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In Search of a New Top Five Site

© Steven Lind

Last month we took a fresh look at one of my Top Five sites, CountryCool.Com. This month, we'll take a new look at one of the other recommended Country & Western links, CountryWeekly.Com. The reason: one of the better Country music magazines, Music City News, has ceased publication. The relation to this month's article: Music City News was also one of my Top Five sites and I was looking for a replacement. Let's see if CountryWeekly.Com is worth the top prize.

CountryWeekly.Com

CountryWeekly.Com is the online version of the weekly publication of the same root name. When this site first appeared, there was very little overlap between the web site and the magazine. One of the highlights was a selection of audio and video clips that changed on a weekly basis. For one reason or another (and I suspect it had to do with cost of licensing fees), this has gone by the wayside. In fact the only audio you'll find is a brief announcement by Country Weekly's current "web host."

So what's left? The site now closely parallels the magazine. For a given issue you'll find several of the Top Stories available. You'll also find some extra stories not found on printed page. In the Regulars section, you find several of the weekly topics. The robust "Tour Schedules" is here. It's presented on several web pages so you can't scan the list from start to finish. The navigation from state to state may be fine if you're only interested in one state, but I prefer to see the whole listing. The "Star Stats" feature provides you with the latest biographical information on 48 of today's hottest acts. Hopefully the list will expand as new stars are presented in future issues. The "Country History" feature presents a segmented essay on the history of Country Music (what else). They are segmented into the decades starting with the 1920's and going through the 1990's (are they really history?). While brief, they present a fine perspective on this genre that fans should read and appreciate. Doing the "Country Crossword" is interactive and fun. Working your way through the clues is easy and any mistakes will be flagged when you're finished. And there is a search capability to access past articles from the "Story Archives."

Among the fluff capabilities of this site is the ability to sign up for a CountryWeekly e-mail id or sign up for a dating service. You can subscribe to Country Weekly magazine online. You can link to either the National Enquirer or Star Magazine, infamous tabloids that are sister publications of Country Weekly. You can expect the site and the magazine to report on the popular, new country performers.