Back to the country.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

The term "classic country" is not an oxymoron anymore. Fans are buying traditional country records again _ discs with fiddles, banjos and acoustic instruments. You might even hear it on the radio.

Here are some recommended current CDs:

_Dixie Chicks, Home (Wide Open/Columbia) 4 stars. Mining pure bluegrass and homespun traditional country, this is music that sounds like it was made on _ and made for _ the front porch. If the Chicks can keep to these standards for a few more albums they could wind up with a legacy not unlike that of the Eagles _ one of the all-time most beloved American crossover groups. With "Home," one of the year's best albums, the Chicks are on the path.

_Alan Jackson, "Drive" (Arista Nashville) 3-{ stars. Country's leading traditionalist struck a chord with "Drive" thanks to a brace of top-shelf songs, but especially its affecting 9/11 single, "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)." "Drive" is a safe bet to win Album of the Year at the upcoming CMA Awards on CBS Nov. 6.

_Mark Knopfler, "The Ragpicker's Dream" (Warner Bros.) 3-{ stars. Best known as the founding frontman for Dire Straits, Knopfler has always exhibited a fondness for rural country as on his 1990 side-project, the Notting Hillbillies, and his subsequent "Neck & Neck" album with the late Chet Atkins. It's that side that figures prominently on his decidedly old-fashioned and mostly acoustic third solo CD. "Quality Shoe" is a finger-snapping homage to "King of the Road" Roger Miller; "Daddy's Gone to Knoxville" is convincing Western swing and "Fare Thee Well Northumberland" and "Marbletown" could have fit on the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack.

_Patty Loveless, "Bluegrass & White Snow: A Mountain Christmas" (Jahaza Records/Columbia) 3 stars. Loveless, who has one of the richest voices in country music, once again returns to her bluegrass roots. Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris harmonize but Loveless is Santa's favorite helper. In stores Oct. 29.

_Nickel Creek, "This Side" (Sugar Hill) 3 stars. The telegenic "newgrass" trio's second CD represents a quantum leap forward in production, musicianship and ambition. Though echoes of the ...