Country Music...

One of the goals I made for this year of 2011 was: to try my darn hardest to like country music. At least, to SOME extent! So, for this month of January, I've been listening to a lot of country artists, trying to find the ones that I actually really, truly like.

I first started off on Taylor Swift, as I had already tried her in the past and I knew she was FULL country...more pop-country, so I figured she'd be an easy transition from goin "no-country" to "full-country".
I can't say I'm impressed with T.S...I found her music to irritate me, and her voice to be slightly grating. She doesn't seem to have much depth to her music, and the majority of her songs have a similar sound, as well as a similar message. She's either rejoicing in her new-found love, breakin her heart over her lost love, or pining over the guy who SHOULD be with her. Love and crushes are NOT the only thing a teenage gal goes through! I think she needs to branch out more. Of her songs, there were two that didn't annoy me as much as the others. Those being: "The Best Day" & "Never Grow Up"...both being the two non-romantic ones. ;)

After I had gotten a full taste of T.S. (yes, I tried all three of her albums...), I switched over to Carrie Underwood. I hadn't listened to much of Carrie Underwood, other than listening to one of her albums start-to-finish, once. I grabbed two of her albums and loaded them onto my ipod, ready to give her a fair chance with no prior opinion locked. I found her to be one step above T.S. in my opinion...which, I suppose, is making SOME progress. ;)
I did find that she tended to grate on my nerves after a while, so she had to be taken in small doses. Again, her voice annoyed me slightly, and I found many of her songs to irk me as well. Is heartbreak and love all that country gal singers sing about?
Yet, I managed to like a few more of her songs: "Inside Your Heaven", "Temporary Home", and "Change".
Moving on from C.U., I got my hands on one of Lady Antebellum's albums. Ah! Here's where I "struck gold"! I have fallen in love with Lady Antebellum, their sound, and their music. Occasionally, yes, one or two of their songs I won't care for, but for the majority of the one album I tried, I enjoyed it. My favorites being: "Love's Lookin Good on You", "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", & "One Day You Will". I am looking forward to trying their other albums.

After Lady Antebellum, I went to "Love & Theft", a band I already knew and loved. Try em...they have more a blue-grassy sound than a true, deep country sound. But they are good. My favorites by them being: "Dancing in Circles", "Runaway", & "Me Without You".


I have now, since, moved on to Rascal Flatts. I've gotten one of his albums, and just started to listen to it today. My overall thoughts, so far, are that I actually like him! His voice is...interesting. So far, my favorites by him include: "Where You Are" & "The Day Before You".

And what is up next? Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, and Miranda Lambert.
Any suggestions for a country-music newbie? Who do you love? Recommend away, peeps! And, no, there is no way you will get me to listen to Miley Cyrus or Billy Ray Cyrus...so don't even go there.