The Top 100 Country Songs of All Time

/2019. Originally posted 8/3/2011; updated 9/30/2019.

First posted on Facebook on April 3, 2011 and then on the blog on August 28, 2011.

The DMDB’s list of the top 100 country songs of all time was created by aggregating more than 60 best-of lists focused on country songs. See the resources at the bottom of this page.

1. “Crazy” Patsy Cline (1961)
2. “He Stopped Loving Her Today” George Jones (1980)
3. “Stand by Your Man” Tammy Wynette (1968)
4. “Friends in Low Places” Garth Brooks (1990)
5. “El Paso” Marty Robbins (1959)
6. “I Walk the Line” Johnny Cash (1956)
7. “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” Charlie Daniels Band (1979)
8. “Your Cheatin’ Heart” Hank Williams (1953)
9. “Always on My Mind” Willie Nelson (1982)
10. “Ring of Fire” Johnny Cash (1963)

11. “King of the Road” Roger Miller (1965)
12. “Forever and Ever, Amen” Randy Travis (1987)
13. “I Hope You Dance” Lee Ann Womack (2000)
14. “Sixteen Tons” Tennessee Ernie Ford (1955)
15. “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” Hank Williams (1949)
16. “Coal Miner’s Daughter” Loretta Lynn (1970)
17. “Mama Tried” Merle Haggard (1968)
18. “I Fall to Pieces” Patsy Cline (1961)
19. “The Gambler” Kenny Rogers (1978)
20. “Hello Darlin’” Conway Twitty (1970)

21. “I Will Always Love You” Dolly Parton (1974)
22. “Folsom Prison Blues” Johnny Cash (1956)
23. “Jolene” Dolly Parton (1973)
24. “The Dance” Garth Brooks (1990)
25. “Live Like You Were Dying” Tim McGraw (2004)
26. “Help Me Make It Through the Night” Sammi Smith (1971)
27. “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels” Kitty Wells (1952)
28. “Before He Cheats” Carrie Underwood (2006)
29. “Amazed” Lonestar (1999)
30. “Rhinestone Cowboy” Glen Campbell (1975)

31. “Behind Closed Doors” Charlie Rich (1973)
32. “Harper Valley P.T.A.” Jeannie C. Riley (1968)
33. “He’ll Have to Go” Jim Reeves (1959)
34. “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning” Alan Jackson (2001)
35. “Need You Now” Lady Antebellum (2009)
36. “Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson (1978)
37. “Okie from Muskogee” Merle Haggard (1969)
38. “Walking the Floor Over You” Ernest Tubb (1941)
39. “For the Good Times” Ray Price (1970)
40. “Lovesick Blues” Hank Williams (1949)

41. “Hey, Good Lookin’” Hank Williams (1951)
42. “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” Willie Nelson (1975)
43. “Breathe” Faith Hill (1999)
44. “Can the Circle Be Unbroken (Bye and Bye)” The Carter Family (1935)
45. “Hello Walls” Faron Young (1961)
46. “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)” Waylon Jennings (1977)
47. “Amarillo by Morning” George Strait (1983)
48. “Wabash Cannonball” Roy Acuff & the Smoky Mountain Boys (1938)
49. “Make the World Go Away” Eddy Arnold (1965)
50. “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” Charley Pride (1971)

51. “Act Naturally” Buck Owens (1963)
52. “Crazy Arms” Ray Price (1956)
53. “Coat of Many Colors” Dolly Parton (1971)
54. “The Battle of New Orleans” Johnny Horton (1959)
55. “I Can’t Stop Loving You” Ray Charles (1962)
56. “Good Hearted Woman” Waylon Jennings with Willie Nelson (1975)
57. “God Bless the U.S.A.” Lee Greenwood (1984)
58. “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” Sons of the Pioneers (1934)
59. “Smokey Mountain Rain” Ronnie Milsap (1980)
60. “Wildwood Flower” The Carter Family (1928)

61. “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” Lynn Anderson (1970)
62. “Sweet Dreams of You” Patsy Cline (1963)
63. “Elvira” The Oak Ridge Boys (1981)
64. “Cruise” Florida Georgia Line (2012)
65. “Blue Moon of Kentucky” Bill Monroe (1947)
66. “Take Me Home Country Roads” John Denver (1971)
67. “You’re Still the One” Shania Twain (1998)
68. “I’m Moving On” Hank Snow (1950)
69. “Tennessee Waltz” Patti Page (1950)
70. “Oh Lonesome Me” Don Gibson (1958)

71. “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue...Crystal Gayle (1977)
72. “Blue” LeAnn iRimes (1996)
73. “Fancy” Reba McEntire (1991)
74. “Islands in the Stream” Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton (1983)
75. “Hurt” Johnny Cash (2002)
76. “Wichita Lineman” Glen Campbell (1968)
77. “Wide Open Spaces” Dixie Chicks (1998)
78. “Faded Love” Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys (1950)
79. “Stay” Sugarland (2007)
80. “You Are My Sunshine” Jimmie Davis (1940)

81. “Take This Job and Shove It” Johnny Paycheck (1977)
82. “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” Freddy Fender (1975)
83. “There Goes My Everything” Jack Greene (1966)
84. “Flowers on the Wall” The Statler Brothers (1965)
85. “Long Black Veil” Lefty Frizzell (1959)
86. “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” Alan Jackson (1991)
87. “Love Story” Taylor Swift (2008)
88. “Jambalaya on the Bayou” Hank Williams (1952)
89. “San Antonio Rose” Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys (1939)
90. “Blue Yodel #1 (T for Texas)” Jimmie Rodgers (1928)

91. “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs (1950)
92. “Achy Breaky Heart” Billy Ray Cyrus (1992)
93. “Walkin’ After Midnight” Patsy Cline (1957)
94. “I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail” Buck Owens (1965)
95. “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” Brooks & Dunn (1991)
96. “On the Road Again” Willie Nelson (1980)
97. “Cold, Cold Heart” Hank Williams (1931)
98. “Rocky Top” Osborne Brothers (1968)
99. “Chattahoochee” Alan Jackson (1992)
100. “Strawberry Wine” Deanna Carter (1996)

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Resources and Related Links:

• original Facebook post (4/3/11)
• About.com (2008). “Top 500 Country Music Songs.” By Shelly Fabian.
• Associated Content (12/17/2008). Top 10 Country Songs of All Time.” By Cheap Cannuck.
• Billboard “Greatest of All Time Top Country Songs”
• Billboard (1997). “All-Time Top 100 #1 Hits, 1944-1997.”
• David Cantwell and Bill Friskics-Warren (2003). Heartaches by the Number: Country Music’s 500 Greatest Singles. Vanderbilt University Press and Country Music Foundation Press; 2003.
• Classic Country 1630 “Top 500 Classic Country Songs of All Time”
• Cleveland.com (2017). “25 Best Country Songs of the 21st Century”
• Ace Collins (1996). The Stories Behind Country Music’s All-Time Greatest 100 Songs. New York, NY; The Berkley Publishing Group.
• Country America (1992). “Top 100 Country Songs of All Time”
• Country Living (2019). “60 Most Classic Country Songs All Time”
• Country Music – A Film by Ken Burns: The Soundtrack (2019)
• Country Music Hall of Fame Jukebox.
• Country Music Television (2001?). “100 Greatest Songs of Country Music”
• Country Music Television (2010). “40 Greatest Songs of the Decade”
• Country Music Television (2005). “Top 12 Greatest Duets”
• TheDelite.com (2019). “The Best Country Songs of All Time – Ranked”
• Digital Dream Door (2/12/2014). “100 Greatest Bluegrass Songs.” Edited by Tom B. Lew.
• Digital Dream Door (11/19/2008). “100 Greatest Country Music Songs.” Edited by Chris F.
• Esquire.com (2018). “The 50 Best Pop Country Songs of the Last 20 Years”
• FAQs.org (2009). “Top Country Songs of All Times”
• Heavy.com (2017). “The Top Ten Best Old Country Songs”
• imeem.com “Top 100 All Time Best Country Songs”
• Insider.com (2018). “25 Country Music Songs Everyone Should Lisen to in Their Lifetime”
• JustRichest.com “10 Greatest Country Songs Worth Listening To”
• jwpepper.com “The Best Country Songs Ever”
• K92 (2005). “All Time Favorites 600, 1975-2005”
• Hal Leonard Corporation (1984). “Best Country Songs Ever”
• LiveAbout.com (2019). “25 Best Country Pop Crossover Songs of All Time”
• LiveAbout.com (2018). “Top 20 Country Music Songs of All Time”
• D.J. McAdam “100 Greatest Country Songs”
• MoneyInc.com (2019). “The Top 20 Selling Country Songs of All-Time”
• New Musical Express (NME) (2018). “The 25 Best Country Music Songs of All Time”
• Phoenix New Times (2019). “The 10 Most Iconic Country Songs”
• PJMedia.com (2019). “The 12 Best Country Songs of All Time”
• PopMatters.com/McClatchy-Tribune (2007). “Country’s Top 100.” By Shirley Jinkins and Malcolm Mayhew.
• Ranker.com “The Best Classic Country Songs”
• Ranker.com. “The Best Country Pop Songs Ever”
• RollingStone.com (6/2014). “100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time”
• SavingCountryMusic.com (2013). “Saving Country Music’s Greatest Songs of All Time”
• Sirius XM (2019). “Sirius XM Just Aired Their Top 1000 Country Songs of All-Time”
• Slacker Radio “55 Greatest Country Songs of the Century”
• Spotify.com “Country’s Top 100: All-Time Best Songs”
• TasteOfCountry.com (2016). “100 Greatest Country Songs”
• Tennessean.com (2019). “What are the All-Time Greatest Country Songs? These 100 Top Our List”
• TimeOut.com (2018). “The Best Country Songs of All Time”
• TopCountry.ca (2019). “Top Classic Country Songs”
• TheTopTens.com “Top Ten Best Country Songs of All Time”
• Traditional Country Hall of Fame.
• Ultimate Twang “The All Time Top 100”
• Ultimate Twang “Celebrating Songs that Defined the 2000s, 1990s, 1980s, 1970s, and 1960s”
• USA Today (2019). “Playlist: The Most Popular Country Songs in Hot 100 History”
• WatchMojo.com “Top 10 Country Songs of All Time”
• WeddingDetails.com “Top 25 Country Songs”
• WideOpenCountry.com (2017). “15 of the Greatest Classic Country Songs”
• Yahoo! Classic Pop Music Group (5/31/2012). “Country Music’s All-Time Classics”

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Oasis: Top 20 Songs

First posted 9/10/2019.

Alternative rock group from Manchester, England at the helm of the Britpop movement. Active: 1991-2009 Members: Brothers Liam (v) and Noel Gallagher (g/lyrics) with Gem Archer (k/g: 99-09), Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs (g: 91-99), Andy Bell (b/k/g: 99-09), Tony McCarroll (d: 91-95), Paul McGuigan (b: 91-99), Alan White (d: 95-04).

For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry.

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Top 20 Songs

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Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards.

May include notations about songs which hit #1, are in the DMDB top 1000, songs which have more successful versions in the DMDB, and notes about songs recorded by the act under other names.

DMDB Top 1%:

1. Wonderwall (1995) #1 MR, #1 AU
2. Live Forever (1994)

DMDB Top 5%:

3. Don’t Look Back in Anger (1996) #1 UK
4. Champagne Supernova (1996) #1 MR

DMDB Top 20%:

5. Supersonic (1994)
6. Whatever (1994)
7. D’You Know What I Mean (1997) #1 UK
8. Cigarettes and Alcohol (1994)

Outside the DMDB Top 20%:

9. Lyla (2005) #1 UK
10. All Around the World (1998) #1 UK
11. Go Let It Out (2000) #1 UK, #1 CN
12. Don’t Go Away (1997)
13. Some Might Say (1995) #1 UK
14. Morning Glory (1995)
15. The Shock of the Lightning (2008)
16. Roll with It (1995)
17. Acquiese (1995)
18. The Hindu Times (2002) #1 UK
19. Little by Little (2002)
20. Stop Crying Your Heart Out (2002)

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Awards:

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One-Hit Wonders

First posted 9/8/2019.

I am consistently annoyed by lists of supposed one-hit wonders. Inevitably, there are acts that are definitely NOT one-hit wonders. Some of the most glaring examples I’ve seen in different articles are Survivor (“Eye of the Tiger” #1, “Burning Heart” #2, top ten hits with “The Search Is Over,” “High on You,” and “Is This Love”), Toto (“Africa” #1, “Rosanna” #2, top tens with “Hold the Line” and “I Won’t Hold You Back”), and Sugarloaf (top ten hits with “Green-Eyed Lady” and “Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You”). There are also a couple of acts who certainly are best known for certain songs, but did have other hits. Aha (“Take on Me” #1, “The Sun Always Shines on TV” top 20) and The Knack (“My Sharona” #1, “Good Girls Don’t” #11) are the first two that come to mind.

It begs the question – how does one even definte a “hit”? For the purposes of this post, the focus is exclusively on the U.S. Billboard pop charts from 1890 to present. One could argue that a true one-hit wonder has only graced the Hot 100 once. However, this post will focus on acts which have only hit the top 40 once since songs lower than that arguably didn’t achieve familiarity with a general audience.

This leaves more than 2400 eligible songs with some definite surprises. Jimi Hendrix, Carl Perkins, Lou Reed (all on this list), and Dr. John (“Right Place Wrong Time”), Grateful Dead (“Touch of Grey”), Public Enemy (“Give It Up”), Roxy Music (“Love Is the Drug”), Rush (“New World Man”), The Small Faces (“Itchycoo Park”), and Frank Zappa (“Valley Girl”) only had one top 40 hit each despite the legendary status which got them inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Other acts like Beck; Oasis; and T-Rex (all on this list); along with Garth Brooks (“Lost in You”); Kate Bush “Running Up That Hill”); Emerson, Lake & Palmer (“From the Beginning”); Lefty Frizzell (“I Want to Be with You Always”); Merle Haggard (“If We Make It Through December”); Iggy Pop (“Candy”); Method Man (“I'll Be There for You / You're All I Need to Get By”); Shinedown (“Second Chance”); Weezer (“Beverly Hills”); The White Stripes (“Icky Thump”); and Warren Zevon (“Werewolves of London”) have plenty of success, but multiple chart hits on the top 40 eluded them.

If a song is marked with an asterisk (*), that indicates that the song is the only top 40 hit for the lead act, but that the supporting act has other top 40 hits. With all that established, here are the results for the biggest one-hit wonders of the Hot 100 chart era:

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1. Sinéad O’Connor “Nothing Compares 2 U” (#1, 1990)
2. Mark Ronson “Uptown Funk!” (with Bruno Mars, #1, 2014) *
3. Luis Fonsi “Despacito” (with Daddy Yankee & Justin Bieber, 2017, #1) *
4. Gotye with Kimbra "Somebody That I Used to Know" (#1, 2011)
5. Gnarls Barkley “Crazy” (#2, 2006)
6. USA for Africa “We Are the World” (#1, 1985)
7. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “All Along the Watchtower” (#20, 1968)
8. Coleman Hawkins “Body and Soul” (#13, 1940)
9. Debby Boone “You Light Up My Life” (#1, 1977)
10. The Penguins “Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)” (#8, 1954)

11. Daft Punk with Pharrell Williams “Get Lucky” (#2, 2013)
12. Oasis “Wonderwall” (#8, 1995)
13. The Verve “Bittersweet Symphony” (#12, 1997)
14. Carl Perkins “Blue Suede Shoes” (#2, 1956)
15. Soft Cell “Tainted Love” (#8, 1981)
16. Knickerbocker Quartet “Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile” (#1, 1917)
17. James Blunt “You’re Beautiful” (#1, 2004)
18. Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?” (#6, 1956)
19. Don Azpiazu & Arturo Machin “The Peanut Vendor (El Manicero” (#1, 1930)
20. Cee-Lo Green “Fuck You (aka “Forget You”)” (#2, 2010)

21. Daniel Powter “Bad Day” (#1, 2005)
22. Buffalo Springfield “For What It’s Worth” (#7, 1966)
23. Passenger “Let Her Go” (#5, 2012)
24. Amy Winehouse “Rehab” (#9, 2006)
25. Domenico Modugno “Volare (Nel Blu Dipinito Di Blue” (#1, 1958)
26. Wild Cherry “Play That Funky Music” (#1, 1976)
27. Magic! “Rude” (#1, 2013)
28. Dexy’s Midnight Runners “Come on Eileen” (#1, 1983)
29. Lou Reed “Walk on the Wild Side” (#16, 1972)
30. Walter Huston “September Song” (#12, 1939)

31. Anton Karas “The Third Man Theme” (#1, 1950)
32. Harry Simeone Chorale “The Little Drummer Boy” (#13, 1958)
33. Fisk University Jubilee Quartet “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” (#7, 1910)
34. Terry Jacks “Seasons in the Sun” (#1, 1974)
35. Lipps Inc. “Funkytown” (#1, 1980)
36. Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Relax” (#10, 1983)
37. Band Aid “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” (#13, 1984)
38. Sir Mix-A-Lot “Baby Got Back” (#1, 1992)
39. Ed Gallagher & Al Shean “Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean” (#1, 1922)
40. Beck “Loser” (#10, 1993)

41. Bill Snyder “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” (#3, 1950)
42. The Sugarhill Gang “Rapper’s Delight” (#36, 1979)
43. Big Four Quartet “Goodbye Dolly Gray” (#1, 1901)
44. Snow Patrol “Chasing Cars” (#5, 2006)
45. Big Joe Turner “Shake, Rattle and Roll” (#22, 1954)
46. Bill Medley “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” (with Jennifer Warnes, #1, 1987) *
47. Thomas Bott “Love’s Old Sweet Song” (#1, 1892)
48. The Chords “Sh-Boom” (#5, 1954)
49. Free “All Right Now” (#4, 1970)
50. Lou Bega “Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of…)” (#3, 1999)

51. Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps “Be-Bop-A-Lula” (#7, 1956)
52. Van McCoy “The Hustle” (#1, 1975)
53. Jimmy Boyd “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” (#1, 1952)
54. Regina Belle “A Whole New World” (with Peabo Bryson, #1, 1992) *
55. Mahalia Jackson “Move on Up a Little Higher” (#21, 1948)
56. Carl Douglas “Kung Fu Fighting” (#1, 1974)
57. Lee Ann Womack & the Sons of the Desert “I Hope You Dance” (#14, 2000)
58. OMI “Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)” (#1, 2014)
59. Cecil Fanning “A Perfect Day” (#2, 1911)
60. Kentucky Serenaders “Rose of Washington Square” (#3, 1920)

61. Hozier “Take Me to Church” (#2, 2013)
62. Idina Menzel “Let It Go” (#5, 2013)
63. Everything But the Girl “Missing (Todd Terry Remix)” (#2, 1995)
64. Nicholas Orlando’s Orchestra “Till We Meet Again” (with Harry MacDonough & Charles Hart, #1, 1919) *
65. The Lumineers “Ho Hey” (#3, 20120
66. Sonny James “Young Love” (#1, 1956)
67. Charles Agnew & His Stevens Hotel Orchestra with Stanley Jacobsen “Don’t Blame Me” (#13, 1933)
68. Erroll Garner Trio “Misty” (#30, 1954)
69. Dave Brubeck Quartet “Take Five” (#25, 1959)
70. Chumbawamba “Tubthumping” (#6, 1997)

71. M.I.A. “Paper Planes” (#4, 2007)
72. U.S. Naval Academy Band “Anchors Aweigh” (#13, 1906)
73. Bill Hayes “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” (#1, 1955)
74. Hoobastank “The Reason” (#2, 2003)
75. Benny Meroff with Dusty Rhodes “Happy Days Are Here Again” (#1, 1930)
76. Paul Mauriat “Love Is Blue” (#1, 1967)
77. Clarence “Pinetop” Smith “Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie” (#20, 1929)
78. Foster the People “Pumped Up Kicks” (#3, 2010)
79. McKinney’s Cotton Pickers with George Thomas “If I Could Be with You One Hour Tonight” (#1, 1930)
80. Mr. Acker Bilk “Stranger on the Shore” (#1, 1961)

81. William Redmond “In the Good Old Summertime” (#3, 1902)
82. Tammy Wynette “Stand by Your Man” (#19, 1968)
83. Donna Lewis “I Love You Always Forever” (#2, 1996)
84. Irving Mills “Stardust” (#20, 1930)
85. Kyu Sakamoto “Sukiyaki” (#1, 1963)
86. Silentó “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” (#3, 2015)
87. Zager & Evans “In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)” (#1, 1969)
88. The Tornadoes “Telstar” (#1, 1962)
89. Dua Lipa “New Rules” (#6, 2017)
90. Helen Trix “The Bird on Nellie’s Hat” (#3, 1907)

91. Edith Piaf “La Vie En Rose” (#23, 1950)
92. Gorillaz “Feel Good Inc.” (with De La Soul, #14, 2005) *
93. Jeannie C. Riley “Harper Valley P.T.A.” (#1, 1968)
94. The Six Brown Brothers “Darktown Strutters’ Ball” (#10, 1917)
95. Charles Marsh “Throw Him Down, McCloskey” (#1, 1892)
96. Bobby McFerrin “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” (#1, 1988)
97. Frank Coombs “The Harbor of Love” (with William H. Thompson, #3, 1912)
98. Ma Rainey “See See Rider Blues” (#14, 1925)
99. Walk the Moon “Shut Up and Dance” (#4, 2014)
100. T-Rex “Bang a Gong (Get It On)” (#10, 1971)

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Resources:

• Medium.com (11/14/2014). “The Complete List of True One-Hit Wonders”
• Quora.com “What’s your favorite one hit wonder?” (answer by James O’Connor)

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