Billboard's list of the decade’s top-selling country songs serves up a heaping helping of big-time, Nashville-style country music.
Keith Urban took the #1 spot with his upbeat single, Somebody Like You. Carrie Underwood’s acrid ballad of revenge, Before He Cheats (#14), was the only song in the top 20 performed by a woman.
Billboard’s Top Country Songs of 1999-2009
Here’s the entire top 20 singles list:
- Keith Urban, Somebody Like You (2002), on the album Golden Road
- Mark Wills, 19 Somethin’ (2002), on the album Greatest Hits
- Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffett (2003), It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere, on the album Society’s Victims
- Toby Keith, How Do You Like Me Now? (1999), on the album 35 Biggest Hits
- Kenny Chesney, The Good Stuff (2002), on the album No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems
- Brooks & Dunn, Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You (2001), on the album #1s… and Then Some
- Tim McGraw, Live Like You Were Dying (2004), on the album Lonely Grill
- Craig Morgan, That’s What I Love about Sunday (2004), on the album My Kind of Livin’
- Toby Keith, As Good as I Once Was (2005), on the album Honkytonk University
- Steve Holy, Good Morning Beautiful (2001), on the album Blue Moon
- Rodney Atkins, If You’re Going through Hell (2006), on the album If You’re Going through Hell
- Toby Keith with Willie Nelson, Beer for My Horses (2003), on the album Unleashed
- Rascal Flatts, These Days (2002), on the album Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
- Carrie Underwood, Before He Cheats (2007), on the album Some Hearts
- George Strait, The Best Day (2000), on the album Latest Greatest Straitest Hits
- Tim McGraw, My Best Friend (1999), on the album Place in the Sun
- Rodney Atkins (2006), Watching You, on the album If You’re Going through Hell
- Lonestar, What about Now (2000), on the album I’m Already There
- Lonestar, I’m Already There (2001), on the album I’m Already There
- Tim McGraw, My Next Thirty Years (2000), on the album Place in the Sun
Top Country Songs Feature Evergreen Country Music Themes
A playlist composed of the top 20 country songs of 1999-2009 opens an instant window into the Nashville sound and style of the last decade.
The most popular theme, as always, was love. Songs about love ranged from the joyful (Somebody Like You, Steve Holy’s Good Morning Beautiful, Brooks & Dunn’s Ain’t Nothin ‘Bout You, and Tim McGraw’s My Best Friend) to the regretful (Rascal Flatts’ These Days) and even the vengeful (Carrie Underwood’s Before He Cheats and Toby Keith’s How Do You Like Me Now?)
Other songs in the top 20 focused on themes that will be familiar to any country music listener:
- Nostalgia: Mark Wills’ lighthearted 19 Somethin’ and Toby Keith’s tongue-in-cheek As Good as I Once Was look back on good old days that won't be coming back.
- Patriotism: Toby Keith’s Beer for My Horses and Rodney Atkins’ If You’re Going Through Hell both make oblique reference to the American war on terrorism.
- Family: Lonestar’s I’m Already There, George Strait’s The Best Day, and Rodney Atkins’ Watching You, both about the love between fathers and sons
- Homespun wisdom on the art of living: Kenny Chesney’s The Good Stuff, Craig Morgan’s That’s What I Love about Sunday, and Tim McGraw’s Live Like You Were Dying and My Next Thirty Years.
- Cutting loose: Lonestar’s What About Now celebrates the power of doing it now and not waiting until tomorrow.
How Billboard Ranks the Top 20 Country Songs
Billboard's song rankings are based on a formula that combines sales with radio play. Sales are tracked by Neilsen SoundScan, while Neilsen Broadcast Data Systems measures airplay.
Other Billboard Country Music Charts
Country music lovers may be interested in a number of other Billboard charts, including a list of the Hot 100 all-time top 10 country songs and Top 25 hot country songs for 2009.
Readers might also be interested in the article Rock Stars Cross over to Country Music Charts. Darius Rucker, Kid Rock, The Eagles, Robert Plant, Jewel, and Jon Bon Jovi are the latest in a long line of rock and pop stars to find success with country music.
Christine Mann - Christine Mann writes about quilting, home decor sewing, and creativity in daily life.
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