 Unfortunately , the stylistic shift away from psychedelia towards country rock that Sweetheart of the Rodeo represented served to alienate much of the Byrds ' counterculture following , while at the same time , eliciting hostility from the ultra @-@ conservative Nashville country music establishment . As a result , the album peaked at number 77 on the U.S. charts and was the least commercially successful Byrds ' album to date upon its initial release . Today , however , it is considered a seminal and highly influential album , serving as a blueprint for the entire 1970s country rock movement , the outlaw country scene , and the alternative country genre of the 1990s and early 21st century . 
