MUSICAL MUSINGS
by Josh Hosler
November 23, 2004
This article was published on www.AllAboutCountry.com on November 28, 2004.
21ST CENTURY COUNTRY
The decade is half over. Country music has been through a lot in the past five years. More than any other genre, country music has responded to tragic events and changing times in the early days of our new century in ways that strengthen the format's presence on radio and in record stores.
It's a good time for a recap. What have been the biggest country hits of the 2000s? My list is based on, of all things, the Billboard Hot 100, the multi-format chart that ranks all the hits by airplay and, where applicable, sales of singles.
Why would I use a multi-format chart to determine the top hits in a specific genre? By competing with songs from other formats, country songs show their true colors. Only one of these songs made it to #1 on the Hot 100: "Amazed" by Lonestar. Only six of these songs made the top 10. The average peak position of the songs on this list is #26. With so few songs climbing very high, relative peak position on the chart means more. And the ability of a country song to cross over to pop speaks to how big its fan base eventually became.
In other words, instead of trying to compare a host of #1 hits from a small universe of hits, we're expanding the musical universe to find out which songs really stood out. So here are the 100 biggest country hits of the century so far:
100. Born to Fly ... Sara Evans (2000)
99. The Little Girl ... John Michael Montgomery (2000)
98. Whiskey Girl ... Toby Keith (2004)
97. I Believe ... Diamond Rio (2003)
96. Bring On the Rain ... Jo Dee Messina (2002)
95. Fall Into Me ... Emerson Drive (2003)
94. Suds in the Bucket ... Sara Evans (2004)
93. She Couldn't Change Me ... Montgomery Gentry (2001)
92. I Don't Have to Be Me ('Til Monday) ... Steve Azar (2002)
91. Three Wooden Crosses ... Randy Travis (2003)
90. Blessed ... Martina McBride (2002)
89. Help Pour Out the Rain (Lacey's Song) ... Buddy Jewell (2003)
88. We Danced ... Brad Paisley (2000)
87. I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song) ... Brad Paisley (2002)
86. Unbroken ... Tim McGraw (2002)
85. The Cowboy in Me ... Tim McGraw (2002)
84. The Impossible ... Joe Nichols (2002)
83. Celebrity ... Brad Paisley (2003)
82. He Didn't Have to Be ... Brad Paisley (2000)
81. What I Really Meant to Say ... Cyndi Thomson (2001)
80. Man to Man ... Gary Allan (2003)
79. That'd Be Alright ... Alan Jackson (2003)
78. Run ... George Strait (2001)
77. She's My Kind of Rain ... Tim McGraw (2003)
76. Watch the Wind Blow By ... Tim McGraw (2004)
75. Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo ... Tracy Byrd (2002)
74. I Miss My Friend ... Darryl Worley (2002)
73. Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me ... Keith Urban (2003)
72. Days Go By ... Keith Urban (2004)
71. You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This ... Toby Keith (2001)
70. It's a Great Day to Be Alive ... Travis Tritt (2001)
69. What About Now ... Lonestar (2000)
68. I Just Wanna Be Mad ... Terri Clark (2003)
67. Without You ... Dixie Chicks (2000)
66. The Baby ... Blake Shelton (2003)
65. Only in America ... Brooks & Dunn (2001)
64. I'm Just Talkin' About Tonight ... Toby Keith (2001)
63. I Go Back ... Kenny Chesney (2004)
62. Big Star ... Kenny Chesney (2003)
61. Brokenheartsville ... Joe Nichols (2003)
60. Mayberry ... Rascal Flatts (2004)
59. Real Good Man ... Tim McGraw (2003)
58. One More Day ... Diamond Rio (2001)
57. Goodbye Earl ... Dixie Chicks (2000)
56. Don't Happen Twice ... Kenny Chesney (2001)
55. Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American) ... Toby Keith
(2002)
54. The Best Day ... George Strait (2000)
53. How Do You Like Me Now?! ... Toby Keith (2000)
52. Cowboy Take Me Away ... Dixie Chicks (2000)
51. I Wanna Talk About Me ... Toby Keith (2001)
50. My List ... Toby Keith (2002)
49. No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems ... Kenny Chesney (2003)
48. Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) ... Alan Jackson (2002)
47. You'll Think of Me ... Keith Urban (2004)
46. Who I Am ... Jessica Andrews (2001)
45. My Best Friend ... Tim McGraw (2000)
44. Living and Living Well ... George Strait (2002)
43. Cry ... Faith Hill (2002)
42. There Goes My Life ... Kenny Chesney (2003)
41. Who's Your Daddy? ... Toby Keith (2002)
40. Good Morning Beautiful ... Steve Holy (2002)
39. Beautiful Mess ... Diamond Rio (2002)
38. Letters from Home ... John Michael Montgomery (2004)
37. American Soldier ... Toby Keith (2004)
36. I Love This Bar ... Toby Keith (2003)
35. My Next Thirty Years ... Tim McGraw (2000)
34. Red Dirt Road ... Brooks & Dunn (2003)
33. Grown Men Don't Cry ... Tim McGraw (2001)
32. Yes! ... Chad Brock (2000)
31. Redneck Woman ... Gretchen Wilson (2004)
30. Drive (For Daddy Gene) ... Alan Jackson (2002)
29. When the Sun Goes Down ... Kenny Chesney & Uncle Kracker (2004)
28. Long Time Gone ... Dixie Chicks (2002)
27. Best of Intentions ... Travis Tritt (2000)
26. I'm Already There ... Lonestar (2001)
25. That's the Way ... Jo Dee Messina (2000)
24. Have You Forgotten? ... Darryl Worley (2003)
23. What Was I Thinkin' ... Dierks Bentley (2003)
22. These Days ... Rascal Flatts (2002)
21. Remember When ... Alan Jackson (2004)
20. She'll Leave You with a Smile ... George Strait (2002)
19. Live Like You Were Dying ... Tim McGraw (2004)
18. Big Deal ... LeAnn Rimes (2000)
17. Austin ... Blake Shelton (2001)
16. Ain't Nothing 'Bout You ... Brooks & Dunn (2001)
15. Beer for My Horses ... Toby Keith with Willie Nelson (2003)
14. My Front Porch Looking In ... Lonestar (2003)
13. Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly ... AaronTippin (2001)
12. The Good Stuff ... Kenny Chesney (2002)
11. Somebody Like You ... Keith Urban (2002)
10. 19 Somethin' ... Mark Wills (2003)
9. Forever and for Always ... Shania Twain (2003)
8. It's Five O'Clock Somewhere ... Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffett (2003)
7. There You'll Be ... Faith Hill (2001)
6. I Need You ... LeAnn Rimes (2000)
5. I Hope You Dance ... Lee Ann Womack (2001)
4. Landslide ... Dixie Chicks (2003)
3. The Way You Love Me ... Faith Hill (2001)
2. Amazed ... Lonestar (2000)
1. Breathe ... Faith Hill (2000)
Yes, you really did see eleven songs on that list by Toby Keith! The Mr. Prolific Award is his. Overall, the top country artist on the Hot 100 is Faith Hill, largely on the power of three of the top 10 songs on this list. Billboard ranked "Breathe" the #1 song of 2000 in all formats combined, so it's no wonder that it comes in at #1 on this list.
You may see a few surprises on this list: for instance, "Big Deal" by LeAnn Rimes comes in at #18 despite receiving no pop airplay and only fair to middling country spins. But this song was available for sale as a commercial single, a rarity for country songs. This type of fluke is sure to dwindle as the digital download becomes the standard single configuration and begins to be incorporated into the Hot 100.
I also need to award an honorable mention to a song that didn't make this list: "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" by Big & Rich. This year, it sold thousands of copies online and scored unusually high marks with teenagers. Sure, it's mostly gone from country radio now, but it left a mighty big mark on music fans who don't necessarily stick to country.
This has been a great decade for men in country music. Of the top 100 songs, only 17 are by solo women. Add the five big hits the Dixie Chicks had before they imploded, and women are still severely underrepresented. It's no wonder I have a hard time keeping all those guys in cowboy hats straight!
The top song on the list that received little to no crossover airplay is at #8: "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere." Country purists can feel free to consider it the biggest country hit of the 2000s; if you keep to the universe of country radio, Alan and Jimmy win hands down. Yet how many purists would have allowed Jimmy Buffett back into the format when the decade began? Here's to many more surprises before 2010!
What was the #1 song on the day you were born? Click here to find out.