The Heyday of Alternative Country
One of my favorite genres back in my earlier days was the Alternative Country movement that was followed most closely by No Depression magazine. Ironically the magazine came to be after the band for which it was named, Uncle Tupelo, had already come and gone. Whether described as Alt-Country, Cowpunk, Roots Rock, or these days Americana, the genre ran a pretty wide gamut of artists and approaches and resulted in a lot of great music. From bands to songwriters to country cross-over artists, there were plenty that jumped on board. My musical backyard at the time was Central and South Texas, so my own exposure was highly correlated to that area and results in a few of the more obscure names below. The peak period for this music ran from the early 80s to early 2000s, so that is the focus here. Not necessarily all artists on the list produced their best work at that time, but I tried to stay true to the era. Let me know what I missed or what other regional favorites I might not have heard of. Click an album below to read a review
