Country Women

Patsy, Dolly, Tammy, Loretta . . . their first names alone are enough to let you to know we're talkin' some legendary ladies. These are the women whose best-loved tunes — "Crazy," "Jolene," "Stand By Your Man," "Coal Miner's Daughter" — aren't just signature songs, they're tried-and-true cornerstones of country music itself. Welcome to our Country Women Basics, a sonic treasure trove of everything from Bobbie Gentry's backwoods stunner of a story-song "Ode to Billie Joe," to Shania Twain's new-school shout out "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!," to "Before He Cheats," a nice, ripe slice of revenge from the newest Nashville goddess, Carrie Underwood.

More great Country Women sing out in Next Steps.

Country women do it their way, as Tanya Tucker brings some bad-girl sass to the tale of a faded rose on "Delta Dawn," and Emmylou Harris offers up a high-times hit of bluegrass moonshine on "Bluebird Wine." Alt-country icon Lucinda Williams keeps hangin' on for a rollicking "Can't Let Go," as crossover superstar Faith Hill goes for the slow and stead rush on "Breathe." And while Reba McEntire & Linda Davis ask the big romantic question on "Does He Love You," it's all about the big, beautiful vocal when Trisha Yearwood belts out "Powerful Thing."

Two playlists just aren't enough — hit Deep Cuts for more Country Women.

The past and the present meet in Deep Cuts, where a 1940 recording of "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes," from country trailblazers the Carter Family, shares the stage with Gretchen Wilson, a modern-day redneck woman who's "Here for the Party." Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard team up for traditional bluegrass on "Hello Stranger," while Carrie Underwood sings a country-pop prayer on "Jesus, Take the Wheel." Rosanne Cash pays tribute to father Johnny on "Tennessee Flat Top Box," and Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt join voices for a harmony-soaked cover of the girl-group standard "To Know Him Is To Love Him."

They're the gals who put their hearts first, pledging their love in song, then moaning low when it all goes south. They hold down the home and hold court in the honky-tonk; they're tough yet tender, strong yet oh-so-sensitive. They're Country Women and they make for one jam-packed playlist featuring everything from Jeannie C. Riley's story-song sensation "Harper Valley P.T.A." to the Judds' family-style ballad "Love Can Build a Bridge," to the wide-open sounds of Sugarland's "Want To." With one easy download, you've got hits like Lynn Anderson's record-setting smash "Rose Garden," along with contenders such as Shelby Lynne's "Dream Some," that deserve another listen. Maybe "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," like the legendary Kitty Wells sings, but no matter where they come from, our Country Women Essentials is nothing short of divine.