The ranking of the 30 best country-rock records of all time, according to Ultimate Classic Rock

Magazine Ultimate Classic Rock devotes an in-depth feature to country-rock, publishing a ranking of what it considers the 30 essential albums in the genre's history. "It didn't take rock'n'roll long to return to one of its fundamental roots," UCR notes in its introduction, "A little more than a decade after its birth, when in the mid-1950s blues, country, jazz and rhythm & blues had merged to create a new musical language, rock began moving decisively back toward country. Pinpointing a true point of origin for country rock is impossible. Even before the genre was defined, in the late Sixties, artists like Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, the Beatles and the Byrds had already begun blending country and rock elements. But it was when the Byrds and Bob Dylan decided to move away from the paths that had made them famous that more and more musicians began looking beyond rock, drawing on the American tradition as a source of inspiration. Like every musical genre, country rock has taken on very different forms. At its core, though, the same ingredients remain: electric guitars and pedal steel, arrangements alternating acoustic and electric, and songs devoted to freedom, travel, love and heartbreak. Despite evolving over the decades - the magazine goes on to note - country rock has remained remarkably true to itself. There's a direct line connecting the Flying Burrito Brothers to the Jayhawks and the Drive-By Truckers, thanks to shared musical and narrative themes. The best country rock albums rank among the absolute masterpieces of American music. Records by The Band, Byrds, Eagles, Grateful Dead and Neil Young have managed to preserve tradition while opening it up to new perspectives at the same time."

Here, then, are the 30 best country-rock albums of all time, according to Ultimate Classic Rock (full feature here).

30. Neil Young & Crazy Horse – “Rust Never Sleeps” (1979)
29. Ry Cooder – “Into The Purple Valley” (1972)
28. The Jayhawks – “Hollywood Town Hall” (1992)
27. Blue Rodeo – “Five Days In July” (1993)
26. The Marshall Tucker Band – “Searchin’ For A Rainbow” (1975)
25. Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen – “Live From Deep In The Heart Of Texas” (1973)
24. Hank Williams Jr. – “Hank Williams Jr. & Friends” (1975)
23. Eagles – “Eagles” (1972)
22. Linda Ronstadt – “Heart Like A Wheel” (1974)
21. Michael Nesmith – “Magnetic South” (1970)
20. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – “Raising Sand” (2007)
19. The Flying Burrito Brothers – “Burrito Deluxe” (1970)
18. J.J. Cale – “Naturally” (1971)
17. Wilco – “Being There” (1996)
16. Uncle Tupelo – “No Depression” (1990)
15. Drive-By Truckers – “Decoration Day” (2003)
14. Gram Parsons – “GP” (1973)
13. Robert Plant – “Band Of Joy” (2010)
12. Emmylou Harris – “Elite Hotel” (1975)
11. Grateful Dead – “Workingman’s Dead” (1970)
10. The Flying Burrito Brothers – “The Gilded Palace Of Sin” (1969)
9. Gram Parsons – “Grievous Angel” (1974)
8. Neil Young – “After The Gold Rush” (1970)
7. Buffalo Springfield – “Buffalo Springfield” (1966)
6. Grateful Dead – “American Beauty” (1970)
5. Eagles – “Desperado” (1973)
4. Bob Dylan – “Nashville Skyline” (1969)
3. Neil Young – “Harvest” (1972)
2. The Byrds – “Sweetheart Of The Rodeo” (1969)
1. The Band – “The Band” (1969)

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