Coal Miner's Daughter (1971)

Loretta Lynn's singing had none of the smoothing cream of Nashville's studio establishment. Her voice was sharp, cutting and unapologetically Appalachian, built on rapid ornamentation and unyielding dynamic force. This 1971 album remains the purest distillation of her genius. The title track established a new autobiographical standard in country music, describing rural Kentucky poverty without romanticising squalor or seeking pity. Backed by Owen Bradley's tasteful production and twanging guitars, Lynn's piercing tone and conversational delivery turned working-class domestic reality into towering, defiant art.