Sometimes it's hard to connect the dots between Hank Williams and Keith Urban. It's a mystery how a genre could include both singers, but the transition from hillbilly to pop star didn't happen overnight. Country music has long been transitioning into what you now hear on the radio.

 

Basically, this is a list of country albums that paved fresh roads, be them good or bad, for the genre. Most of the originators are excluded (Hank Williams, The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers) based on the fact that they were making country music before "the album" was a marketed format and they were the inventors of the hillbilly sound that country has never truly returned to since. Here they are in chronological order, the albums that took country from Hank to Keith:

 

11. Patsy Cline - Showcase with the Jordanaires

 

 

Because: This album included Cline's hit "I Fall to Pieces," which was one of the first hits to feature the Nashville Sound. In addition, the album includes "Crazy," and it would eventually turn Cline into a household name. It was released right around the time Cline was involved in a car accident that nearly claimed her life. If there's one thing country is good for, it's  real-life drama ... used to be anyway.

 

 

10. Billy Joe Shaver - Old Five and Dimers Like Me

 

 

Because: It is a forerunner in Outlaw Country, notably heralded by Jerry Jeff Walker and Waylon Jennings. The songs here established Shaver as an important songwriter covered by many. Even Johnny Cash recorded Shaver's songs well into his career.

 

9. Dolly Parton - Jolene

 

 

Because: It was Parton's solo debut. Although she was long established as a country music star, she had been hardly more than Porter Wagoner's sidekick. This album established Dolly as a premier songwriter and performer. If you want more about that you'll have to call me, because I could talk for hours about how important Dolly is as both country music singer and cultural icon. The album also contains the mega-hit "I Will Always Love You," which later became a mega-hit again when Whitney Houston butchered covered it.

 

 

8. Dwight Yoakam - Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.

 

 

Because: It was one of the first albums to recall the Bakersfield Sound and is the debut album of a country music genius. Not only was it the first in a series of three consecutive No. 1 Album debuts for Yoakam, but it was also a critical smash. Bonus points because it introduced Pete Anderson's custom tele-twang to the fold.

 

 

7. Garth Brooks - Garth Brooks

 

 

Because: "Garth Brooks did for country music what pantyhose did for finger-f---ing." - Waylon Jennings

 

 

6. Brooks & Dunn - Brand New Man and Billy Ray Cyrus - Some Gave All

 



 

Because: "The music has gotten pretty bad, I think. It's all that damn line dancing." - Chet Atkins

 

 

5. Johnny Cash - American Recordings

 

 

Because: It re-established the legacy of Johnny Cash. Not only had Cash helped to define the original sound of country music back in the ‘50s, now he was making a return that rivaled anything he'd ever done. With the genius of producer Rick Rubin in tow, Cash went on a nearly 10-year run of classic-after-classic work.

 

4. Shania Twain - The Woman in Me

 

 

Because: The album was certified 12 times platinum for shipments of over 12 million albums in the U.S., according to wiki. Those are Britney Spears-style numbers and this album, as much as any other, helped to establish the commercial importance of country music. Shania paved the way for every female that followed in the pop country vein.

 

 

3. Dixie Chicks - Wide Open Spaces

 

 

Because: The album was Natalie Maines' debut with the group although it was actually the Chicks' fourth record. It established the Dixie Chicks as a major force in country music, having sold 12 million copies of the album and spawning at least five hit singles. Also, Maines would eventually become a sort of anti-hero for country music, despite being one of its biggest success stories initially.

 

 

2. Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose

 

 

Because: The album featured production from The White Stripes' Jack White, which was (and is) an entirely unorthodox decision for a popular country music singer. In addition, it was one of Lynn's most successful outings as it was both a critical and commercial hit.

 

 

1. Vince Gill - These Days

 

Because: Maybe enough time hasn't gone by to call this a classic but I'll stand behind any four-disc 43 song album you give me. If not a complete and total success on its own, it proves a point similar to Van Lear Rose and American Recordings, that country music has had an adventurous past decade, despite the best efforts of shtick-country made by artists like Big & Rich and Toby Keith.