For people who are tired of "country music" that's little more than pop with a Southern twang, this collection of gems should be kept close at hand. The Carter Family recorded country music back before there was a widely accepted name for it, and when you hear their songs, you hear the land they came from, its history, and its sorrows. You also hear this Virginia trio's extraordinary talent. When you listen to classic songs like "Wildwood Flower" or "My Clinch Mountain Home" or "The Cannonball," you know immediately that this is country music you are hearing, and nothing but.

David Lasky