20 Country Albums Every Rock Fan Should Listen To

It's always a bit of a mystery as to where to put the Eagles in the grand scheme of rock bands. With all of the more ass-hole behavior from Don Henley notwithstanding, the actual execution of every one of the group's albums have fit somewhere between every style of American music, from the bluesy guitar playing to the soul-influenced singing to the folksy acoustic ballads. However, the first real attempt at taking these guys seriously came with their second release.

Though there was a bit of country in their debut, Desperado was a loose concept record centered around the idea of the rockstar as the modern day outlaw. From one track to the next, each song feels like it could be written by a lonesome troubadour, whether it be the title track's wayward traveler or the origins behind his upbringing on Certain Kind of Fool.

Even though this album has some genuine great tracks, the label was downright appalled at first glance, thinking that their first big-name act had made a cowboy record under everybody's noses. Outside of a few rough edges though, Desperado is one of the few rock albums that has one foot in both camps, where bluesy guitars blend with petal steels with no problem at all. Despite their commercial peak coming with Hotel California, this was the Eagles first foray into becoming the old time songwriters they always admired.