20 Essential Albums Every Country Music Fan Should Own

17. The Byrds - Sweetheart Of The Rodeo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJKRA1ZIeiM Key Tracks: Pretty Boy Floyd, You Ain't Goin' Nowhere, Hikory Wind Cross-pollination of country and rock is very common these days, with a large percentage of contemporary county releases readily falling into the country rock or alt-country categories. In 1968, when The Byrds released Sweetheart of the Rodeo, it was anything but. That lead to a hostile reception from Nashville, who weren't fond of the 'hippies' playing their kind of music and even lead to the band being booed mercilessly during a Grande Ole Opry performance. Time was been much kinder to the album and today it is considered an essential example of the genre. It was a radical departure from the group's normal sound, but you wouldn't tell by listening to it. They do country as good as anyone and this album, which was way ahead of its time, proves it.