www.myspace.com/granddrive1
www.myspace.com/philliouswilliams

I do hate all this "anti-folk" and "alt-country/americana" shite though. And I'm guilty myself, but it seems to just be used to cover up the fact you are listening to country or folk.

IT'S OK TO!

go for old crow medicine show! well, they're more like alt-bluegrass from memphis but i adore them. :)

i recommend wagon wheel & new virginia creeper.

Is great. The best Will Oldham record since I See A Darkness (yeah, I know it's not really him).

Also the Ola Podrida album which sounds like pre-world music Iron and Wine. Well worth a listen.

Or are they just rock? I'd recommend the Will Johnson solo albums and that boxset Magnolia Electric Co. released last year.

.

Drive by truckers are ace though.
Grant Lee Phillips [nee Buffalo] is also doing good stuff still.
Crooked Fingers have also grown on me alot lately.
http://www.crookedfingers.com/flash/index.htm

Willard Grant Conspiracy, Richmond Fontaine and Jim White always do great stuff

From a little further back Palace Brothers, Uncle Tupelo

And the real masters of the universe, Flying Burrito Brothers, Guy Clarke, Townes Van Zandt

and americana begins but would check out

'Bob Harris Presents... Americana' compilation or the Americana compilation on Spit and Polish (Teenage Fanclub's label). Many, many gems.

are alt country, i reckon. i put on an alt country dj night a while back (it was strange, but drunk people love bluegrass it turns out...). acts we spinned included-

jim white (AMAZING)
tom waits
bruce springsteen
band of horses
dan sartain
16 horsepower

and...of course

johnny cash

basically, alt country really isnt a specific genre, but all those artists have a country/americana influence while doing something contemporary and interesting with it.

Wilco
The Cardinals
Okkervil River
Horse Feathers
Bright Eyes (quite whiney)
Indigo Moss
Iron & Wine
Josh Ritter

surely Wilco are 'alt country'?

Whatever they are, they're rather amazing.

my morning jacket
some of lift to experiences material
songs:ohio
some of halifax piers material
okkeril river

i always include post-rocky stuff in the genre. because i can.

Especially their new album 'Cotton Teeth', they're amazing.

is great at this, check out and the gospel of progress. Ace, ace, ace.

but worth repeating, Josh Ritter and Midlake.

Seriously.
You must investigate, amazing.
David Berman being possibly my favourite lyricist/poet of all time too.
http://www.myspace.com/silverjews

Uncle Tupelo
Flying Burrito Brothers
(though already mentioned.)

New album out 3rd of March and tour in April. They're brilliant! Even if I AM biased. :)

www.myspace.com/thelowlows
www.thelowlows.net

or Silver Joos if you prefer. Starlite Walker is one of the best records ever made. Seriously.

Wilco - YHF, obv. Others also already listed above. Talk to fullerov, this is his area of expertise.

You know, it's the other way 'round, right?! Country music sucks. It does. "Alt-country" translates into, "It might be good."

uncle tupelo
meat puppets
drive by truckers
wilco
flatlanders

does anyone agree??

they're good

more country in their earlier records, but good all the way through, like a stick of rock (with 'good' written on it).

For the suggestions everyone - I'll check out the ones I've not heard of.

I'm going to start a country mp3 blog - lagrangenz.blogspot.com, hopefully with recordings of a radio show I've just started on FleetFm. Mainly the older late 60/ early 70s hippiebilly / cosmic american stuff, but with some newer country tunes too.

Cheers!

UNDERRATED.

most have been mentioned before, but to reiterate:

Magnolia Electric Co.
Whiskeytown/Ryan Adams/The Cardinals
Wilco
Josh Ritter
My Morning Jacket

newer artists I'm getting into are Doug Burr and Stephen Simmons - both american singer/songwriters with absolutely incredible voices. you can get some of their stuff for free on songsillinois.net i think (at least, that's where I found 'em).

the last thing i'd describe alt country as is "whiney indie schmindee"...there is some truly fabulous stuff out there :D

all the way! Brilliant band. Great live.

The singer Willy Vlautin's novels are worth a read too.

So I will. Or is it just that she's not a band?

To be honest, actually, it might be that she's not really alt-country. At least, I wouldn't say so. But she gets called it more often than not, at least on these tags - http://www.last.fm/music/Neko+Case
So maybe you will like.
Or maybe you already do...

when an alt-country thread appears and nobody else mentions Papa M's Whatever Mortal album. It's ruddy marvellous.