The 1960s bluegrass revival pushed the music out of country radio and into college folk clubs, festival fields, and coffeehouses. A second generation of pickers — The Osborne Brothers, Jim and Jesse McReynolds, The Dillards, The Country Gentlemen, Jimmy Martin’s band with Paul Williams — built on what Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, and the Stanley Brothers had started. They also borrowed freely from outside the tradition, cutting Bob Dylan songs and Merle Haggard songs alongside originals like “Rocky Top” and “Dooley.” This is where bluegrass got its college audience and a lot of its modern repertoire.

These 25 songs are jam standards now. If you’re learning the music, work through them in any order — they’ll show up at any jam worth its salt. Each song’s page on Picker’s Guide has chord charts, lyrics, recordings to listen to, and the song’s history.