I went to high school with Nathalie Maines (the lead "Chick.") She was always a heck of a singer. Her pedigree is nothing to sneeze at (in country circles anyway). Her daddy, Lloyd is a steel guitar legend of sorts and has worked with many of the "good" country acts mentioned in this thread.

Anyway, today's "country" music has given one of the most important genres of American music a bad name. True country music is still alive and well in places where commercialism can't corrupt it. There's lots of good stuff in Texas, and in some places you'd never suspect. Heck, here's a guy from Chicago singing about the Nashville scene. He's definitely a yankee, but his style is pretty true to tradition.

Robbie Fulks - F*** This Town

Here's another one that makes me tap my toes and chuckle:

I Told Her Lies

Heck, even Ween (one of my faves) gets in on the action sometimes:

Piss up a Rope

Anyway, it's not just about how old it is. Even though I'm sure many of you will think this stuff sucks, too, I can say that I think there are good examples of every genre; yes, even rap, out there.