Country

Country music is the sound of America's heartland, with roots in traditional Folk, as well as in the hillbilly sounds of Appalachia. It is characterized mostly by its lyrical content -- heartbreak, loss, cheating, loss, more loss -- and a distinctive twang that you just can't describe, but you know it when you hear it. Country as a broad category encompasses everything from the pure Honky-Tonk of Hank Williams and his kin, to the Bluegrass Folk music of Bill Monroe, to the New Country of superstars Garth Brooks and Shania Twain.