the idea that country music peaked with a Ween album

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capthazelwoodsflask@reddit

It's the reality that I choose to live in

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BigOldBee@reddit

Like a Japanese cowboy...

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Quirin_Cottonbriefs@reddit

First of all, the mere mention of Ween’s 12 Golden Country Hits makes me feel like I’m really among my people. So thank you for that. Secondly, (and correct me if I’m wrong) but even when Ween released that album (1996), the album was considered more akin to traditional country than even the contemporary country that was be released then. It had some real established country musicians contributing on every track. That album has aged so well because it had a throwback sound even in the 90s. As an aside, I Don’t Want to Leave You on the Farm is probably in my top 10 tracks ever.

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dudebro5000@reddit

Ween is the best!!!!

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

You worded that so much better than I could ever have. I’m convinced 60% of Kid Rock’s success was confused grandparents shopping for the latest Kidz Bop.

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Adventurous_Pin_344@reddit

Oh yeah, country music sucks. In part because it's boring, but mostly because it's incredibly exclusionary. Often women and artists of color are pushed into the genre of Americana, and don't get much airplay on country radio stations across the country. I appreciate Garth Brooks as a creative, but I have never enjoyed his music, or any modern country. I can get behind some classic country on occasion - Willy, Dolly, or Waylon - but in small doses. I'm trying to diversify my listening a bit after getting my YT Music recap for the year, and being reminded that 90% of what I listened to was King Gizzard. But in my defense, they have 27 studio albums and many hundreds of live recordings. And they are one of the most diverse groups out there these days, so I'm not embarrassed.

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jdw1977@reddit

I’m with you. I can’t stand country music.

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RockShowSparky@reddit

I love country. I hated it as a kid but I love it now.

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IM_The_Liquor@reddit

Sorry. But I was country when country wasn’t cool. Not that I didn’t like other music…

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JDNB82@reddit

I hated country as a kid, except for the Hank Williams and Johnny Cash. Don't mind certain songs on occasion now, but yeah, don't expect to ever become a fan. I also remember in the 90s that my step-dad was a country guy, but he indicated that before that he was more of a rock guy (well, Ozzy and Springsteen for sure), and then later in the 90s he shifted to blues. Don't know what he's listening to now. I've always been a rock guy, but I do appreciate hip hop and pop sometimes.

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psilosophist@reddit

Don’t look at me I’ve been listening to a lot of Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard.

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summercampcounselor@reddit

Yah that Ken burns country music documentary really got me into what I didn’t know I loved. I always loved Dylan and Johnny cash, turns out I love old school country.

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Noodletrousers@reddit

It’s a very good doc to actually get into and hear some of the greats. Have you gone down the Tom T. Hall road yet?

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summercampcounselor@reddit

I haven’t, but I definitely globbed on to John prine as someone else mentioned

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Noodletrousers@reddit

Another great one! I always feel like Jerry Reed is left out of these conversations so I’m gonna toss a Reed in the mix!

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summercampcounselor@reddit

I’ll check those out. And on the off chance you haven’t heard The Perfect Country and Western song by David Allen Coe, which it seems like you’ve done a way deeper dive than I have so I’m sure you have but if you haven’t, it’s a gem.

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Noodletrousers@reddit

David Allen Coe is excellent! I hope you have a tremendous evening.

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TubeScr3ameR@reddit

So you're saying if I'm a Peavey fan, I should watch this "Ken Burns" fella? JK I used to sleep to the Civil War series.

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drewbaccaAWD@reddit

John Prine and Nanci Griffith. over here.

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psilosophist@reddit

Oh man Prine is such a treasure. "Mulleneburg County" might be one of my favorite songs he ever wrote.

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drewbaccaAWD@reddit

That entire album was one of those start to finish gold mines.. so glad he did more than just deliver mail. [John Prine & Emmylou Harris - "Angel From Montgomery" (Live)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXo3K8l-uDc)

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Klutzy-Delivery-5792@reddit

Have you listened to any newer alt-country artists? Sturgill Simpson reminds me a lot of the old outlaw country artists.

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psilosophist@reddit

Sturgill's absolutely fine but I just don't go back to listen to his stuff, it's pretty much one and done. Same with someone like Tyler Childers, conceptually I should like everything about it but once is enough for me.

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Thick_Bumblebee_8488@reddit

I grew up listening to the outlaws, and I still love them. Their music brings back happy memories.

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Frosty_Cloud_2888@reddit

Highway men

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abernathym@reddit

Merle Haggard is one of the greatest singer/songwriters of any genre.

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psilosophist@reddit

Damn straight he is.

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Negative-Wrap95@reddit

Still better than anything produced in the last 35 years.

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drewbaccaAWD@reddit

There's still good music, it's just harder to find. Look up some of the winners of the Americana Music Awards.

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Negative-Wrap95@reddit

![gif](giphy|dC9DTdqPmRnlS|downsized)

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drewbaccaAWD@reddit

Your loss.

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knivesofsmoothness@reddit

That's good shit. Real country music.

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Ant_Cardiologist@reddit

Love me some Stephen Wilson Jr

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Obahmah@reddit

Not a Fan of Red Solo Cup or Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy 🫠

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username__0000@reddit

Don’t forget wagon wheel. I never heard that song until I moved to a small town. OMG people here go nuts for it and I have to leave the room when it comes on to avoid getting irrationally angry at the assault on my ears.

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JudgeJuryEx78@reddit

What's sad is that the country I like these days I usually describe as alt country, but I think it's absolutely what classic country would habe turned into. If I just tell people I like country they'll think I'm into Like Bryan, and I can't abide that.

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halfcabheartattack@reddit

If there was any justice in the world alt country and classic country would have retained the label 'Country' and the radio garbage today would be called Auto-Twang

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Noodletrousers@reddit

It’s really almost indistinguishable from any other pop music.

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abernathym@reddit

The country music I like is usually called roots or folk music now. It's weird how genres change

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

100%

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Masterweedo@reddit

The weirdest artist switch to country is [Krizz Kaliko](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeZujAzsGuw), formerly Tech N9ne's hype man. Tech has been of my favorite rappers for over 20 years. It's very weird to me that his hype man went from [Chopper Style rap on tracks with Eminem](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FBwVRNOL70), to [country songs with Colt Ford](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q8i2Yn034s).

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Superpriestess@reddit

The 90s was the last good era of country before it turned into a drunken political sleaze fest. I still gladly listen to Alan Jackson, George Strait, early Shania Twain, The Mavericks, even early Rascall Flatts over the garbage that comes out now. My tastes have skewed more Americana in recent years so GET OFF MY LAWN unless you want to come over and listen to Jason Isbell or Ryan Bingham.

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Masterweedo@reddit

I'm still listening to Insane Clown Posse, which brings me to an odd point, Jelly Roll. Jelly Roll used to open for them, and even performed at something like 6 Juggalo Gatherings. He attended some that he didn't perform at. It's weird seeing him go from the Gathering to being a country superstar.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

I think it’s called selling out

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Masterweedo@reddit

Isn't "selling out" basically the goal of a musician? They all wanna get paid. I remember when ICP was trying to get on TRL and all that shit back in 2000. They tried hard to sell out, and it didn't work. Jelly stayed true to who he was, and he wasn't going very far as a "Dope Boy" rapper. He needed a change, and he found it. Seeing the devastation that drugs can cause made him very remorseful for his previous life. Dude had several songs with that vibe before Save Me. Even Tech N9ne was trying to get him to sing more, he even put Jelly in that short film "Kathartic". It was nice that the first version of Save Me was actually on a album Tech N9e's label helped distribute. I would love another rap album from Jelly, but that's not where the money is right now.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

I admit to being rather naive to Jelly Roll so I’ll learn from your perspective. Appreciate you sharing it. As far as “selling out”, to me it’s always been the question of whether you’re truly passionate about the art you’re creating as a musician. If you are, and you’re able to make a living that’s the holy grail. I was suggesting it to the extent passion/art was compromised to fit within the box of what happens to sell at any given time. It’s very possible Jelly Roll evolved, to your point. I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek, but also taking an uneducated guess.

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Masterweedo@reddit

Jelly was basically living in a van on the road, I think that's why he liked the Gathering, and Juggalos love him. His last was 2018, there was some issues that year. Honestly, he was kinda boring, as a dope boy rapper. I remember walking back to camp during [his sets in 2016](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az3j4h5aHkw) & [2018](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxUkaeLurSk). That musical switch changed his life, but he was reluctant to do it. [This was Jelly](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn30i8WQKoc) when I became aware of him. [He was doing tracks with Lil Wyte](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYBtuLTsjuk), and[ some with Shooter Jennings nephew Struggle Jennings](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy_1XkVquYQ).

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halfcabheartattack@reddit

I didn't know this but it makes perfect sense.

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suchalittlejoiner@reddit

Maybe you should expand your horizons. This sounds like your limited music appreciation being the issue.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Yes, that’s exactly what it is! It only took until the 345th comment, but I you nailed it. I should expand my horizons to include soulless, mindless bro country.

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suchalittlejoiner@reddit

You should work on music taste as well as your fragile ego.

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Sharpshooter188@reddit

You arent the onky one who laments it. I was listrning to spotify radio for classics like Led Zep. You knoe what came on? Linkin Park......

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KwisatzHaderach38@reddit

Idk the pop country boom started in the 90's. Interesting that there's a lot of great Americana/bluegrass again now but with a bit more punk ethos, think Sierra Ferrell, Billy Strings, etc. But I've never liked pop country and it doesn't really seem any worse than it's always been.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Appreciate these thoughts. I can agree with you. I think my general distaste for pop country started in the 90’s and I selectively blocked out the memory of most of those artists and how big they were.

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KwisatzHaderach38@reddit

Yeah it was just a background irritant for me back then too.

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Financial-Yak-4172@reddit

90's country was incredible. Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Reba McIntire, Brooks and Dunn, Clint Black.

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Electronic-Ride-564@reddit

Nothing slams me back into being an awkward middle-schooler who absolutely did NOT fit in faster than hearing some of those songs. Nothing's News, Neon Moon, I Love the Way You Love Me, Here Comes The Rain, etc. To be fair I liked some of the 80s pop-country even in the 90s, and I've grown to appreciate some of those 90s songs now, but man I was just miserable beyond belief back then and this was the soundtrack. lol

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unicorn-beard@reddit

Ugh it's a love/hate thing for me with 90's country. My parents were all about the 90's country and I fuckin' HATED IT at the time - particularly Garth Brooks, I could probably sing 90% of the songs on "Ropin' the Wind".

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RamboJane@reddit

I thought it was white and gold.

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unicorn-beard@reddit

hahah

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Inestimable_Me@reddit

I hated it as a kid when my mom dragged me to all kinds of Appalachian bluegrass concerts….now I have a nostalgia-tinged love for bluegrass.

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207Menace@reddit

Neon moon had a grip on my soul.

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BiscuitsWithGroovy@reddit

And don’t forget George Strait!

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arcxjo@reddit

I was taking a public speaking class in college and the prof did an impromptu exercise making people get up and talk about who their favorite musician was. This guy Rob started talking about George Strait and the prof goes "Is he the guy that does that 'Don't give me no lines and keep your hands to yourself' song?" Everyone just gave her a bunch of blank stares -- the first time I felt old was 19 in a room of my own peers being the only one who knew the difference between George Strait and the Georgia Satellites.

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prstele01@reddit

Garth took his crown in ‘93.

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blyzo@reddit

Man I really hated it all as a punk rock high schooler but definitely enjoy them more now. I've been on a Dwight Yoakam kick lately myself.

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knivesofsmoothness@reddit

Dwight is the shit.

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Financial-Yak-4172@reddit

Dwight kicks ass.

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Porcupine__Racetrack@reddit

I love 90’s country! I grew up riding horses in high school and if you ride, you listen to country music. Of course I also skateboarded and listened to alternative/ college music too and that’s what I mostly listen to now, but I like everything! EXCEPT- modern “country” which is absolute crap. It doesn’t even sound like country at all!

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Ultimate_Driving@reddit

90's country being shoved down my throat, while growing up in North Dakota, is the reason I absolutely cannot handle being exposed to country music. I refuse to go anywhere where country music is being played. I absolutely cannot handle even a few seconds of country music.

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kinetic_cheese@reddit

If you have SiriusXM, I highly recommend Prime Country. It plays 80s and 90s country. Very nostalgic; I'll often hear songs on there that I haven't heard in 20+ years but somehow remember all the lyrics to.

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MrsSpookyMulder47@reddit

Yes for sure. I got into it in the late 90s and listened to it as my primary music until around 2007.

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cerealfamine1@reddit

This!

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Neither-Mycologist77@reddit

I grew up on country because we were so rural and my parents were so strict that I didn't have many other options. But I don't listen to country radio anymore. It's mostly bro-country that's so slickly manufactured to appeal to the lowest common denominator that I can't even. Something I really miss is hearing female artists on country stations. We had so many female country powerhouses in the 90s. I just checked this week's American Country Countdown top 20 and it looks like only 2.5 of them are by women (the point-five is a male/female duet and the man is the primary artist with the woman "featured").

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

I will say I really enjoy some of the country/folk-adjacent indie female artists like Jessica Lea Mayfield, Maggie Rogers, and Jenny Lewis

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BrattyTwilis@reddit

Lived in the midwest in the 90s, so there no escaping country music or people that liked it

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Background-Action-19@reddit

I grew up in the 90s in a rural area, and country music was massively popular all through the 90s.

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Expensive_Future327@reddit

Was just explaining this to my kid, how bizarre it was that kids from western Michigan seemed to really relate to songs about the Chattahoochee river, umpteen hundred miles away.

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sugarturtle88@reddit

same... and i hated it then and now to the extent that i named my robot vacuum Billy Ray because it sucks

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squish042@reddit

Shania was(is) fucking hot tho!

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Amazing

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SergeStorms42@reddit

What part of the country did you grow up? Rural or City? I like all genres and heard all the 90s country hits, though they aren’t my favorite. If you want to try something newer that isn’t just pop country: Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, Colter Wall

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

I grew up in suburbia. Northeast suburbia, to be more specific. I do often consider location as it relates to my exposure (or lack thereof) to various musical styles. I can get behind the artists you mentioned

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Mrjopek@reddit

Lots of good modern mainstream country if you're open to it. I think Gen Z's genre agnosticism is admirable!

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

That’s a good way to think about it. I often say the same about their clothing style. It’s admirable that they don’t seem to care to “fit in” to a specific style.

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DropPsychological417@reddit

My hot take is modern country isn't any worse than pop music. Yes it's shallow and tends to follow a pattern, but pop music has done the same thing since basically the beginning. There are some fucking bangers that you are missing out on if you write it off completely.

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halfcabheartattack@reddit

that's no hot take, that's the truth.

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halfcabheartattack@reddit

There's been good stuff and bad stuff in every genre since the beginning of time. I agree radio country music has been shit since the 80s but there were a bunch of GREAT country records in the 90s: * Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road * Uncle Tupelo - No Depression * Gillian Welch - Revival The early Wilco records were great. Johnny Cash and Emmylou both put out good records in the 90s as well. Objectively, the *only* genre with no redeeming quality is EDM.

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the_kid1234@reddit

It’s because modern country has replaced what used to be hair bands, alternative rock, homeland rock. Stuff like Bon Jovi, Mellencamp, Tom Petty, Matchbox 20, etc. Non-offensive and easy to listen to. Rock music has moved into an area that’s more experimental and fragmented and less mainstream. I fact I just looked up Matchbox twenty on Apple Music to see what similar artists it would list and Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and Post Malone are listed.

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halfcabheartattack@reddit

I take offense to Tom Petty being included in a list with Bon Jovi and Matchbox20

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

This is exactly what I mean. I’m afraid it will be the grocery store music of 2055. Although by then we probably won’t have grocery stores…

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djsynrgy@reddit

It's kinda cute you think we'll still be able to hear store music over our increasingly crippling tinnitus and hearing loss. 😆

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

*Puts hand behind ear* Sorry, what was that?

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PuppyJakeKhakiCollar@reddit

Country music has always been popular though. It was never my favorite genre but my sister loved it and we shared a room, so I grew to enjoy a good bit of it. Garth Brooks, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Reba McEntyre, etc. To me, country is comfort music. My grandparents listened to it all the time, my dad liked it and bluegrass, so hearing it, even today's country, gives me such a feeling of nostalgia, especially now that both parents and all grandparents are no longer with us. Makes me think of happier times.

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Britt601@reddit

I DESPISE country music!!!

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superfizzlibrarian@reddit

My younger genz kids listen to a variety of music, but it is not extensively country music. And as a GenX I am currently listening to Sam Fender, Sharon Van Etten, Lorde, Florence and the Machine, SZA, Junior Varsity, LCD Soundsystem, Fontaines DC, Amyl and the Sniffers

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Wyldawen@reddit

I've been having a dark noir jazz playlist going lately and honestly it would be awesome if that were played in public so that we could all pretend that we are private detectives "on the case."

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salty_ham@reddit

I’d love it if you would recommend some tracks with that vibe.

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Wyldawen@reddit

Main Theme from LA Noire soundtrack by Andrew Hale (and rest of soundtrack) Bunch of stuff from Taxi Driver soundtrack Underground Investigation by Daniel Diaz The whole discography of Bohren & der club of gore

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EcstaticTraffic7@reddit

Hell yeah Bernard Herrmann

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salty_ham@reddit

Thank you, I’m excited to check these out!

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AngstySamsquatch@reddit

Have you ever checked out Tom Waits album Closing Time? It has an amazing power to make you feel like you are sitting in a dive bar on a rainy afternoon in 1940s San Francisco

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Wyldawen@reddit

No, but you just darned sold it to me.

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IamTroyOfTroy@reddit

I call it shitty twang pop that gets shit out of the Nashville money machine. It's so so soooo bad. Just so bad!

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GenghisConnieChung@reddit

I don’t know if it’s still true today but in the early 2000’s country music outsold all other genres of music **combined** in the US. I’m not a fan, but it’s always been popular.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

This is the realization I’m coming to after seeing such a divide in the comments/likes. I think I just tried to block it out and forgot about its popularity in the 90’s-00’s.

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GenghisConnieChung@reddit

Yeah I’m kinda the same way. I can’t stand new country. There’s some great old stuff but from about the Garth Brooks era onward I fucking hate, and ignored as much as possible. I only know that little fact from a lecture when I was in school.

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IggyDrake64@reddit

as a 'true country' musician myself, I can say what it was supposed to be began to change post WW2. The first lady of country music would be rolling in her grave if she saw what passes as such today. I think its sorta its own 'pop country' thing now.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Appreciate this take

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IggyDrake64@reddit

to add to it, the original country/rural folk musicians had skill on the guitar, autoharp, fiddle and banjo unlike anyone today. often very unique picking styles like the one i learned from the mama of our music, as we called her.

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lost_horizons@reddit

>I even enjoy the 80’s soft rock that plays in the grocery store. It brings me back to riding in the back of my mom’s station wagon, staring out at the rain, guessing which drop of water was going to win the race to the back of the window. My childhood right there. Just had to call out this beautiful bit of nostalgia. And yep my mom loved that stuff and as a small child, so did I.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Appreciate that. I’m guessing you can still remember the landmarks along the regular routes? The grocery store, the dentist, the mall…

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lost_horizons@reddit

It would be interesting to see, actually. I haven’t lived in that area since 2009 so I can’t be sure. But I bet a lot of of it would be, I can still see a lot of the area in my mind’s eye

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platypus_farmer42@reddit

I like 90’s country but I can’t stand modern “bro country”

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chogram@reddit

Kids tend to be subversive and rebellious. They grew up in an era where even the mention of country music on social media was met with, "OMG MY EARS IT'S THE WORST THING EVER OMG HOW DOES ANYONE LISTEN TO THIS GARBAGE!!!" I mean... just look at this thread... So they checked it out, found that it's not so bad, and listen to it themselves. It's like DARE with drugs, but music.

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pug_fugly_moe@reddit

Lifelong metalhead. It always irritated me, and it only got worse in the past 20 years. One of my coworkers just loves it. I have to go to my car for lunch or else I’ll lose it. I tend to blast thrash or tech death during that time.

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SimianFiction@reddit

All modern pop country sounds like this to me: https://youtu.be/Cw5Tr6_RSO4?si=AJE8kSikYWzfozrd

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Ceemurphy@reddit

Thanks for sharing! I hadn't heard that one before. I would've bet it was a link to this. https://youtu.be/YWUQg0bqhVw?si=nPSvMafbkzyKumtm

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SimianFiction@reddit

Oh yeah, Bo's version is far more clever but dummy AI takes it to new absurd levels.

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Far-Slice-3821@reddit

Spotify really enjoys feeding listeners the cheapest music, which is often AI generated blah. Your Gen Z coworkers have tastes built on Spotify. I live a James McMurtry and his ilk. This sums up how I feel about bro country: https://youtu.be/CORANvT8l9A?si=BTuLG-TdBr11UAjI

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YorkiesandSneakers@reddit

I have never been a fan of country. In the 80’s I didn’t like all the whiny androgynous pop music, but nowadays I’m terribly nostalgic for it. But I never have and never will be into twang.

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BlacksmithThink9494@reddit

One of the greatest songs from our generation is Neon Moon by Brooks & Dunn. I listen to everything INCLUDING country music. Plus theres some really great stuff youre missing these days like Sierra Ferrell and Sturgill Simpson. (I do agree though that the country acts you stated are absolutely the worst)

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Practical-Being-1185@reddit

I think that’s it. “Country” as a broad term is some of my favorite music being made today (Sturgill, Childers, Isbell). However, the auto-tune MAGA rap being peddled as “country” (Wallen et al.) I find reviling. I drive my wife nuts with Hank Sr., Merle, Patsy Cline, Possum, Dwight and the aforementioned new heroes. Some Jayhawks for good measure.

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BlacksmithThink9494@reddit

Totally!!

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arcxjo@reddit

Core 90s memory unlocked: I got the Brand New Man tape from BMG record club.

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BlacksmithThink9494@reddit

Bmg was the only way a poor kid like me could get their hands on music back in the day!!

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Upbeat_Tear3549@reddit

Oh yeah. I consider the so-called greatness of 90s country way oversold, but Neon Moon was brilliant.

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BlacksmithThink9494@reddit

This is true. 90s country heavily leaned toward pop music. But im a huge fan of Alison Krauss & union station. Also if op likes rock n roll music they'd love sturgill simpson. He is doing some amazing stuff, covering country to blue grass to blues and rock. Proper jam band stuff.

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CharlieKellyKapowski@reddit

While I can handle listening to Neon Moon, under no circumstances could I willingly sit through listening to Boota Scootin Boogie

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BlacksmithThink9494@reddit

Oof, hard agree

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hernondo@reddit

Did you forget about Garth Brooks in the late 80's/90's? He was insanely popular.

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terententen@reddit

Primarily Indie these days. Never into modern country but lately into Americana like MJ Lenderman (album of the year 2024), Waxahatchee and Wednesday (album of the year 2025). The Beths is probably #2 album of the year. Also loved Djo, Samia, Japanese Breakfast, Ethel Cain, Car Seat Headrest, Wet Leg and Jason Isbell’s offerings this year.

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downtown3641@reddit

2024 was such a fantastic year for Americana/alt-country/yallternative/whatever. Waxahatchee, MJ Lenderman, and Sturgill Simpson were basically a three way tie for album of the year for me. Throw in a killer EP from Wilco and solid releases from Jack White and Bright Eyes.

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terententen@reddit

I’ve become a sucker for pedal steel guitar. Never heard of MJ or Waxahatchee until these latest releases. Actually didn’t listen to them until first thing 2025 but then played them non stop the first few months of the year. Then heard Wednesday and holy heck did that album grow on me. The Snocaps album that came out a few weeks ago was solid too.

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downtown3641@reddit

I've been listening to the Snocaps album a lot recently.

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Checktheusernombre@reddit

I am so pissed I am ganna miss The Beths tour. Dates conflicted. Ugh.

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terententen@reddit

Wish I wasn’t so introverted that I could talk myself into going to any show that isn’t Radiohead. Always put show tickets in the cart and then talk myself out of buying them.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

I’m impressed. Amazing depth here. This is exactly what I was looking for. The Beths don’t disappoint. Appreciate the list.

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terententen@reddit

With all the top 10 lists pouring out the last few days, I had been putting my list together. This was a great year.

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Hot_Frosty0807@reddit

This morning at work, I listened to: PJ Harvey - *To Bring You My Love* Depeche Mode - *Ultra* Nine Inch Nails - *With Teeth* Radiohead - *In Rainbows*

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mountednoble99@reddit

There’s some okay country-ish music today. The radio station I listen to the most plays some Jelly Roll and Taylor Swift. It’s okay. Definitely not on the 90’s power ballads level though!

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PopcornSurgeon@reddit

Achy Breaky Heart was like the most popular song in the county when I was in 8th grade. Shania Twain was huge when I was a teen. I think country was the most popular genre in the country for a bit in the ‘90s, and despite what some people here suggest most of the stuff that crossed my path was not good.

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HermioneMarch@reddit

Mostly the same stuff I listened to in the 90s— alternative/college rock/grunge/ new wave. But some newer bands I like are Lord Huron, Hozier and Billie Eilish

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Elegant-Expert7575@reddit

I love 90’s country and older. Country music today has lost its spirit or the trust is MAGA. Downer.

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Elegant-Expert7575@reddit

I love 90’s country and older. Country music today has lost its spirit or the artists are MAGA.

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dudebro5000@reddit

You totally glazed over grunge and ska/swing revival

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pit_of_despair666@reddit

I have been listening to death metal since the early 90s. 🤘 It has gotten harder as I gotten older to find people with similar music tastes. Also, I have always hated country music since I was a kid.

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BigOldBee@reddit

Death metal crew🤘

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squish042@reddit

User name checks out!

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pit_of_despair666@reddit

I always thought my username would make a good funeral doom band name.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Glazed over only to the extent it was sandwiched in my formative years. I probably listened to grunge 8 hours a day from 92-94. What are a couple of your top death metal bands?

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RuinsAndRoses@reddit

I literally didn’t listen to ANY of the music that you claim “we” as a micro generation collectively did. I did grow up on Country though, and still listen to it now. Not a fan of any of the “artists” that you mentioned, but give me Tyler Childers, Chris Stapleton, and Sturgill Simpson over most other artists any day.

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R0botDreamz@reddit

Really depends on where you grew up. My high school had a bunch if country music fans and probably many more that listened secretly. Shania cossed over way before Taylor Swift did. In fact, I have this theory that Shania could have been the Swift of our era of she had better music marketing people around her. Garth Brooks played 5 nights in my moderately sized non rural somewhat liberal city and sold out all 5 nights. People would brag that they got to go more than once. I did not grow up listening to country music but it was almost inescapable in the 90s. That said, I have a few country songs in my music repository but that is a more involved topic about why people like certain songs that its too much to expound on here.

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redditneedsnewMods@reddit

Agreed. Newer country is absolutely terrible. I’d love to hit jelly roll in the face with a shovel.

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Epicardiectomist@reddit

There's definitely an increase, but pop country has always been there, like the stench from a local rendering plant. My wife is a country girl. We meet in the middle on a bunch of bands, but overall we mutually find each other's main musical focus to be utterly repugnant.

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TK1129@reddit

I don’t care for country music. I grew up in New York City and the suburbs so we weren’t the target audience. It was weird though when there was this country music popularity surge about 15 years ago and there would be people wearing cowboy hats going to a show at MSG or the meadowlands. Dude you’re not a cowboy you grew up on a cul de sac in Bergen County

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

This is exactly my experience. I don’t get it.

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atari2600forever@reddit

Don't fret, the kids are alright. You just happen to work with morons. Remember, shitty people listen to shitty music and country music is the shittiest music there is.

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Fwtbt84@reddit

No that would be most of the popular garbage ass Rap that is played. The shittiest country will always still be better than the utter shit that most popular rap music is that the radio, or people blaring from their cars usually is (I know there is good rap out there, especially older stuff, and probably stuff that doesn't chart)

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gandolfthe@reddit

I hate 80's rock and soft rock have hated it since I was a kid. Now modern country I can listen to and be yeah, I also can't afford shit and just need a drink but my back hurts.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Fair point

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Invisiblechimp@reddit

Robbie Fulks recorded his ode to Nashville entitled "Fuck this Town" back in 1997. The lyrics lament that country hit bottom in the days of Ronnie Milsap. Milsap's heyday was the early 1980s. Nowadays, Milsap would probably be lauded today as classic country. People have always complained that music was better back in their youth. Incidentally, Fulks also has a track entitled "Every Kind of Music but Country."

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

I agree with the music was better in our youth comment being a thing. There is so much good new music, although I suppose a good amount of the new stuff I enjoy has its roots/influence in music I grew up with.

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drewbaccaAWD@reddit

Do you know that the specific country acts you list are the ones popular with your coworkers? Because there is a lot of good country out there, it just doesn't get much radio play. I'm fascinated by the good country, the stuff that clearly shows its roots in Hawaiian music and Western Swing, amongst other things... the stuff that's about more than how much you love America, love drinking beer, and your girlfriend just left you and took the dog too.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

I’m with you. Sadly it’s the Morgan Wallen stuff. I appreciate any music with depth and a story so I can relate to that. Going down a Wikipedia wormhole of music “genealogy” is the best.

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drainbamage1011@reddit

I live in KY, country music has always been inescapable. I'm the guy working in the yard blasting doom metal against whatever vapid bro country the neighbors are playing.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Appreciate you doing your part

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Rob_Bligidy@reddit

Hank Williams III said it best: “Put the ‘o’ back in Cuntry” it’s all lifted trucks bench seats and coors light.

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AmputeeHandModel@reddit

Country music, esp the new stuff makes me wish I was deaf. Lord of the Lost. November's Doom. Paradise Lost. Ash Code. Katatonia.

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Namasiel@reddit

I really like November’s Doom’s latest album. I don’t like Katatonia’s newer stuff as much as the older, but I’m still going to see them with Opeth in February.

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AmputeeHandModel@reddit

Yeah especially Katatonia's latest. Really feels like they're phoning it in. I saw them live like 10 years ago and they were great.

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Combatical@reddit

Found myself drifting to cuban afro-jazz... I dunno YT has taken me to some wild places but this has all I've been listening to for the past year or so. I dont fully understand all the words but I dig the vibes. I just got to the point where I got tired of music lyrics trying to sell me on something. I like some old country like country like old "country western" but the pop country that came up in the 90s and since I've not been a fan of. With the rare exception of Dwight Yokum.

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msheehan418@reddit

I cannot stand new country. They play it all the time at work. I want to puke. I hate “Dirt Cheap” and “watermelon moonshine” the most. Why do I even know the songs Then I got on a test drive and “All apologies” was playing in the car. Swoon. Can we stay on this test drive forever. Even my husband, music snob, Gen X hates “Nirvana”. (I know. I know he brings enough stuff to the table to overlook this one problem) he would rather hear any Nirvana song than any new country song

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_6siXty6_@reddit

I don't mind some newer country music, but there's a weird blend of country.... It went from Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, Charley Pride to Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, etc. Now it's kind of generic or mish mashed with very pop and hip-hop. It's literally Nu-Country.

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SweatyPalmsSunday@reddit

Hahaha!!! OP was pressured into liking country music! I also have always had a strong distaste for what I would call more modern country music where the singers voice is required to have that twang thing. Ugh no thanks.

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WendyPortledge@reddit

Country was big when I was in my 20s. I don’t listen to much now though. I’m huge into world music, math rock, psych rock, prog rock, desert rock, getting back into hip hop with a few new artists.. I’m all over the place.

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TheBeardedBeard@reddit

My two favorite genres are death metal and country music circa 1985-1995

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ProsodyProgressive@reddit

90s country was great. Post-9/11 country SOLD OUT. I like to listen to mixed streaming stations by songs or artists I’m feeling and see where it leads me. My classic favorites are Queen, Heart, Phil Collins, anything hair metal ballad like Def Leppard. So much more!

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Dear-Discussion2841@reddit

As a lifelong (Dixie) Chicks fan, you are 100% correct about the trajectory of country music. Unfortunately I do not think it has ever truly recovered.

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ProsodyProgressive@reddit

The Chicks have been my jam since the beginning. Saw them in concert twice - both times incredible!

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Dear-Discussion2841@reddit

I went to the Gaslighter tour in 2023, and boy do they still have it. I had made a deal with a friend in 2020 that when "this was all over" we would try to go to a Chicks concert and that was a promise I was so happy to keep! 🐥 Glad to meet a fellow fan.

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ProsodyProgressive@reddit

These ladies are truly talented! Playing multiple instruments onstage, singing, picking’ while bantering. Seamless entertainment and progressive legends! Best concerts I’ve ever been to hands down. I hope they NEVER shut up!📢

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BlacksmithThink9494@reddit

Yeah but Faith Hill and Kenny Chesney still slap.

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arcxjo@reddit

One thing you can say about Faith is she doesn't use AutoTune. Cuz a Mississippi Girl ain't got no range / her voice just goes from F to A 🎵 (Also, what she did to Janis took balls.)

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BlacksmithThink9494@reddit

I love her. I am eternally sad she removed herself from making more music. The downvotes i received are from people who clearly do not listen to enough music to even know.

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ericthepilot2000@reddit

I think Bo Burnham explains the issues with country music pretty well https://youtu.be/y7im5LT09a0

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Coca-colonization@reddit

The only part missing in that one is a gratuitous mention of the military. But [“Beautiful Like My Mom (Support the Troops)”](https://youtu.be/pe7PoJumGXA?si=jhP5JAhUBW8PqS0P) hits that note.

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luckystar357@reddit

I just wanted to post in solidarity because country music is terrible and always has been.

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flipzyshitzy@reddit

"Transitioned from hair bands to emo"? You are not a xennial!

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

“Transitioned from Vanilla Ice to Dave Matthews Band”

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Namasiel@reddit

Mostly a lot of progressive, death, doom, and black metal and various sub genres for a long time now. I loathe pop country. I do like some select older stuff but I can’t find anything past the 80s worth a listen. Admittedly I have never searched for any though.

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BSRR2005@reddit

Didn’t we have the BEST music of every genre? My friends and I listened to everything as a teen - hair bands, gangster rap, country, etc. I always loved outlaw country and was introduced to red dirt music as a freshman in college and fell in love with that as well. Whatever “country” my kids are listening to currently is soulless. Except Treaty Oak Revival. We can enjoy them together.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

This is exactly how I feel. I used to dislike gangster rap but now it has this nostalgia that takes me back to the bus ride to away games for basketball.

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jreashville@reddit

The irony here is that growing up in the 90s I thought country was “old people music” lol. That’s how it was in my mind, country was for my grandparents generation, rock was for my parents generation but still cool, and hip hop was for our generation. It’s weird to me that young people are so into country now.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

100%

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LoadedLapidist@reddit

Crowbar

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Thanks for the reminder. So good.

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TheLastBoat@reddit

I don’t get it either. I’m a city kid whose family lives in the Bible Belt. It’s beyond weird for me to see people outside of a rural area listening to Country. They go to the concerts dressed up with their hat and big belt bucket. You’re from New York, bro. Talk about cultural appropriation.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Yes! The amount of cowboy boots and hats worn at country concerts just outside Boston is wild.

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BrontosaurusB@reddit

I’m down for 90s country, bluegrass, Chris Stapleton, and Sturgill Simpson. This week it’s been dark DNB, Romanian dark pop, Amapiano mixes, Dilla instrumentals, and a gabber mix for old times sake.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

I was scrolling before my coffee and saw “dark DMB” and thought Dave might have finally put out something worth listening to.

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TransportationOk657@reddit

I've always hated country music, every iteration of it. I hate the twang, the singing style, the lyrics. Ugh. And I grew up in hicksville surrounded by kids listening to country all the time.

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SignificantApricot69@reddit

If the twang wasn’t already bad enough, the super fake twang really gets me. Whatever this modern country pop stuff is like if you mixed the worst hair metal while rapping very poorly and then adding in unlimited amounts of fake twang along with what has history had the worst and least imaginative lyrics in any genre and somehow made it worse.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

I should have you re-write my original post. You nailed it.

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midlifeShorty@reddit

Same. I sort feel bad about it because I know it is a me thing. As a metal head, I really don't have a broad taste in music... I wish I did. Going to the gym or gym classes is hard when you are annoyed by the music.

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Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit

I found that the country music I do like is soulful. I'm realizing country is like pop, it's a big container with a lot of genres inside. I just found this Chris Stapleton song I like. (I think I'm in love with you). I think it was recommended to me because the dancer had been in a Jungle video.

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greatest_never@reddit

Chris Stapleton is one who I put in Waylon category. A story teller. He brings in so many different styles but still maintains his identity. I'm not a huge country fan other than the 70s outlaw stuff. My main music is Deftones, Type O, Melvins, Gary Numan. Metal and New Wave. Chris Stapleton fits in a lot of my playlists.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Earlier in the thread someone mentioned that we probably won’t be able to hear grocery store music over the tinnitus when we are old. If that happens, I blame the Deftones. So good.

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AbbreviationsBorn276@reddit

I remember listening to the dixie chicks, shania twain and garth brooks on the top 40 charts in the 90s. Also, “Bless the broken road” by rascal flatts is one of my fav songs ever. And i am in singapore!

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207Menace@reddit

I feel like 9/11 was the shift but Ironically I only like country music before that date.

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cherry-care-bear@reddit

I think what some actually hate about country is the hint of 'soul' or rhythm or 'something' it's now flavored with. I also think younger folks gravitate toward it because it still has that 'losers, drunks, Etc. win in the end anyway' vibe. Like where else are average twenty-somthings getting that these days? People still need hope.

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NakedSnakeEyes@reddit

Whiskey, trucks and girls.

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arcxjo@reddit

The Class of '89 are the old fogeys now. Morgan Wallen makes music for guys who know all 50 ages of consent.

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TonyNoPants@reddit

Country music makes me feel bad.

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s-multicellular@reddit

Pop country just really went downhill after 2013. https://youtu.be/WySgNm8qH-I?si=PuW4Q43hwNaQK4_S

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aDuckk@reddit

suddenly I feel like going and spending my whole paycheck on blue jeans truck girl beer dirt

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mrstanksmom@reddit

Hard pass. Respect to GOATS like Dolly, Johnny and Willie. I'm still rolling with the Nu Metal, Emo, Punk, and Grunge that we grew up with. And I'm raising a Gen Z and a Gen Alpha on it. Because it was never a phase

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Inestimable_Me@reddit

I hated it as a kid when my mom dragged me to all kinds of Appalachian bluegrass concerts….now I have a nostalgia-tinged love for bluegrass.

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Kinetic_Silverwolf@reddit

Well, my primary driving playlist is a blend of goth, new wave, EBM, Industrial, German New Hard, and Dark Trance. My two primary work playlists are Charlotte De Witte radio, or Ultra Resistance Cove 2024. My backup work playlist is entitled "Can't You Trance Like Psy Do?", which is full of artists like Astrix, Astral Projection, 1200 Micrograms, Space Buddha, Talamasca, and anything else featuring or inspired by Raja Ram. My two primary playlists for cooking are either "It's Friday I'm in Love" radio or "Blockrocking Beats" radio, depending on whether I want to just sing along or do some dancing as well. And sometimes when I'm walking the dogs I dip into my Seattle Grunge playlist. So I'm all over the place.

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C-C-X-V-I@reddit

You're lucky. I had to listen to that and golden oldies/80's music as a kid. Guess what I hate now lol

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Glass-Marionberry321@reddit

Ew the only country I ever liked was Patsy Cline. The rest is awful to me.

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DearBurt@reddit

“It’s three chords and speaks the truth.”

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remoteworker9@reddit

I despise country and always have but my sister liked it in the 90s.

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sandersbdc@reddit

Billy MF’ing Strings

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Street_Narwhal_3361@reddit

People slept on Lyle Lovett and it’s a goddamned shame.

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ThunderBayOPP@reddit

THANK YOU!!!!! His 90's albums, particularly Joshua Judges Ruth and The Road to Ensenada, are fantastic. He's a killer live act as well.

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jessek@reddit

I can’t stand the pop country music made nowadays. Two albums I really liked from this year were the new ones by Kendrick Lamar and Clipse. About the opposite of pop country.

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affectionateanarchy8@reddit

What'a funny is your post made me realize I never hear the 90s country classics in the grocery store, except for Shania Twain and Faith Hill and they were crossover country That being said it has been a quiet year for me. My algorithm sucked then I left Spotify so it is taking deezer some time to get to know me. Im still adding to my yearly playlist and Ive heard a lot of good rap but nothing memorable as far as new artists

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Appropriate-Food1757@reddit

I can’t stand it

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soopirV@reddit

I love Bob Newhart’s quote- “I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'.”

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Segazorgs@reddit

I don't like country music but also am at an age where I don't feel the need to let everyone know how much I hate it...until Sunday Night Football comes on and the intro music is some countrified bastardization of a classic rock song.

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Do_it_My_Way-79@reddit

IMO what they are listening to is NOT country music. It’s garbage pop hip-hop country. There is no soul in the top 40 country these days. There are great country artists out there who don’t get heard enough & it’s disappointing that mainstream country has kept them in the shadows. Outside of Chris Stapleton there is not a lot of modern mainstream country I like.

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Jenaaaaaay@reddit

I can’t escape this weird version of country music, it’s everywhere! People blast it at my work too and it’s all over normal radio stations, I don’t listen to country music stations. I love Garth Brooks and saw him in concert years ago. Whatever is happening right now is not even close to that.

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Dramatic_Suspect_3@reddit

It’s just so terrible. Basic. Boring. I’ve never been a country fan but I could at least appreciate 90’s country, and enjoyed a few songs.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Thank you, Jenaaaaaay. That’s exactly what I’m feeling.

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MsBlondeViking@reddit

You’re not alone. If it’s not Johnny Cash or Dolly Parton, I dislike country. I liked some popular, always on the radio, country from the 90s, but never been a fan. I prefer pop and hip hop, new and older.

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Acrobatic_Show8919@reddit

Give Sierra Ferrell a listen if you haven't, she sounds close to a modern day Dolly.

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wooltab@reddit

I'm not a country person generally but I came across Ferrell a while back and was very impressed.

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MsBlondeViking@reddit

Thank you! I always appreciate suggestions for new music.

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lostdragon05@reddit

How about I tell you some good country to listen to instead? First up is Jason Isbell, the greatest songwriter of our generation and a hell of a guitar player and singer. Southeastern is his magnum opus imo. Cover Me Up is a song he wrote that was a huge hit for Morgan Wallen, but that song is a very personal one that is autobiographical of Isbell’s struggles with addiction and how his ex wife helped him get sober. Live from Alabama is an exceptional live record and if you don’t listen to it at some point in your life you are cheating yourself. Next, Drive-by Truckers. The first guy used to be part of this band. They are really more country adjacent/Southern Rock, but they are more country than anything on the radio now. Southern Rock Opera is the album before Jason joined and it’s great. After Isbell came on board, they release Decorations Day and The Dirty South. That three album run is as good as any out there. Sturgill Simpson is an incredible artist and his album Metamodern Sounds in Country Music is insanely good. Tyler Childers found Jesus and was a bit weird for a while, but he has some great albums. Purgatory is my favorite. Feathered Indians is the song he is best known for. Hayes Carll is a Texan with a great whimsical sense of humor as well as the ability to make you cry with a sad song. Trouble in Mind is my favorite album. Drunken Poet’s Dream and She Left me for Jesus are my fav songs. Finally, Brent Cobb is a wonderful Southern poet and his album Shine on Rainy Day is one of my absolute favorites. He has a lot of good albums and songs, including a recently released (and quite good) rock album that was a big depart from his previous country records.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Appreciate this. I do like Jason Isbell, and saw Lucero and Ryan Adams many years ago. I should have done a better job distinguishing the sub-genre of pop-country that I have a hard time with. I’ll check out Hayes and Brent. Those are new ones for me.

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Checktheusernombre@reddit

Bent will not disappoint. Try Come Home Soon.

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lostdragon05@reddit

Turnpike Troubadours, Wade Bowen, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Cody Jinks, Lance Roark, and tons of others are still making great country music. One of my favorites passed recently, the great Charlie Robison. His brother Bruce is probably more famous and has written some big hits (Traveling Solider by Dixie Chicks), but I like Charlie better. New Year’s Day is my favorite song of his and his Live at Billy Bob’s album is also very good. And I can’t believe I forgot to mention Ryan Bingham, whose album Mescalito is phenomenal and one I frequently listen to without skipping anything.

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djsynrgy@reddit

When I was 16 I got a sticker for my guitar case that said "Discourage Inbreeding: Bam Country Music." My position has softened since then., though not very much. Hated the '90s pop version, especially; never thought I'd say "bring back nasal twang," but then Shania Twain happened and I suddenly wished for Conway Twitty to come shove her off the stage. 😆 But now I'm wishing Shania would come shove this new crop of tattoo-faced idiots off the stage. 🤷🏼‍♂️

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BalrogRuthenburg11@reddit

I loathe music. Like I have a visceral reaction to hearing it. It’s like nails in a chalkboard, chewing on tinfoil, or teeth biting concrete. There are a few exceptions, but not many and I find the whole country lifestyle to be incredibly off putting.

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PollyDarton_me@reddit

Country music is awful. You are not wrong.

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GreyTigerFox@reddit

I’ve never listened to country because country just hurts the ears.

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Zealousideal_Iron713@reddit

I recently found this lovely gem. It's a radio channel by a Redditer in New Zealand I believe. He plays only 80's & 90's music and a TON of songs not on today's radio play lists. I think I read his comment that he has 2000 songs currently and adding. He also finds niche commercials and TV show sound bytes to add to the "radio feel" of his channel. Here's the link for you 🙂 enjoy https://www.keeplaughingforever.com/radio

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Awesome. Thank you!

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Aethyr42@reddit

Hank 3 addressed this many years ago. Well we're losing all the outlaws that had to stand their ground and they're being replaced by these kids from a manufactured town And they don't have no idea about sorrow and woe 'Cause they're all just too damn busy kissin' ass on Music Row

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Rememberancy@reddit

Imo country music has sucked mostly sucked for the past several decades. I still listen to what I consider classic country Townes Van Zandt is one of my all time favorites. I’ve been listening to some dark wave bands, been digging on vampire weekends new one, and Tom Waits.

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dead_investigator@reddit

I did not like country music until my 20’s. In high school I hated it. But that Garth brooks song “wrapped up in you” was a bop so I went to get the album. I didn’t want the guy at the store to think I liked country music though so I said it was for my uncle. He was like, “Sure, kid.”

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va2wv2va@reddit

There’s no monoculture anymore so everyone’s listening to their own personal soundtrack. I haven’t heard modern country music (unless you’re considering Americana/country-adjacent acts to be modern country) in decades. It just doesn’t exist in public at all where I am and given my personal algorithms.

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Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit

I took the kids to mini golf up around lake Erie. Hours of bro country! At least when we went to Longhorn for those bomb wings they sprinkled in some older stuff that felt way more varied.

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azazel-13@reddit

I fucking despise modern pop country. It's soulless, redundant, without a shred of creativity, no message or introspection.

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guyako@reddit

I f—in love country music… from before, like 1986. Some of the 90s stuff is fine, but most of the new stuff sounds like a sub-genre of pop to me. Too heavily produced with vapid lyrics. (There are exceptions, of course) Give me some old-school Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, etc. That’s the good shit.

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boulevardofdef@reddit

Yeah, I know it's not really rational on my part, but I reflexively dislike country and always have. The weird thing about young people liking it -- and I acknowledge this is a me thing -- is that it just seems so deeply *uncool* to me, and don't young people want cool stuff? But I grew up in the New York suburbs, where the kind of culture promoted by country music doesn't really exist. I don't know how things have changed since I was a kid (I suspect not much), but nobody where I'm from wants a pickup truck, nobody thinks it's cool to wear a cowboy hat, nobody thinks Southern accents are cool. Throughout most of my youth, there was no country-music radio station in New York City, *by far* the biggest media market in America. Occasionally one would start up and it would always fail before long. Can you imagine that? A metropolitan area of 20 million people, and they couldn't find enough country fans to sustain a single radio station. I just looked it up and there still isn't really a country station in New York. One hip-hop station has a country station as a digital-only subchannel. So yeah, I guess I get it but on an emotional level I really don't get it. To answer your last question, my most listened-to artist of 2025 was Billy Joel.

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BigDaddyUKW@reddit

I’m with you. I have always liked Garth, Kenny, and Tim, but modern country is such a homogeneous pile of boring crap. Then again, I don’t like much modern music anyway. I still love my GNR, Metallica, Wu, Nas, Pac and Biggie. Pearl Jam and AIC. Allmans and Dead. I have a very wide range of musical tastes, but I always go back to classic rock and 90’s hip hop.

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S_A_R_K@reddit

I've always hated country music, with the exception of Johnny Cash and *The Vandals Play Really Bad Original Country Tunes*

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EastTXJosh@reddit

Hell I’m from Texas and I think all country this century sucks. I like classic country, liked it even more when I still drank, but country music really died when Garth Brooks became Chris Gaines. There is some Americana, like Jason Isbell, that leans into classic country music tropes that’s fantastic, but the music that is played on country radio is absolute garbage, including all of the crossover artists that are dabbling in country music.

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fireyqueen@reddit

I used to say I like everything except country. Then I lived in Nashville from 2002 to 2011 and it grew on me. It’s just a part of everything there and you kind of grow an appreciation for it. Then a couple years ago I drove with my dad cross country when he moved from Nevada back east. We listened to Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and it was pretty amazing. I don’t like it all. But I also don’t like everything from any one genre but like quite a bit from every genre.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

I appreciate that. That’s the real stuff.

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Verbull710@reddit

This makes me think of those overlay videos where they play a top 40 country song at the same time as a top 40 pop song and they're indistinguishable lol

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Upbeat_Tear3549@reddit

Morgan Wallen and Tyler Hubbard are FM Radio creatures, but they are not country. Jason Aldean is not a good artist, but he is somewhat closer to country music. Myself? I'll be happy to be listening to The Price of Admission (Turnpike), Country Squire (Tyler Childers), and Southeastern (Jason Isbell) when I'm a very old man. I'll probably still be rocking to Honky Tonk Heroes and Shotgun Willie. GTFO with Morgan Wallen and Tyler Hubbard.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

I’m with you. I fully appreciate Jason Isbell. I love Lucero. I threw in the “popular” to try and draw the line without getting into the weeds. But yes, I completely agree.

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MotorPuncher@reddit

Colter Wall is another good choice.

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MarsR0ve4@reddit

Ya'll shit talking Morgan Wallen like *Chain Smokin'* ain't a great song

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justpassingby_thanks@reddit

It's pop or country or both and it's terrible. Good news is that what isn't played on the radio is really good and diverse. Go exploring and find some gen z artists. It's easier than ever to get into random shit, some of it is good, some not so good.

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TiEmEnTi@reddit

Country music has always been the second best kind of music. Right behind music.

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madisonianite@reddit

I have discovered folk punk recently and have been listening to Defiance Ohio, Ramshackle Glory, and Apes of the State. Some years behind, but that’s fine.

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Hippyboots@reddit

Interesting

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Accomplished-Key-408@reddit

Do you live in the south? Few Gen Z listen to country where I live.

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AR5579@reddit (OP)

Boston metro. You guys are giving me hope it isn’t as bad as I thought.

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feickus@reddit

Been listen to Xmas music. Christmas with Weezer is probably my favorite Xmas album.

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Tiny-Reading5982@reddit

Late 80s-up maybe 2013 is my favorite time frame in country. I can't stand this bro country or whatever its called now.

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Topwingwoman2@reddit

As an 80 baby that gets thrust on deep end or early end of generations, I can honestly say I know shit about country music. I've seen super stars depart it, a few that make it mainstream, but it still sounds horrible to me.

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edwardturnerlives@reddit

I havent seen this

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BlackieDad@reddit

There’s a lot of great country music, just not on the radio. I really hate the Morgan Wallen / Jason Aldean kind of country and always have to clarify that’s not what I mean when I saw I love country music.

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BlacksmithThink9494@reddit

Yep, this

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Mexican_Boogieman@reddit

It sells. It’s the white mans blues. 3 chords and the truth. Or well…. It used to be. It’s always been the best selling type of music in the USA. All mainstream music kinda sounds the same nowadays. The music industry has an obvious agenda. Keep in mind that we live in one of the most propagandized nations in the world. And you don’t have really evocative music acts in the mainstream anymore. That type of art is there. It’s just not given a mainstream platform.

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Seven22am@reddit

> walking through the grocery store, stuck listening to the “classics” by Morgan Wallen, Tyler Hubbard, and Jason Aldean. We’ve suffered in this timeline enough.

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Moxie_Stardust@reddit

I just encountered a thrash metal band from the 2010s called Huntress, been digging that.

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mackattacknj83@reddit

I moved to the south for a few years and picked up some country listening habits. Went to see Sturgill Simpson twice this year, great show.

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