Johnny Cash was a musical legend, and his career spanned half a century.
However, this means that if you're new to the Man in Black, his enormous discography can be a little bit daunting.
To make your introduction to this legend among legends a little bit easier, check out what many consider to be some of the best Johnny Cash albums: 3.
At Folsom Prison Although At Folsom Prison wasn't Cash's first prison performance, it was the first to be recorded, and as a result it has become the original and perhaps most iconic of Cash's live records.
From the start his presence comes across, with his simple yet unforgettable introduction, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash", setting the tone for what is a simple, focused, yet captivating performance.
When Cash launches into 'Folsom Prison Blues', the atmosphere is just electric.
One can only imagine what it must have been like to see that song performed in front of that audience.
2.
American IV: The Man Comes Around Although another one of the American recordings would follow posthumously, it was American IV that would for many be seen as Cash's epitaph.
The album's title track exudes portent and prophecy, and his final take on 'The Streets of Laredo' (a song he had recorded several times before) is haunting and beautiful.
Yet it's when Cash steps beyond what would be considered his usual territory that his strengths as performer really shine through.
'Personal Jesus' sounds utterly new and timeless in his hands, and he brings a wisdom and frailty to 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' that is remarkable.
And with 'I Hung my Head', Cash gives a performance which completely reignites Sting's piece - it sounds like it was written for him.
But nowhere is Rick Rubin's superb choice of material more apparent than on the lead single, 'Hurt'.
This haunting track of guilt, waste, and despair was justifiably a huge success, and the accompanying video became an instant classic.
Its emotional power only increased when Cash died on the eve of the album winning an MTV award for Best Video.
An astonishing record, and one of the greatest Johnny Cash albums.
1.
American Recordings And yet, as good as American IV is, the original American Recordings somehow outshines it.
On paper the later record features a much stronger song-book, from the Beatles through to Simon & Garfunkel and Sting.
Yet the real core of Rick Rubin's take on Johnny Cash is his determination to strip down Cash's performances to their bare-bones, and somehow the lean, thin sound of songs like 'Delia's Gone' and 'The Beast in Me' lend themselves to this sound better than American IV's hit-parade.
Where that record is rich, sad, but somehow optimistic, American Recordings is bleak and honest, but in the most beautiful way possible.
There really is no finer Johnny Cash album.
However, this means that if you're new to the Man in Black, his enormous discography can be a little bit daunting.
To make your introduction to this legend among legends a little bit easier, check out what many consider to be some of the best Johnny Cash albums: 3.
At Folsom Prison Although At Folsom Prison wasn't Cash's first prison performance, it was the first to be recorded, and as a result it has become the original and perhaps most iconic of Cash's live records.
From the start his presence comes across, with his simple yet unforgettable introduction, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash", setting the tone for what is a simple, focused, yet captivating performance.
When Cash launches into 'Folsom Prison Blues', the atmosphere is just electric.
One can only imagine what it must have been like to see that song performed in front of that audience.
2.
American IV: The Man Comes Around Although another one of the American recordings would follow posthumously, it was American IV that would for many be seen as Cash's epitaph.
The album's title track exudes portent and prophecy, and his final take on 'The Streets of Laredo' (a song he had recorded several times before) is haunting and beautiful.
Yet it's when Cash steps beyond what would be considered his usual territory that his strengths as performer really shine through.
'Personal Jesus' sounds utterly new and timeless in his hands, and he brings a wisdom and frailty to 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' that is remarkable.
And with 'I Hung my Head', Cash gives a performance which completely reignites Sting's piece - it sounds like it was written for him.
But nowhere is Rick Rubin's superb choice of material more apparent than on the lead single, 'Hurt'.
This haunting track of guilt, waste, and despair was justifiably a huge success, and the accompanying video became an instant classic.
Its emotional power only increased when Cash died on the eve of the album winning an MTV award for Best Video.
An astonishing record, and one of the greatest Johnny Cash albums.
1.
American Recordings And yet, as good as American IV is, the original American Recordings somehow outshines it.
On paper the later record features a much stronger song-book, from the Beatles through to Simon & Garfunkel and Sting.
Yet the real core of Rick Rubin's take on Johnny Cash is his determination to strip down Cash's performances to their bare-bones, and somehow the lean, thin sound of songs like 'Delia's Gone' and 'The Beast in Me' lend themselves to this sound better than American IV's hit-parade.
Where that record is rich, sad, but somehow optimistic, American Recordings is bleak and honest, but in the most beautiful way possible.
There really is no finer Johnny Cash album.