The present invention is directed towards increasing the conductivity of the electrical lead material in the read head portion of a magnetic head, such that thinner electrical leads can be fabricated while the current carrying capacity of the leads is maintained. This increase in electrical lead conductivity is accomplished by fabricating the electrical lead upon an epitaxially matched seed layer, such that the crystalline microstructure of the electrical lead material has fewer grain boundaries, whereby the electrical conductivity of the lead material is increased. In a preferred embodiment, the electrical lead material is comprised of Rh, which has an FCC crystal structure, and the seed layer is comprised of a metal, or metal alloy having a BCC crystal structure with unit cell lattice constant dimensions that satisfy the relationship that abcc is approximately equal to 0.816afcc. In various embodiments, the seed layer is comprised of VMo or VW.