The Most Popular Country Songs

Tim McGraw - Live Like You Were Dying

‘Live Like You Were Dying’ became an immediate success for Tim McGraw when it was released as the lead single of his 2004 project of the same name.

While written by Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman, the song holds a special place in the artist’s repertoire, having been released just months after his father, star baseball pitcher Tug McGraw, passed away in January 2004.

The song struck a chord with everyone else, charting in the country, pop and adult contemporary genres, as well as peaking at No. 29 on Billboard’s Hot 100. The song also went on to clean house during awards season that year, earning the star a number of Single and Song of the Year distinctions along with Best Male Country Vocal Performance at the 2004 Grammys.

- Alli Patton

Brett Young - In Case You Didn't Know

‘In Case You Didn't Know’ was one of country music’s first introductions to Brett Young. The California native released the dreamy number in 2017 as the second single off of his self-titled debut, the song marking quite the start of a career for the now-well-loved country-pop star.

Co-written by Young, Trent Tomlinson, Tyler Reeve, and Kyle Schlienger, the knee-weakening ballad soared to the top of the charts, reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country ranking and peaking at No. 19 on the Hot 100 mainstream chart.

While its less than a decade old, the tune, featuring Young’s slackened croon, a heartfelt message and the effortless songcraft of a country hit, is sure to endure for decades more.

- Alli Patton

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama

There are very few songs that can truly electrify a crowd with their opening notes the way 'Sweet Home Alabama' can. As instantly recognisable in Lynryd Skynyrd’s native Florida (none of the band were actually from Alabama) as it is on dancefloors across the world, the song is a southern rock standard whose controversial origins couldn’t eclipse its enduring popularity.

Back in 1974, the group had taken umbrage with Neil Young’s songs 'Alabama' and 'Southern Man', which they felt painted an unfair picture of the Southern United States, particularly in its responsibility for slavery. The song takes a direct swipe at Young, with lines like “I hope Neil Young will remember a Southern Man don’t need him around anyhow”.

Whilst Young later admitted that he deserved the jibe, it’s not the only controversy in the song’s lyricism, most notably in what seems to be a defence of segregationist Birmingham Governor George Wallace.

Writer Ronnie Van Zant claimed that the ‘boo, boo, boo’ that followed the reference to ‘the governor’ was indicative that the band did not support him, but for a band whose symbol was the confederate flag, it’s been a consistently questioned stance.

It made no dent on the song’s popularity, with it often regarded today as a simple and sincere celebration of southern life.

- Holly Smith

Tammy Wynette - Stand By Your Man

Tammy Wynette co-wrote ‘Stand By Your Man’ with legendary songwriter and producer Billy Sherrill. Sherill, who not only championed the shape of Wynette’s career, also impacted the trajectories of other dynamos like George Jones and Charlie Rich.

Released in late 1968, despite Wynette’s supposed lack of confidence in it, the song became an absolute smash, not only elevating her career to a global stage but earning her a second Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance.

Wynette would often joke that she and Sherrill spent only minutes writing the hit, but a lifetime defending the meaning behind it, given the evolution of gender stereotypes. A deeper listen, even today, to Wynette’s remarkable performance showcases her innate ability to demonstrate the pain of fully loving someone while gripping to a strong sense of self.

A track that still provokes thought and conversation all these years later, 'Stand By Your Man' would eventually be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2010.

- Soda Canter

The Chicks - Cowboy Take Me Away

With over 30 million albums sold and 22 of their songs hitting the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, it was inevitable that The Chicks would find their way onto our list of the Most Popular Country Songs.

Taken from their fifth studio album, Fly, released in 1999, the soaring country anthem was written by the band's fiddle player Martie McGuire and songwriter Marcus Hummon, becoming their fourth No.1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart in the process.

Deriving the song's title from a famous slogan used in adverts for Calgon bath and beauty products, the heartfelt mid-tempo ballad had all the ingredients needed to be a country hit.

Having recently been covered by Carly Pearce, Kelsea Ballerini and indie supergroup boygenius among others, the song has reached a whole new generation of country fans and become more popular than ever.

- Jof Owen

Brooks & Dunn - Boot Scootin' Boogie

“Yeah, heel toe, docie doe, come on, baby, let's go, boot scootin’...”

Brooks & Dunn’s 1991 debut album featured a litany of now-classic country songs. The title track, ‘Brand New Man’, the now-standard ‘Neon Moon’, the beloved ‘My Next Broken Heart’, they all appeared on what could be considered a near perfect first album. Among the hits to grace that collection, though, was their rollicking opus, ‘Boot Scootin' Boogie’, - the song which may just trump them all.

Originally the B-Side to the aforementioned 'My Next Broken Heart', the song was the duo’s first taste of crossover success, the song netting the duo their fourth No.1 on the Billboard Hot Country charts before moving into the mainstream, where it peaked at No. 50 on the Billboard Hot 100. Today, the tune remains an absolute gem, the song consistently in the Top 5 when considering the act’s most enduring hits.

‘Boot Scootin' Boogie’ is quintessential Brooks & Dunn, an infectious honky tonk epic about gettin’ down, goin’ to town, and well… boot scootin’.

- Alli Patton

Little Big Town - Girl Crush

Written by the Love Junkies songwriting team of Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey and Liz Rose, it felt like 'Girl Crush' took over the whole of country music when it was released on Little Big Town's Pain Killer album in 2014.

Everyone from Reba and Dustin Lynch to Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert was seen sporting the 'Girl Crush' trucker cap that winter, and even Harry Styles got in on the action, recording a version for his Harry Styles At The BBC show. It was no surprise when 'Girl Crush' picked up two Grammy awards the following year and Song of the Year and Single of the Year awards at the CMA awards respectively.

With its sapphic undertones, the song - one that describes a woman jealously wishing she could take the place of an ex-lover's new girlfriend - caused a minor stir at country radio. At the time, some stations reported to have pulled 'Girl Crush' from their playlists, in response to concerns from listeners who objected to the LGBTQI+ message of the song.

"That's just shocking to me," Karen Fairchild of the band said in response. "The close-mindedness of that, when that's just not what the song was about… But what if it were? It's just a greater issue of listening to a song for what it is."

It was the second most played song on country music the year it came out and, with over a quarter of a million streams on Spotify, it seems it's as popular as ever ten years later.

- Jof Owen

Alan Jackson - Chattahoochee

The third single from Alan Jackson's third album in 1992, A Lot about Livin' (and a Little 'bout Love), 'Chattahoochee,' is a coming-of-age '90s country classic that never gets old. The song perfectly captures that carefree feeling of messing about down on the riverbank with your friends, feeling like you've got your whole lives ahead of you and falling in and out of love for the first time.

In the up-tempo '90s country rocker, AJ has his heart set on parking up and making out with his girlfriend on a Friday night, but she's not feeling quite so amorous as he cuddles up to her in his Chevrolet. Always the gentleman, AJ simply takes her for "a burger and a grape snow cone" before dropping her off home early and heading back to the riverbank to throw stones at cans with his mates.

"Jim McBride and I were trying to write an up-tempo song, [Jim] came in with the line 'way down yonder on the Chattahoochee'. It kind of went from there," Alan Jackson writes about the song in the liner notes for his 1995 The Greatest Hits album. "It's a song about having fun, growing up, and coming of age in a small town - which really applies to anyone across the country, not just by the Chattahoochee. We never thought it would be as big as it's become."

It won the CMA awards for Single of the Year and Song of the Year in 1993 and, if the number of memes about it are anything to go by, it seems to get more popular with every year that passes.

- Jof Owen

Reba McEntire - Fancy

‘Fancy’ was written and recorded in 1969 by groundbreaking songwriter Bobbie Gentry, for her sixth studio album of the same name.

Like much of her catalog, the song received immediate acclaim and success across the pop and country charts. But, it would be Reba McEntire’s reinterpretation of the hit in 1990, accompanied by an epic cinematic video, that would launch the song into the stratosphere and alter the course of McEntire’s career forever.

Peaking on the Billboard US Hot Country Songs chart for McEntire at No.8 and going 2x Platinum, the gripping narrative of an impoverished young woman sacrificing it all to achieve financial independence has continued to connect to the masses decade after decade because of it’s singular tale of resilience.

A triumphant underdog story told in such an accessible way that any listener, regardless of background or experience, can see themselves in Fancy. A prime example of the power of boundaryless storytelling and another crowning achievement of Gentry’s impact on country music.

- Soda Canter

Zach Bryan - Something in the Orange

When 'Something In The Orange' was released in 2022, Zach Bryan was already on a meteoric rise to country music superstardom. Released ahead of his first major label album, American Heartbreak, the track earned him his first Grammy nomination, legitimised the buzz around him by giving him his first No.1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart, and marked an important step on his path to stadium headliner, a feat he achieved in 2024.

Like much of Zach Bryan’s discography, things aren’t looking good on 'Something In The Orange' , as our narrator faces the realisation that, against his wishes, his relationship is coming to an end. Characteristically poetic, the titular orange that he’s gazing into veers in its origin from sunset, to sunrise, to artificial lights.

Whichever way he looks at it, and however much he tries to convince himself otherwise, it’s clear the relationship is doomed. It’s a powerful pen that can take as overdone a symbology as sunrise and sunsets and turn it into something that sounds simultaneously fresh and mysterious. With its apocalyptic sounding guitar, accompanied by Bryan’s raw and emotive vocal, it’s an instant classic.

- Holly Smith

Patsy Cline - Crazy

The folklore surrounding 'Crazy' and its enduring impact today has made the song a country music standard.

At the time, 'Crazy' was deemed too clever. Written by Willie Nelson at a time when he couldn't understand why his songs weren't being cut, it was offered to many of the most prominent artists of the time, but many were unwilling to take the chance on the song due to Nelson using more than the three chords that the genre relied on so much.

Reportedly, after much convincing, Patsy Cline took a chance on it. It paid off; she would take the song to No.2 on the Billboard US Hot Country Songs while also making it a crossover mainstream hit by climbing into the Top 10 of the Hot 100.

Cline's version of the song is a tender and emotionally excavating performance that strikes right to the heart of any generation of hopeless romantics, while the steady, bluesy backbeat that embraces a jazzier, non-melodic atmosphere that ensures Cline's vocal is front and centre, stealing everyone's hearts.

What's most baffling about 'Crazy' is why it took such lengths to persuade anyone to record it. It's absolute gold, and the blueprint for country breaking through to the mainstream.

- Ross Jones

Post Malone - I Had Some Help (feat. Morgan Wallen)

It was easy to feel a little overwhelmed by just how lengthy the star-studded guest-list was for Post Malone’s debut country album, F-1Trillion.

But amidst the dizzying array of collaborations and plethora of hits-in-waiting, one single rose up as the obvious choice to launch Post's meticulously planned rollout. ‘I Had Some Help’ found Post Malone joining forces with modern country’s biggest star, Morgan Wallen, for an infectious, uptempo smash that finds the duo doing what they do best - singing about heartbreak.

It nimbly toes the line between pop and country, with Post’s trademark vibrato and Wallen’s charismatic drawl injecting an extra jolt of verve into the hook’s addictive melody.

Propelled by this blockbuster coupling, ‘I Had Some Help’ spent six weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and was crowned Billboard’s 2024 Song of the Summer, dispelling any doubts about Post Malone’s hitmaking abilities following a quiet few years.

- Maxim Mower

Glen Campbell - Rhinestone Cowboy

The punch of piano chords, the swell of strings, Campbell's bright, nonchalant drawl - those alone were enough to make 'Rhinestone Cowboy' an instant, memorable classic.

Even with Campbell's lyricism embracing quite a meta, cynical take on finding fame for the time, you can't help but be buoyed by 'Rhinestone Cowboy's hopeful, rose-tinted imagery of achieving your dreams and all that time being knocked down being worth it in the end.

Written by Larry Weiss in 1974, 'Rhinestone Cowboy' was an immediate hit with listeners around the world upon its release by Campbell the following year. Peaking at No.1 on both the US Billboard Hot Country Chart and Hot 100, the song has remained one of the legend's biggest and most enduring songs, garnering over 125m streams on Spotify alone.

A crossover pop and country classic, 'Rhinestone Cowboy' remains a standard, over 50 years after its release.

- Ross Jones

Thomas Rhett - Die a Happy Man

While his contemporaries were singing about chugging beers and bikini-clad women, in 2015 Thomas Rhett kickstarted the shift from party-loving Bro-Country to Boyfriend-Country with his sweet, endearing ballad, ‘Die a Happy Man’.

It spent six weeks atop the Billboard Country Airplay Chart, and not only inspired the thematic territory for a new generation of country artists, but also consolidated Rhett’s MO - singing adoringly about his wife, Lauren.

It’s stripped-back, heartfelt, sincere and unabashedly twee, with the Georgia native crooning about all the landmarks and milestones he’d happily never get to see, as long as he’s with his wife.

Written by Thomas Rhett alongside Sean Douglas and Joe Spargur and inspired by Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’, ‘Die a Happy Man’ secured a plethora of awards shortly after its release, with Rhett taking home the gongs for ACM Single Record of the Year, ACM Song of the Year, CMA Song of the Year and BBMA Top Song of the Year, as well as receiving a prestigious Grammy nod for Best Country Song.

- Maxim Mower

Kenny Rogers - The Gambler

You won't find many songs that embody the character and traits of country music better than Kenny Rogers' version of the 'The Gambler'.

Written by Don Schlitz in 1976 and released by Rogers two years later, Kenny would take the beloved song to No.1 on the Billboard US Hot Country Charts as well as the dizzying heights of No.16 on the all-genre Hot 100. Today, it's enduring legacy cements itself as the years go by, with the song amassing nearly half a billion streams on Spotify alone.

The way that Kenny delivers that first line, "On a warm summer's evening", from within the deepest, darkest vestiges of his register leaves you in a completely false sense of insecurity, as the rest of the song develops into one of the most hardened yet damn fun to singalong-to storytelling songs in the whole genre.

'The Gambler' sums up the genre's uncanny ability to take a rich, evocative story and mine it into songwriting gold.

- Ross Jones

Dasha - Austin (Boots Stop Workin')

'Austin' is like the little song that could... And it just. Keeps. Going.

Released in November of 2023, this sassy two-stepper came out quietly, sitting idly by until all hell broke loose in February of 2024, when the song went absolutely viral on TikTok and beyond. Today, it has spawned more than 10 billion views on the social media platform, it's own line dance and Dasha's stepping stone for country music stardom.

The intoxicating song, which was included on the California native's debut country record, What Happens Now?, has been certified Platinum by the RIAA and all but shot the young artist into the stratosphere with it's catchy chorus, revealing prose and fiery mettle.

Nearing a billion streams on Spotify alone, 'Austin' was undoubtedly one of the biggest and most defining country songs of 2024, peaking at No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 8 on U.S. Country Airplay, No. 3 on Hot Country Songs and finding its way to the top of the UK Radio Country Airplay chart, too.

- Lydia Farthing

George Jones - He Stopped Loving Her Today

A true classic of country music, 'He Stopped Loving Her Today' remains a prime example of the genre’s elegant, simple storytelling that manages to pack in a whole lifetime of love, heartache and even a narrative rug pull in little over three minutes.

Co-written by prolific songwriters Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman, the latter of whom who also wrote 'Green, Green Grass of Home,' the song tells the story of a man who harbours an unending and unrequited love that, by the song’s title, seems destined to dull with time and give our subject the freedom to move forward unburdened. In the end, the listener is left reeling, as they realise that the love has only died because its harbourer has too.

Jones himself disliked the song upon hearing it, calling it "morbid," but was convinced to record it by revered Producer Billy Sherrill in what was to become a career-reviving move. Delivered with a vocal as sincere as its delicate acoustic guitar and wailing harmonica, floating atop orchestral swells, it’s solid proof that the truest of songs need no grand flourishes to become classics.

- Holly Smith

Billy Ray Cyrus - Achy Breaky Heart

'Achy Breaky Heart' was one of the quintessential country songs of the '90s.

Performed by our favorite country-star-turned-Disney-dad-turned Looney-Tune, Billy Ray Cyrus, the song was written in 1990 by Don Bon Tress and originally recorded by the Marcy Brothers. However, it was Cyrus' version that would become the standard, as well as his career-defining, debut single.

Much like Dasha's 'Austin' did in 2024, 'Achy Breaky Heart' led to an explosive surge in popularity of line dancing back in 1992 upon its release, eventually finding its way to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, as well as No. 4 on the Hot 100.

While it may in fact be the only single most fans know by Cyrus up until his more recent success as part of the blockbuster 'Old Town Road' collaboration alongside Lil Nas X, it's also an enduring one.

- Lydia Farthing

Willie Nelson - Always On My Mind

Recorded by over 300 artists, the ballad written by Johnny Christopher, Wayne Carson and Mark James would find substantial crossover success with beloved interpretations recorded by the likes of Brenda Lee, Elvis Presley, Pet Shop Boys and Willie Nelson, to name a few.

From Lee’s sweet take, to Presley’s theatrics, to Nelson’s longing heart, it’s easy to see why the song resonated with these artists within the first few moments of the tender opening, “Maybe I didn’t love you / Quite as often as I could have / Maybe I didn’t treat you / Quite as good as I should have.”

‘Always On My Mind’ is a rare feat by any songwriter. It exemplifies such universal feelings for both the orator and the listener simultaneously. The timeless classic has provided tender words for those who have wronged and comforting remarks for those who have been wronged. A gorgeous testament to the power of forgiveness.

- Soda Canter

The Mavericks - Dance the Night Away

The secret to the enduring appeal of The Mavericks' 1998 crossover country hit, 'Dance the Night Away,' can probably found in the music video.

Set in a typical grocery store, the band evade the store security guard as the song induces frenzied dancing among the aisles from the shelf stacking staff and shoppers alike. This is the kind of song that brightens up even the dullest of days and transports you from the mundanity of the everyday to a sun-drenched Miami beach.

Written by the band's lead vocalist, Raul Malo, it was included on their fifth studio album, Trampoline, but it was the video's heavy rotation on VH1 at the time that helped the song to success in Europe - reaching number four in the UK charts and into the Top 10 in Ireland in April 1998. The song's escapist feel playing particularly well with Europe's more inclement weather at that time of year.

If 'Man! I Feel Like a Woman!' doesn't get you onto the dancefloor, then the blasting Latin horns and hip-greasing, honky tonk rhythms of 'Dance the Night Away' will make sure you're cutting some serious rug before the night's end.

- Jof Owen

Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves - I Remember Everything

'I Remember Everything' is Zach Bryan's most significant cultural achievement to date.

Upon the release of his 2023 self-titled album, Bryan shot up the charts with a number of the songs from the record. Of them all, it was his gravelly, mournful duet with country-turned-pop star Kacey Musgraves that hit No.1 on the Hot 100 upon debut, breaking several chart records in the process.

So what about 'I Remember Everything' made it so popular? Sure, it was released at a time when Bryan was arguably at his most viral and commercially accessible, the anticipation for new music having been built from increasingly regular gold-standard songwriting and bigger and bigger tours for the Oklahoman. But, it also distinctly captures what so many love about Bryan's songs in the first place, a song filled with regret and conflict that allows a glimmer of hope to dangle in front of the listener like it is the answer to all of life's most daunting, unanswerable questions.

Suppose it doesn't get any bigger than this for Bryan. In that case, he can be safe knowing he achieved something remarkable with 'I Remember Everything'.

- Ross Jones

John Denver - Take Me Home, Country Roads

One of the most enduringly popular songs of all time, 'Take Me Home Country Roads' may be forever connected with West Virginia, but its infinite beauty is in its ability to transport the listener to wherever their own country road leads to.

Featured on Denver’s 1971 album Poems, Prayers & Promises, lines such as “the radio reminds me of my home far away, driving down the road I get a feeling that I should have been home yesterday" induce a sense of deep nostalgia and longing, buoyed by its delicate finger picked guitar and folk stylings.

Though the song was originally intended for Johnny Cash by writers Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, they played the unfinished song for Denver one night, who immediately insisted on having it for himself, helping the pair to finish writing the lyrics.

Denver may not strictly be a country artist, and there’s some contention about whether the song is about West Virginia or western Virginia, but there’s no doubting his indelible impact on the genre. 'Take Me Home' went on to become Denver’s signature hit, bringing it in at number 29 on our list.

- Holly Smith

Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers - Islands in the Stream

The first single from Kenny Rogers 1983 album Eyes That See in the Dark was a meteoric hit that was powerful enough to dethrone Bonnie Tyler’s classic ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ from the No.1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

Guided by the midas touch of Barry Gibbs, the Bee Gees frontman created a playful, flirty lyric matched by an infectious melody that has had listeners attempting to match that magic at karaoke bars every night around the world since.

Though try as they may, the song would simply not have had the impact it did if not for the vocal prowess of Rogers and Dolly Parton. The two megastars showed their abilities to not only embed their technical skills but their likable personalities into each and every word sung. A charming duet that remains impossible to resist.

- Soda Canter

Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire

With its now irreplaceable mariachi brass and locomotive rhythm, 'Ring of Fire' was one of the biggest songs of Cash's career and is not only a suitable introduction to The Man In Black, but the entire mythology that surrounds him.

Reportedly written by the love of his life, June Carter Cash, and Merle Kilgore, Cash would take 'Ring of Fire' to No.1 on the Billboard Hot Country Charts for seven weeks, with the song also reaching the top 20 of the Hot 100.

A song that many argue has a variety of meanings and connotations, on face value it's an observation on love, how it can both burn you and give you the light you need to power on through.

Whatever it's meaning, it's influence on music and popular culture cannot be discredited - with numerous covers of the song surfacing since.

- Ross Jones

Lady A - Need You Now

Even with the success Lady A were experiencing following the release of their No.1 debut album, no one could've expected the impact the trio would have upon the release of 'Need You Now'.

A five-week country No.1 that would eventually go 9x Platinum and win two Grammy awards, with 'Need You Now', Lady A took the 2010s and essentially made it their own, cementing themselves not only as a successful country group, but mainstream mainstays in both the US and across the globe.

It's hard to argue with the song's success either - a tender and evocative number that captures that moment when its late at night and you make that call you know you'll regret the next morning, it introduced those not already in awe to the stop-dead-in-your-tracks duet potential of Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley.

It could either be the most passionate booty call we've ever heard or a sorrowful, grief-ridden observation on being alone. Either way, it hits hard.

- Ross Jones

Kane Brown - Heaven

By the time Kane Brown released ‘Heaven’ in 2017, the Tennessee native had garnered a fair amount of acclaim from his 2016 self-titled debut, several of its songs gracing many of the main country charts. Then came along the album’s deluxe edition, a re-release that featured the hit in question.

Written by Shy Carter, Matt McGinn, and Lindsay Rimes, ‘Heaven’ became one of Brown’s early smash hits, one of what would be many. The hooky ballad about basking in an angelic kind of love steadily became a crossover success, dominating the country charts and entering the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 15.

Four albums and nearly a decade later, ‘Heaven’ remains one of Brown’s most popular songs, the slow tempo opus having earned hundreds of millions of plays, with many more still to come.

- Alli Patton

Hank Williams Jr. - All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight

You couldn't have a most popular country songs list without including the man himself: Hank Williams Jr.

This 1984 hit was likely always going to be a smash, but it got a few pushes in the right direction along the way, including becoming the theme song for the NFL's primetime Monday Night Football for an impressive run from 1989 to 2010 and then from 2017-2019. While the song was slightly reworked to 'All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night,' it only added to the onslaught of popularity for the tune.

One of Bocephus' signature songs, the music video also succeeded in catching people's attention, featuring a slew of country stars like George Jones, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Little Jimmy Dickens, Kris Kristofferson, Porter Wagoner, Jim Varney and more.

Notching his 26th career Top 10 single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, 'All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight' also saw Williams awarded the CMA and ACM Music Video of the Year, as well as a nomination for Best Country Song and Best Male Country Vocal Performance at the 1985 Grammy Awards.

- Lydia Farthing

Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey - The Middle

The scourge of retail workers everywhere for whom it seems inescapable, this ‘country-by-association’ behemoth of a crossover hit between Maren Morris, Zedd and Grey is a member of the billions club on Spotify and continues to wrack up streams seven years after its release.

The song ran through a conveyor belt of prima female vocalists, including Demi Lovato and Camilla Cabello, all of whom dropped out for reasons including scheduling conflicts and concerns over the sound, before it found a home with Morris.

The song’s pop sensibilities, EDM leanings and sparse production, paired with Maren’s characteristically soulful vocal, fortuitously launched her into the pop stratosphere at a time when she was beginning to sow the seeds of her own departure from country music.

Since then, Morris has strayed in and out of the genre, but one truth remains; a voice as powerful and fluid as Morris’, paired with her willingness to challenge the constraints of genre with songs like 'The Middle,' has laid the path for a long and enduring career that can weather the chagrin she often faces.

- Holly Smith

Luke Combs - Hurricane

Luke Combs’ break-out hit, ‘Hurricane’, served as the springboard from which one of modern country’s household names emerged.

The tempestuous track spent two weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay Chart, making Combs the first artist to secure multiple No.1s since Florida Georgia Line’s ‘Cruise’ five years earlier. ‘Hurricane’ has since been certified as one of the very few Diamond country songs, with the heartbroken anthem acting as the first in a long line of chart-toppers for Luke Combs, who recently celebrated his staggering 20th No. 1.

‘Hurricane’ captures the relatable, affable charisma Luke Combs exudes throughout his discography, with the North Carolina powerhouse’s now-signature guttural rasp and penchant for soaring, electric-guitar-fuelled battle-cries lighting up this track. The creators of the 2024 Twisters soundtrack must have been desperately wishing Luke Combs held onto this one for their stormy compilation album.

- Maxim Mower

Dan + Shay - 10,000 Hours (feat. Justin Bieber)

“I’d spend 10,000 hours and 10,000 more / Oh, if that's what it takes to learn that sweet heart of yours / And I might never get there, but I'm gonna try / If it's 10,000 hours or the rest of my life / I’m gonna love you...”

While no one probably expected pop country duo Dan + Shay and pop star Justin Bieber to join forces in 2019, when they released ’10,000 Hours’, the pairing proved a match made in heaven. The deliciously romantic mid-tempo ballad, penned by the trio alongside Jason Boyd, Jessie Jo Dillon and Jordan Reynolds, quickly became a crossover hit and worldwide success.

Released as the lead single for Dan + Shay's fourth studio effort, Good Things, ’10,000 Hours’ debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, bested on many a country ranking and entered the Top 10 on regional charts from Australia to Canada.

Today, the tune is the most played number in the duo’s catalogue, having amassed well over a billion streams for Dan + Shay. Honestly, we could still listen to ’10,000 Hours’ for 10,000 more.

- Alli Patton

Dolly Parton - I Will Always Love You

Long before Whitney Houston’s earth shattering cover, ‘I Will Always Love You’ was first a resounding success for Dolly Parton on the charts in both 1974 and 1982, almost a decade apart.

Written by Parton to honor the ending of her creative partnership with Porter Wagoner, the tender track has become an anthem for millions to honor the closing of chapters in both love and life.

The hushed restraint of Parton’s performance is a testament to her profound ability as an artist to give so freely to the intention of a song. Instead of powering through, she allows her vulnerability to shine across every single moment of ‘I Will Always Love You.’ It’s a masterclass of execution and one of a million reasons why she remains the reigning Queen of Country.

- Soda Canter

Rascal Flatts - Life Is A Highway

Though 'Life Is A Highway' has been utterly meme-ified in recent years–which the band seems to happily encourage across their socials–you'd be hard pressed to pick a more iconic country-tinged, animated movie soundtrack hit (say that three times fast).

Originally released in 1991 by Canadian artist Tom Cochrane, 'Life Is A Highway' was a hit from the start, clinching the top spot on the Canadian charts and peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and later being recorded by serial cover artist, Chris LeDoux.

In 2005, though, musical history was made as country trio Rascal Flatts gave the song an entirely new life. Commissioned to cut a version for the beloved Pixar movie, Cars, the song has basically become the band's greatest hit and one of the world's go-to karaoke songs, for obvious reasons.

'Life Is A Highway' found its way to No. 7 on the Hot 100, and even though it was never formally released to country radio, settled at No. 18 on the Hot Country Songs chart, too.

- Lydia Farthing

Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me (Taylor's Version)

If there was ever a song that young girls everywhere screamed at the top of their lungs over the last three generations, it has to be Taylor Swift's legendary 'You Belong With Me.'

Now, we know what some of you are going to say: "What?! She's not a country singer! Why are you guys including this??"

To that we say 1. just you wait, and 2. 'You Belong With Me' hails from Swift's decorated Fearless record, which was famously released when she was one of the biggest and fastest-rising country stars of the time, making it the perfect inclusion to Holler's Most Popular Country Songs list.

From its iconic music video, where Swift plays not one but two main characters–which also won the Best Female Video at the MTV Music Awards and ultimately started the long-running feud with rapper Kanye West–to its sultry, banjo-led country-pop sound, 'You Belong With Me' is simply a master class at angsty, unrequited love... that also has gone on to be certified 7x Platinum by the RIAA.

Nominated for the all-genre Song of the Year and Record of the Year at the 2010 Grammy Awards, the blockbuster hit peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent two weeks atop the Hot Country Songs chart.

While the Taylor who wrote 'You Belong With Me' surely can't come to the phone right now because she's headed for more pop pastures, there's no denying that this, as well as all of her first three records, are some of the finest that 2010's country has to offer and they will continue to endure for decades to come.

- Lydia Farthing

Florida Georgia Line - Cruise

There’s an argument to say that ‘Cruise’ was the most influential country song of the 2010s.

Florida Georgia Line stormed onto the scene out of nowhere with this infectious, sun-soaked tribute to young love. ‘Cruise’ kick-started the much-maligned Bro-Country wave that transformed the likes of Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean and Sam Hunt into the genre’s biggest stars, all drawing from FGL’s feel-good, genre-blending sound.

Combining Hip Hop-inspired lyricism with rock-tinged, muscled-up electric guitars, ‘Cruise’ is an energising earworm that held the record for the most weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart for five years, before one of FGL’s Bro-Country disciples, Sam Hunt, briefly usurped them with ‘Body Like a Back Road’. FGL took back the crown in 2018 with ‘Meant to Be’.

Because it was the first big Bro-Country smash, ‘Cruise’ is often held up as the scapegoat for the superficial portrayals of women and frat-house vibes that became associated with this sub-genre, but ‘Cruise’ itself is a largely innocent love-song with a killer hook.

- Maxim Mower

Dolly Parton - 9 to 5

The lyrics "Tumble out of bed and I stumble to the kitchen / Pour myself a cup of ambition" have not only been the inspiration for countless Life Laugh Love style canvases in living rooms, but is one of few lyrics that will incite sheer pandemonium in any crowd, around the world.

A karaoke staple that can perhaps only be matched the Grease Megamix, '9 To 5' has soundtracked countless drunken nights out and hen parties over the years, and is, most importantly, a reminder of Dolly Parton's immeasurable success and ability to crossover into the mainstream as a country artist.

Hitting No.1 on the Hot Country, Adult Contemporary and Hot 100 Charts, '9 To 5' spoke a global message, campaigning for fair pay and equal treatment for women in the workplace across the world.

Johnny Cash - Hurt

Originally by the rock band Nine Inch Nails, this song about self-harm and addiction found new life in the hands of a legendary singer at the end of theirs. Appearing on Johnny Cash’s final album before his death, 2002’s American IV: The Man Comes Around, here was a reminder that even a man whose life would transcend his death in its cultural impact had to face his own mortality.

With Nine Inch Nails, the song is that of a lost young man desperate to make some sense of life as he’s living it. With Cash, it’s a reflection on a life already lived, plagued by addiction and its impact on his family. The accompanying music video was key to the song’s success, showing a withered Cash sitting alone in a mansion filled with decaying food, interspersed with footage of his younger life with his children and wife June Carter Cash.

In fact, it was the video that convinced composer and Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor of Cash’s cover, despite his initial reticence. Widely considered one of Cash’s best works, the downbeat acoustic guitar and sombrely sparse piano thrum give it the feel of a funeral march, reminding us that none are spared from our own judgement day.

- Holly Smith

Morgan Wallen - Whiskey Glasses

‘Whiskey Glasses’ first appeared on Morgan Wallen’s 2016 EP The Way I Talk, but the tune didn’t become the hit it is today until the now megastar released it on his 2018 debut album, If I Know Me. From there, the song simply took off.

‘Whiskey Glasses’ would dominate the Hot Country charts in 2019, the song becoming one of the star’s early radio No. 1s. It would even find crossover success, peaking at No. 17 on Billboard’s cross-genre Hot 100 chart. To this day, the tune remains one of Wallen’s most played, garnering nearly a billion plays on Spotify alone.

Featuring a clever play on words, ‘Whiskey Glasses’ is as addictive as a break up song can be, understandably achy but bolstered by infectious 808s and an irresistible hook.

- Alli Patton

Shaboozey - A Bar Song (Tipsy)

Timing, as every good comedian knows, is everything, and Shaboozey couldn't have released his huge global viral hit 'A Bar Song (Tipsy)' at a better time.

Swept in on a resurgence of mainstream interest in country music and a wave of hype following his appearance on Beyoncé's COWBOY CARTER at the end of March 2024, the Virginia-based singer-songwriter dropped the single two weeks later while Beyoncé's 'TEXAS HOLD 'EM' was still crossing country over to the clubs and Dasha's recently released 'Austin (Boots Stop Workin') was gaining momentum in the charts.

Playfully interpolating the melody from J-Kwon's 2004 rap hit ‘Tipsy’ into a classic country drinking anthem, the song spent the remainder of 2024 destroying every chart record that lay in its path. The song took country music to the upper reaches of all-genre charts all over the world, while Shaboozey found himself inducted into the Billions Club on Spotify for reaching over a billion streams on the platform.

When 'A Bar Song (Tipsy)' secured its 17th week at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, it became the longest reigning solo No. 1 in the history of the mainstream chart, spending 19 weeks at number one on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in 2024 in total, as well as spending 27 weeks at number one on the Hot Country Songs chart, tying the record for the longest reign on the chart this decade.

- Jof Owen

Sam Hunt - Body Like A Back Road

No self-respecting list of the most popular country songs would be complete without a song written by Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne.

The songwriting legends are responsible for some of country's biggest hits in the last 20 years, including songs for Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Midland, Thomas Rhett, Carly Pearce and of course, Sam Hunt.

Co-written with Hunt and producer Zach Crowell, this finger-clicking, soulful country cut was as laid back as the seats that Hunt was singing about and was always destined to cruise effortlessly up the country charts.

'Body Like A Back Road' became Hunt's highest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100 when it reached number six, spending 34 weeks on top of the Hot Country Songs chart, and, as it closes in on a billion streams on Spotify, the juggernaut isn't showing any signs of slowing for those curves anytime soon.

- Alli Patton

Luke Combs - Beautiful Crazy

Written alongside Robert Williford and Wyatt Durrette, Luke Combs’ ‘Beautiful Crazy’ became an unexpected viral phenomenon from his 2017 debut album This One’s for You. The certified RIAA Diamond track was Comb’s first crossover hit, finding notable placements across not just Billboard’s country charts, but the Hot 100 as well.

It was particularly notable as it demonstrated a seismic shift within the music business by showcasing the growing strength of streams and downloads. It was a moment where a song was selected by the hearts of the listener, instead of a disc jockey behind the mic.

This notoriety is owed in full to Combs' striking and heartfelt vocal performance connecting with listeners who were seeking ways to describe their own beautiful, imperfect love.

‘Beautiful Crazy’ was an immediate antidote to bro-country, as Luke Combs galloped in like a long awaited hero and made being a gentleman cool again.

- Soda Canter

Lil Nas X - Old Town Road

‘Old Town Road’. You either love it or you hate it, but you can’t deny its power. When the song galloped into country consciousness in late 2018, steered by the then-relatively unknown Lil Nas X, little did we know the effect a two-minute song would have on the genre.

While the song blew up everywhere, topping worldwide charts and breaking records atop the Billboard Hot 100, it was the country genre that struggled with the tune. The country trap number was deemed “not country enough” and was ultimately removed from the Hot Country charts where it had been steadily ascending, causing criticism of the genre to swirl. In an attempt to remedy any doubts about the song’s country credibility, genre mainstay Billy Ray Cyrus recorded a remix of the tune alongside Lil Nas X just months later.

While the duet earned them a Grammy, the song still echoes a controversial moment in country music history, but one that was necessary, shaking off the dust and opening doors for a new era of country to enter through.

- Alli Patton

Morgan Wallen - Last Night

Alongside 'I Remember Everything' and 'Bar Song (Tipsy)', it's quite hard to deny the success and impact Morgan Wallen and 'Last Night' has had on country music and mainstream American culture today.

Upon the release of his 2023 album One Thing At A Time, Morgan Wallen took 36 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 - 'Last Night' lead them all, reaching No.1. The song would hit No.1 for 16 non-consecutive weeks, and is to this day the only song to ever reach No.1 in six consecutive months.

It's easy to see why its such a success. 'Last Night' thrives in the morning after hangover, overcome by the passion of the night before more than the liquour that was flowing throughout, songwriters John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, and Ryan Vojtesak capture the remnants of a still lingering love and channel them into a neon-trap country smash for the masses.

'Last Night' might not be the blueprint, but its certainly lit the torch paper for whats to come.

- Ross Jones

Zac Brown Band - Chicken Fried

“You know I like my chicken fried / A cold beer on a Friday night / A pair of jeans that fit just right / And the radio uuuuup...”

First released on Zac Brown Band’s 2005 debut album, Home Grown, their plucky anthem ‘Chicken Fried’ wouldn’t become the smash hit we know today until the group rerecorded it for their first major label release, The Foundation, in 2008.

By then, the country rock group had a devoted cult following, but a little tune about chicken, beer and the finer things in life would launch them into worldwide acclaim.

That year, the tune went on to top the Billboard Hot Country charts and peak at No. 20 on the Hot 100. For the next decade, though, ‘Chicken Fried’ would be virtually inescapable, the song and the band inseparable to this day.

- Alli Patton

Taylor Swift - Love Story (Taylor's Version)

We warned you that you hadn't heard the last of Miss Taylor Swift on this list! And, frankly, to not include 'Love Story' within these ranks feels a bit sacrilege.

it's a tale as old as time. Romeo and Juliet. Forbidden love. Heartbreak and determination. Yet, when Swift sang about it in 2008, the story took on a completely different tune. Rather than "a pair of star-crossed lovers [who] take their life," as in Shakespeare's revered tragedy, this pair, destined to fall in love and make it work, do just that.

Rewriting history as we know it, Swift offered an alternate ending to one of the most beloved and respected plays of all time, and she did it in just shy of four minutes flat.

The lead single from her second record, Fearless, 'Love Story' peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and her 2021 re-recorded version hit the top of the Hot Country Songs chart that same year.

Enjoying an 8x Platinum certification, 'Love Story' has become the stuff of legends and a staple both in Swift's live shows and her sprawling catalogue as a whole.

We're not saying Taylor Swift is Shakespeare... but after this effort–which she achieved at the ripe age of 19–she's gotta be pretty close.

- Lydia Farthing

Bebe Rexha - Meant To Be (feat. Florida Georgia Line)

In 2012, Florida Georgia Line took the crown for the longest-running No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart, with ‘Cruise’ spending 24 weeks at the pinnacle. Then, Sam Hunt’s ‘Body Like a Back Road’ zoomed past in 2017, amassing a tally of 34 weeks.

So how did the FGL boys respond? By teaming up with pop phenom Bebe Rexha, of course, and dropping ‘Meant to Be’ later that year. It set a brand new record - which still stands today - for the longest spell at No. 1, with a staggering 50 weeks.

It’s a behemoth of a song, with Rexha’s sleek, confessional croons combining seamlessly with the unashamed drawl of THubb and BK, making this one of the biggest country crossover hits of all time.

It’s still the most-streamed country song on Spotify (although Morgan Wallen’s ‘Last Night’ is hot on its heels), and while Rexha does much of the heavy-lifting on ‘Meant to Be’, it’s a country-pop fusion that feels natural and convincing. The hopeful, relaxed theme of the track only adds to its charm.

- Maxim Mower

Darius Rucker - Wagon Wheel

By the time Daris Rucker released 'Wagon Wheel'; in 2013, the song’s origin story had become as compelling as the life of its subject, with his penchant for hitchhiking, gambling and the banjo.

Bob Dylan had written the chorus in the early 70s, released on a bootleg which came into the hands of Old Crow Medicine Show’s Chris Fuqua. Back then, it was called ‘Rock Me Mama’.

Fuqua’s bandmate Ketch Secor added verses to flesh the skeleton into a full song and they performed it live for years, before seeking copyright permission from Dylan to include it on OCMS’s debut album. While it became the band’s signature hit, it crossed into true ‘country anthem’ territory when Darius Rucker covered it, with Lady A on backing vocals.

The enthusiasm of his everyman delivery brings an accessibility to Dylan and Secor’s intricate lyrics about old time string bands, north country weather and southbound trains, turning it into a knee-slapping, arms-around-your-neighbour rabble rouser, accompanied by a dancing banjo.

Lady A’s backing vocals amplify the singalong quality, which has been an integral part of its success, bringing it in at five on our list.

- Holly Smith

Chris Stapleton - Tennessee Whiskey

Since we first heard the soulful croon of Chris Stapleton singing 'Tennessee Whiskey' at the 49th Annual CMA Awards in 2015, it's safe to say that it has rarely left our brains.

Shortly thereafter, Stapleton became a household name, and his calling card ever since has been none other than this boozy, bluesy track that had a few lives before it landed in his capable hands.

Though we now know 'Tennessee Whiskey' as the 14x Platinum, Diamond-certified single that reached No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, No. 20 on the Hot 100 and that far too many people are brave enough to cover, its origins date back to 1981.

Written by Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove, the song was originally pitched to and turned down by George Strait, later being recorded by outlaw country artist David Allan Coe. Two years later, country icon George Jones gave the song a go and took it to No. 2 on the Hot Country Singles chart.

Yet, since 2015, Stapleton's rendition has taken the decades-old tune to new heights, becoming the de facto version of 'Tennessee Whiskey,' even after a decade.

- Lydia Farthing

Carrie Underwood - Before He Cheats

It’s nigh impossible to spend an hour at a country club-night and not hear this galvanising smash.

Although revenge songs were not a new concept in the genre, Carrie Underwood’s ‘Before He Cheats’ opened the floodgates for a wave of fiery, rock-tinged anthems that found fellow female artists subverting the pristine, cookie-cutter personas their male counterparts had spent decades singing about.

Penned by Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear, ‘Before He Cheats’ propelled Carrie Underwood to new heights, spending five consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart and becoming a Top Ten hit on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, spending a staggering 64 consecutive weeks on the latter.

It’s not hard to see why, either, as ‘Before He Cheats’ oozes drama and gravitas, with Underwood showcasing her powerhouse vocals across a raging army of electric guitars.

- Maxim Mower

Shania Twain - Man! I Feel Like A Woman!

If you've ever been at a wedding and witnessed the stampede to the dancefloor when those opening synthesizer notes blare out, then you will have felt the undeniable power of Shania's anthem of female empowerment, hedonism and women's liberty.

With it's "Let's go, girls" clarion call, 'Man! I Feel Like A Woman!' is the reason that brides change into flats for the wedding reception, appealing as much to eight year olds as octogenarians.

Taken from the Canadian singer-songwriter's third album, Come On Over, in 1997, the song, written by Twain and her longtime collaborator and then-husband Robert "Mutt" Lange, was the eighth single of a whopping 12 that ended up being taken from the 16 tracks on the album. It went on to be one of Twain's biggest hits worldwide, thanks in part to its iconic gender role reversing video that parodied Robert Palmer's 'Addicted to Love' video.

“It just became everybody’s song," Shania told the Irish Times in 2023. "It’s kind of a bridge song, a unifier. I was talking about myself, and it was genuine. Then it resonated with everyone: men, women, children. The LGBTQ+ community, I guess, see that song as one of their celebration songs. It’s very touching for me. It’s touching because it’s so all inclusive.”

The best thing about being a woman really is the prerogative to have a little fun.

- Jof Owen

Dolly Parton - Jolene

There are few country songs as iconic as Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’.

The classic tune, which appeared on Parton’s 1974 album of the same name, and the legend, herself, have become virtually inseparable over the last five decades, and for good reason.

Penned solely by the Smoky Mountain Queen of Country, ‘Jolene’ is not only a great song – flush with an instantly recognizable guitar pluck and led by gripping storytelling – it was reportedly inspired by a true occurrence.

Around the time she was newly wed to her longtime husband, Carl Dean, Parton found out a teller at Dean’s local bank had been flirting with him and wrote the haunting, night-sweating, sheet-tossing tune as a response.

‘Jolene’ would go on to top country charts, crossing over into Adult Contemporary and entering the Billboard Hot 100. The cheating song, in which Parton begs the other woman, Jolene, to leave her man alone, remains a global hit.

It has been covered far and wide, across genres and back again, but no one does it quite like Parton. The song will undoubtedly endure for as long as there are jilted lovers and folks who just love a good tune.

- Alli Patton