@Kingston Raynes

Outlaws rub shoulders with pop crossover stars.

Country crashed the pop party while keeping a boot in its roots.

The tracks you can’t get enough of lately, all in one place. Updated as you listen.

The songs you love. The more you use Apple Music, the better the mix. Refreshed every Tuesday.

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Country music in the ‘70s was like a winding trail through the wilderness, with many overlapping paths—on one hand, it was the heyday of the outlaw movement, with rough-hewn rebels like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson delivering raw, gritty lone-wolf sagas. On the other, the lush countrypolitan sound reached its zenith with country-pop crossover artists like Charlie Rich and Crystal Gayle ruling the charts. Of course, there was room for plenty of other sounds between those two extremes, be it Dolly Parton's bluegrass-speckled progressive country or Don Williams' gentle traditionalism.

Country music busted out into a multitude of directions in the ’80s, developing a higher profile than ever before in the process. Hitmaking crossover queens The Judds and K.T. Oslin were edging further into pop turf, while rough-hewn mavericks like Steve Earle laid the groundwork for the rockin’ sound of alt-country, and back-to-basics New Traditionalists such as Randy Travis and George Strait brought about a return to the music’s roots. Rising stars Alabama and Eddie Rabbitt were breaking through to the pop mainstream and putting new faces on the Nashville scene with hook-heavy good-time grooves. At the same time, the ’80s saw such legends as George Jones, Dolly Parton, and Willie Nelson flexing their musical muscles and finding new ways for their sound to fit into the ever-evolving country continuum. And the entrance of Lionel Richie and Julio Iglesias onto the country charts underlined the scene’s constant state of redefinition.

Whether it’s a weekday morning or Saturday night, get going with this personalized set of upbeat music. Refreshed every Monday.