Audiophile grade country

Two Men with the Blues on vinyl is one of the better sounding records that I own. Emmylou's Wrecking Ball as well as Willie Nelson's Teatro are two of my favorite country-like cds of all time. The songs are outstanding. I have used both in demos because the sound is extraordinary on both thanks to Daniel Lanois.
Incidentally, Teatro prominently features EmmyLou on numerous duets.

From "Wrecking Ball" forward, Emmylou has some nice recordings, though after the follow up, "Red Dirt Girl," I've not been grabbed by the music. I prefer the "new age" Emmylou recording the older recordings I've heard, including the well-regarded re-issue of "Luxury Liner."

I'll definitely checkout "Songbird," which I don't know.

Lucinda Williams cares about sound, and has some good recordings: see especially the "delux edition" of "Car Wheels" (musically, the album is a masterpiece, IMO).

John

Ricky Skaggs-Live in London(CD). This was recorded and mixed using the 3M 32 track digital recorder. Most importantly it gets the tonality and timbre right, producing a relaxed and liquid sound. Even if the bass and treble are not SOTA there still well above average. My source is a Northstar Sapphire which takes joy in finding any flaw in a recording. Believe me this is a very clean recording.