From Virginia DeRosa: Sweetheart of the Rodeo was my introduction to country music as a kid, and it continues to be one of my most treasured albums of all time. It wasn’t until much later in life I realized it was a compilation of American music, and not just that one Byrds album that stood out from the rest. The omnipresence of Gram Parsons and stellar pedal steel mixed with the classic McGuinn/Hillman dynamic is what really sets it apart. Its juxtaposed folky depths and lightness make it one of the most important records in music history, as well as my own.