I'm not crazy about the old "drinkin', dyin', cryin' " country music that was the norm pre-1980.
I got into Country/Western, the same way I got in to Heavy rock as a teen. It was what was on where my friends hung out. Eventually, I started to like it.
I like Toby Keith all right. But, what impresses me most, is that he can be "politically incorrect" and not be ostracized by the "Nashville Machine".