help with Western (cowboy) books
 

i love watching western movies and recently i figured id give some western books a try. I have no idea what authors are considered good in the genre or any particular books i should read. I realize their are probably not a lot of people into them, but If anyone on here reads Westerns help me with some recomendations. thanks. :)

Zane Grey is a famous "Western" author. I inherited the entire collection of his books and the few I've gone through were extremely good. His "Riders of the Purple Sage" was made into a tv movie on one of the cable channels and was really good.

Louis L'Amour, I guess.

Yup, Louis is one of my favorite Western authors. :)
He wrote over a hundred books before he passed.

There's also an "adult western" series by Tabor Evans that I like.
He writes about the adventures and loves of Deputy US Marshall Custis Long, aka- "Longarm".
This guy's a badass.

Then there's the authors Robert J. Randisi, Ralph W. Cotton, the great Larry McMurtry, the superb Elmore Leonard, and a new one for me, Tobias Cole.

I have read most of his westerns. The Sackett series is some of his best work IMO.

Larry McMurty. wrote an epic series around 'Lonesome Dove'. I recommend it.

I would agree strongly with Louis Lamour.

I've made it through a couple Zane Grey novels, and he is the daddy of the western novel, but I don't like his work personally. Some of it could be great, he has lots of titles (As does Lamour), but the few I read I didn't like. Contrived, but not really since I probably think it's contrived because his work planted the western cliches. There was even a long-running tv show called the "Zane Grey Theatre".

thanks for the suggestions! i'll be checking them out. :)