A rebel with a taste for booze, bad drugs and run-ins with the law: Nine Steve Earle albums you should listen to and one to avoid

Louder recommends nine Steve Earle albums spanning his country-rock breakthrough, post-rehab comeback and later politically charged work.

– Guitar Town (1986): his literate, blue-collar country debut. – Exit O (1987): a rougher, band-led follow-up with The Dukes. – Copperhead Road (1988): a rockier, genre-blending breakthrough. – Shut Up And Die Like An Aviator (1991): a ragged live record. – I Feel Alright (1996): a personal and forceful comeback album. – El Corazon (1997): political, personal and stylistically varied. – The Mountain (1999): bluegrass recorded with Del McCoury’s band. – Jerusalem (2002): a provocative post-9/11 political record. – The Revolution Starts Now (2004): a pointed state-of-the-nation album.