The 10 most underrated musicians in country music

October 18, 2023

There are a lot of country artists so famous, even people who can’t stand the music know who they are. These include such obvious folk as Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and dozens of others.

Unfortunately, there have been country musicians out there who are arguably just as good as the more famous ones, and the fact that they don’t receive similar acclaim is tragic. We’re going to get down to listing ten of them before we start crying in our beer over this terrible state of affairs.

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1. Billy Joe Shaver

Active from 1973 right up to his 2020 passing, Billy Joe Shaver was a stranger to the charts but was beloved by his cult audience and other country musicians. The musicians included Kris Kristofferson, who produced Shaver’s debut album “Old Five And Dimers Like Me” and Waylon Jennings, whose 1973 album “Honky Tonk Heroes” featured ten songs, nine of which were either written or co-written by Shaver.

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2. Lucinda Williams

Lucinda Williams has been active since the 1970s but started to reach a broader audience in the late 1990s. She’s a popular concert draw and a gifted songwriter, but despite racking up three Grammy awards, she’s still a bit of a “boutique” artist who seems unlikely to pack stadiums anytime soon. On the plus side, if you see her perform, the crowd will likely be there for the music and not to start brawls.

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3. Townes Van Zandt

Townes Van Zandt is the greatest songwriter who ever lived, but don’t take our word for it. Steve Earle, who is no slouch himself when it comes to songwriting, famously said, “Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world, and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that.” That may all be a matter of opinion, but if you listen to any of the albums he made in the 1970s, you may be inclined to agree.

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4. Guy Clark

Guy Clark was a brilliant singer and songwriter who hung around with Steve Earle, Townes Van Zandt, and other Texas musicians who should have been better known. His songs were covered by such artists as Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, and Johnny Cash, to name just a few, and he never made a bad record in his life.

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5. John Prine

Unlike many people on this list, John Prine didn’t come from Texas, hailing from Illinois instead. He’s been cited by a wide range of artists as a brilliant talent, with everyone from Bob Dylan to Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters hailing the man’s genius. Sadly, he beat cancer twice only to succumb to COVID-19 in 2020.

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6. Patty Loveless

Patty Loveless has been working steadily since the 1980s and she’s racked up some impressive stats on Billboard’s country and bluegrass charts, even getting onto the Hot 100 a couple of times. Despite that track record and her instantly addictive singing voice, she remains underrated and has yet to reach Shania Twain levels of fame.

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7. Steve Earle

Slowing down only for a couple of years to go to prison, Steve Earle has been one of the most prolific artists in country music since the 1980s. He’s credited with being a second-wave outlaw, coming as he did after the Waylon and Willie first wave, and he’s written popular songs for other artists, some of whom are on this list.

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8. Junior Brown

With a baritone voice and his very own guit-steel contraption (it’s a regular guitar and steel guitar in one very large and unwieldy instrument), there’s no one quite like Junior Brown. His songs are fantastic but it’s his live playing on which he truly excels, and if he comes through your town, you should endeavor mightily to see him perform since no one on earth sounds like him.

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9. Buddy Miller

Buddy Miller has played on many other artists’ albums and written songs for them, but he’s a great artist in his own right, with a raw sound and a deep twang in his voice that lets you know this guy is for real. In addition to his solo work, he’s also made some excellent albums with his wife of 42 years, Julie Miller.

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10. Marty Stuart

Marty Stuart may be best known for his very large hair that’s right out of “Designing Women,” but he’s a virtuoso musician who’s been on the road since he was ten years old, touring with legends like Lester Flatt and Johnny Cash. He also achieved the dream of countless music fans who grew up in the 1960s by marrying Connie Smith.

This article was produced and syndicated by MediaFeed.

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