Johnny Cash was an outlaw long before anyone in Nashville had started dropping that phrase. A gifted singer and songwriter who followed his own path and wasn't afraid to go against the grain of the country music establishment, Cash was well acquainted with the light and dark sides of human nature, and sang of both with hard-won wisdom. He was celebrated as both an icon and a rebel, and all these aspects of his talent are present on this collection. Playlist: The Very Best of Johnny Cash features 14 songs, ranging from his career-defining early hit "I Walk the Line" to the late-period gem "Rockabilly Blues (Texas 1955)." While Playlist is primarily devoted to tunes familiar to any Johnny Cash fan (such as "Man in Black," "Ring of Fire," "A Boy Named Sue," and "Daddy Sang Bass"), the set also includes some lesser-known tracks, including the offbeat comic number "Bad News," the Celtic-themed "40 Shades of Green," and the romantic "You Wild Colorado." You can't properly summarize a career that spanned six decades with just 14 tunes, and Playlist delivers a somewhat sketchy portrait of a major country artist, but the track listing is thoughtful, presenting a thorough cross-section of his key eras and notable themes, and the audio is very good. Playlist: The Very Best of Johnny Cash isn't all the best of Johnny Cash, but it has enough at a budget price to be a fine value for fans and beginners. ~ Mark Deming