Top 100 Country Albums of All Time

Country Music: The Top 100 Albums

This was originally posted as a top 20 list on Facebook and then expanded for the DMDB blog. 38 lists (sources at bottom of page) focused on country albums were aggregated to create this list. Albums making 3 or more of those lists were ranked by their overall status in Dave’s Music Database. Also factored in were those which topped the country album chart or won Country Album of the Year awards from the Academy of Country Music, American Music Awards, Billboard, Country Music Association, Dave’s Music Database, and the Grammys. There is a lot of cross-polination between country, folk, and Americana. I’ve created three separate lists for these genres and allowed an album to only show up on one of the three lists. Check out those and other best-of-genre/category lists here. 1. Shania Twain Come on Over (1997) 2. Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison (1968) 3. Taylor Swift Fearless (2008) 4. Ray Charles Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962) 5. Various artists O Brother Where Art Thou (soundtrack, 2000) 6. Taylor Swift Red (2012) 7. Chris Stapleton Traveller (2015) 8. Kacey Musgraves Golden Hour (2018) 9. Garth Brooks Ropin’ the Wind (1991) 10. The Byrds Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968) 11. Gram Parsons Grievous Angel (1974) 12. Garth Brooks No Fences (1990) 13. Hank Williams 40 Greatest Hits (compilation: 1947-53, released 1978) 14. Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits (compilation: 1977-80, released 1980) 15. Patsy Cline 12 Greatest Hits (compilation: 1957-63, released 1973) 16. Morgan Wallen Dangerous: The Double Album (2021) 17. Garth Brooks The Hits (compilation: 1989-1993) 18. Carrie Underwood Some Hearts (2005) 19. Johnny Cash At San Quentin (live, 1969) 20. Taylor Swift Speak Now (2010) 21. The Flying Burrito Brothers The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969) 22. Billy Ray Cyrus Some Gave All (1992) 23. Dixie Chicks Home (2002) 24. Shania Twain Up! (2002) 25. Dixie Chicks Wide Open Spaces (1998) 26. Sturgill Simpson A Sailor’s Guide to Earth (2016) 27. Loretta Lynn Van Lear Rose (2004) 28. Morgan Wallen One Thing at a Time (2023) 29. Dixie Chicks Fly (1999) 30. Willie Nelson Red-Headed Stranger (1975) 31. Shania Twain The Woman in Me (1995) 32. Lady Antebellum Need You Now (2010) 33. Shania Twain Greatest Hits (compilation: 1994-2004, released 2004) 34. Dixie Chicks Taking the Long Way (2006) 35. Garth Brooks Double Live (1998) 36. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Will the Circle Be Unbroken (1972) 37. Kacey Musgraves Same Trailer, Different Park (2013) 38. Alan Jackson Greatest Hits Volume 2 and Some Other Stuff (compilation: 1996-2003, released 2003) 39. Alabama Greatest Hits (compilation: 1980-86, released 1986) 40. Gram Parsons G.P. (1973) 41. Alan Jackson The Greatest Hits Collection (compilation: 1989-95, released 1995) 42. Chris Stapleton Starting Over (2020) 43. Taylor Swift Taylor Swift (2006) 44. Garth Brooks In Pieces (1993) 45. Taylor Swift Red (Taylor’s Version) (2021) 46. Kenny Rogers The Gambler (1978) 47. Miranda Lambert Platinum (2014) 48. Luke Combs This One’s for You (2017) 49. Emmylou Harris Wrecking Ball (1995) 50. Garth Brooks Sevens (1997) 51. Clint Black Killin’ Time (1989) 52. Tim McGraw Greatest Hits (compilation: 1994-99, released 2000) 53. Garth Brooks The Chase (1992) 54. Kenny Rogers Ten Years of Gold (compilation: 1967-77, released 1978) 55. Eagles Long Road Out of Eden (2007) 56. George Strait 50 Number Ones (compilation: 1982-2004, released 2004) 57. Zach Bryan American Heartbreak (2022) 58. Willie Nelson Stardust (1978) 59. LeAnn Rimes Blue (1996) 60. Garth Brooks Garth Brooks (1989) 61. Faith Hill Breathe (1999) 62. Randy Travis Always and Forever (1987) 63. Chris Stapleton From a Room, Volume 1 (2017) 64. Various Artists Coyote Ugly (soundtrack, 2000) 65. Luke Bryan Crash My Party (2013) 66. Kacey Musgraves Star-Crossed (2021) 67. Eric Church Chief (2011) 68. Various Artists Country Music (box: 1928-2002, released 2019) 69. Waylon Jennings Greatest Hits (compilation: 1968-78, released 1979) 70. Willie Nelson Always on My Mind (1982) 71. Gretchen Wilson Here for the Party (2004) 72. Jason Aldean My Kinda Party (2011) 73. Garth Brooks The Ultimate Hits (compilation: 1989-2007, released 2007) 74. Alan Jackson Drive (2002) 75. Lyle Lovett Pontiac (1987) 76. Charlie Rich Behind Closed Doors (1973) 77. Willie Nelson Greatest Hits & Some That Will Be (compilation: 1973-81, released 1981) 78. Tim McGraw Not a Moment Too Soon (1994) 79. Alan Jackson A Lot about Livin’ and a Little ‘Bout Love (1992) 80. Alabama Mountain Music (1982) 81. Rascal Flatts Me and My Gang (2006) 82. Kenny Chesney When the Sun Goes Down (2004) 83. Mary Chapin Carpenter Come on, Come On (1992) 84. Alabama The Closer You Get (1983) 85. Brad Paisley Time Well Wasted (2005) 86. Alabama Feels So Right (1981) 87. Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Tompall Glaser, & Jessi Colter Wanted! The Outlaws (1976) 88. Brooks & Dunn Brand New Man (1991) 89. Toby Keith Shock ‘n Y’all (2003) 90. Reba McEntire Greatest Hits Volume Two (compilation: 1988-93, released 1993) 91. Miranda Lambert Revolution (2009) 92. George Strait Blue Clear Sky (1996) 93. John Denver Back Home Again (1974) 94. Glen Campbell Wichita Lineman (1968) 95. Kenny Rogers Kenny (1979) 96. Garth Brooks Fresh Horses (1995) 97. Elvis Presley Moody Blue (1977) 98. Garth Brooks Scarecrow (2001) 99. Randy Travis Storms of Life (1986) 100. Dwight Yoakam Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc. Etc. (1986) Resources and Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: other best-of-genre lists Dave’s Music Database: Country Music: Albums of the Year (Academy of Country Music, American Music Awards, Billboard, Country Music Association, Dave’s Music Database, and Grammy awards for country album of the year) 24/7 Wall St. (4/1/2020). “100 Most Popular Country Music Albums of All Time” This list was created based on albums sales and performance on Billboard’s country album chart. All albums hit #1 on that chart and sold at least 1 million copies. Academy of Country Music (1967-2019). “Album of the Year” Albumoftheyear.org: “The Best Country Albums of All Time” Top 25 list. Heavily slanted toward 21st century albums. BestEverAlbums.co (2013). “Top 100 Country Albums” by Bork Billboard “Greatest of All Time Top Country Albums” Billboard “List of Billboard number-one country albums” Billings Gazette (4/22/2017). “Tradition vs. Recent Hits: Ranking the Best Country Music Albums of All Time” BobbyBones.iheart.com (2/1/2018). “These Are the top 50 Country Albums of All Time” by Morgan Huelsman TheBoot.com (3/31/2020). “10 Essential Albums for Your Country Music Education” Cleveland.com (9/19/2019). “50 Greatest Country Music Albums of All Time” by Troy L. Smith CMT (4/24/2013). “Nashville Skyline: What Are the Greatest Albums Ever?” by Chet Flippo CMT Edge: “10 Essential Alt-Country Albums” Now dead link. Consequence of Sound (9/10/2019). “10 Country Albums Every Music Fan Should Own” by Jacob Nierenberg and Tyler Dunston Country Music Associati “Album of the Year” Digital Dream Door (6/24/2017). “100 Greatest Country Music Albums” edited by Chris F., Lew Discogs.com (2019). “Essential Country Albums to Own on Vinyl” by gaspipe Entertainment Weekly (5/15/2008). “25 Country Albums You Need to Hear Even if You Hate Country Music” by Chris Willman Grammy Award (1965-66, 1994-present). “Best Country Album” IGN (6/16/2012). “Top 25 Country Albums” by Spence D. BBC listeners were polled to determine the top 100 albums of all time. Mademan: “Top 10 Best Country Albums of All Time” Now dead link. Mentor Public Library (8/23/2017). “25 Classic Country Albums on Freegal” Mojo (2001). “The Ultimate CD Buyers Guide: Country” Music Radar (4/2/2013). “Son Volt’s Jay Farrar Picks 10 Essential Country Albums” by Joe Bosso Paste (10/19/2019). “The 30 Best Country Albums of the 2010s” Pitchfork: “Highest Rated Country Albums of All Time” Q Magazine: “30 Essential Country Rock Albums” Q Magazine (April 2005). “Ultimate Music Collection” Featured lists of must-have albums (from 4 to 11 picks) and tracks (roughly 50) in multiple genres including rock, pop, punk, rap, country, blues, soul, metal, reggae, jazz, folk, electronic, and indie. Rate Your Music: “100 Greatest Country Albums” An unranked list created by Ratey Your Music user BradL. Reddit (2015). “What Are County Music’s Essential Albums?” Rolling Stone (5/27/2020). “50 Country Albums Every Rock Fan Should Own” SavingCountryMusic.com (3/25/2013). “Greatest Country Music Albums of All Time” A Taste of Country (2015). “100 Greatest Country Albums of All Time” Treblezine.com (3/10/2016). “10 Essential 21st Century CountryAlbums” Vinyl Me Please (8/3/2018). “The 10 Best Alt-Country Albums to Own on Vinyl” by Andrew Madigan VivaScene.com (1/16/2019). “Essential: The Top 10 Country Albums Every Music Fan Should Own” by Brian Miller Wide Open Country (2020). “The 50 Best-Selling Country Albums of All Time” by Bobby Moore First posted 3/17/2010; last updated 3/22/2024.

Taylor Swift hit #1 with Speak Now

Speak Now Taylor Swift

Released: October 25, 2010 Charted: November 13, 2010 Peak: 16 US, 113 CW, 6 UK, 12 CN, 11 AU Sales (in millions): 6.0 US, 0.3 UK, 6.85 world (includes US and UK) Genre: pop/country

Tracks: Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Mine [3:50] (8/21/10, 3 US, 30 UK, 7 CW, 1 AC, 7 AA, sales: 1.0 m) Sparks Fly [4:20] (11/13/10, 17 US, 1 CW) Back to December [4:53] (10/30/10, 6 US, 15 AC, 11 AA, sales: 1.03 m) Speak Now [4:00] (10/23/10, 8 US, 60 CW) Dear John [6:43] (11/13/10, 54 US) Mean [3:57] (11/6/10, 11 US, 1 CW, sales: 0.5 m) The Story of Us [4:25] (11/13/10, 41 US, 27 AC, 31 AA) Never Grow Up [4:50] (11/13/10, 84 US) Enchanted [5:53] (11/13/10, 75 US) Better Than Revenge [3:37] (11/13/10, 56 US) Innocent [5:02] (11/13/10, 27 US) Haunted [4:02] (11/13/10, 63 US) Last Kiss [6:07] (11/13/10, 71 US) Long Live [5:17] (11/13/10, 85 US) All songs written by Taylor Swift. Deluxe Edition – Disc 2: Ours [3:58] (11/26/11, 13 US) If This Was a Movie [3:54] (11/26/10, 10 US) Superman [4:36] (11/26/11, 26 US) Back to December (acoustic) [4:52] Haunted (acoustic) [3:37] Mine (pop mix) [3:50] Video: On the Set – Behind the Scenes of “Mine” Music Video [30:21] Video: Mine [3:55] Total Running Time: 67:29

Rating: 3.965 out of 5.00 (average of 33 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Taylor Swift’s third album had big shoes to fill as a follow-up to her huge-selling, Grammy-winning Fearless. She delivered with an album that debuted with more than a million in sales in its first week even as industry experts were saying no one would ever pull off a million-selling week again. It hadn’t been done for five years. It was the second-biggest debut ever for a country album. WK The album also pulled off the remarkable feat of landing all fourteen of its songs on the Billboard Hot 100, the only artist in history to do so. WK It made her the third artist in history to have more than ten hits on the Hot 100 simultaneously. WK When a deluxe edition of the album was released a year later with three new songs, those charted as well, giving her an album with seventeen Hot 100 charters! The album accomplished award attention as well, landing the American Music Award for Country Album of the Year. It also picked up a nod from the Country Music Association as Album of the Year and got a Grammy nod for Country Album of the Year. The album received largely positive critical attention as well. Sputnikmusic’s Rudy Klapper called it “the best pop record of the year.” WK Many of the commentaries focused on Swift’s talent for maintaining her youthfulness but also allowing for adulthood to seap into her lyrics. USA Today’s Elysa Gardner said the album “captures the sweet ache of becoming an adult, as only those who are still in the process can articulate.” WK Dave Heaton of PopMatters.com noted “a richer array of narratives” WK on the album while Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone commended Swift for “slipping more grown-up details into her love stories.” WK When comparing Speak Now to its predecessor, “Swift seemed like a genuine girl on Fearless, perhaps treating her songs a little too much like diaries, but that only made them more affecting. If anything, Swift ramps up the confessions on her 2010 sequel, Speak Now, but circumstances have changed: few listeners, if any, would have a clue about the identity of the boy who belongs with Taylor, but now that she’s a superstar, anybody with a passing familiarity with pop culture can discern which songs are about Kanye, Taylor Lautner (her ex), or Camilla Belle (the actress girl who stole Joe Jonas out from under our heroine).” STE Of course, Swift doesn’t make any real effort “to disguise who she’s writing about – not when she’s writing Dear John, an elegant evisceration of lecherous lothario John Mayer.” STE “Such gossip mongering is titillating but fleeting, suggesting that the charms of Speak Now are insubstantial, but Swift’s gift is that she sets the troubled mind of an awkward age in stone. She writes from the perspective of the moment yet has the skill of a songwriter beyond her years, articulating contradictions and confessions with keen detail and strong melody. Tellingly, underneath all her girlishness – and Taylor makes no apologies for being girly as she baits mean girls, dreamily thinks of stolen kisses on a sidewalk, or fantasizes about stealing away her ex-lover at the altar – there’s a steely strength. She walks away proudly from breakups and never dwells on mistakes; she moves forward.” STE “The same could be said about the sound of Speak Now itself, which is no great progression from Fearless but rather a subtle shift toward pure pop with the country accents, such as the Dixie Chicks foundation of Mean, used as flavoring. But that blend of pop and country, while certainly radio-friendly, is nearly as distinctive to Taylor Swift as her songwriting voice. She may be not a girl, and not yet a woman, but on Speak Now she captures that transition with a personal grace and skill that few singer/songwriters have.” STE

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Taylor Swift STE Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 12/8/2011; last updated 11/30/2022.

Dixie Chicks Taking the Long Way won Album of the Year

Taking the Long Way The Dixie Chicks

Released: May 23, 2006 Peak: 12 US, 19 CW, 10 UK, 14 CN, 2 AU Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.1 UK, 3.96 world (includes US and UK) Genre: country

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. The Long Way Around (8/29/06, --) Easy Silence Not Ready to Make Nice (3/25/06, 4 BB, 36 CW, 32 AC) Everybody Knows (5/6/06, 45 CW) Bitter End Lullaby Lubbock or Leave It Silent House Favorite Year Voice Inside My Head I Like It Baby Hold On So Hard I Hope (10/22/05, 54 CW) Total Running Time: 66:42 The Players: Natalie Maines (vocals, Omnichord) Martie Maguire (fiddle, viola, mandolin, strings, background vocals) Emily Robison (banjo, guitar, papoose, accordion, sitar, background vocals)

Rating: 4.235 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: As if following up three albums that sold nearly 30 million copies and a battle with their record label over royalties weren’t enough, this Texas trio now known as the Chicks were facing backlash from criticism of then-President George W. Bush made by lead singer Natalie Maines. Conservative country radio suddenly wanted nothing to do with them. To their credit, Maines, Martie Maguire, and Emily Robison did not back down. While their country audience diminished, they had become international superstars bigger than a particular genre. “Their sound and sensibility played to an audience that was much bigger and more self-consciously sophisticated than the country audience, so their shift from country to pop on 2006’s Taking the Long Way feels natural.” STE “The trio’s harmonies still shine brightly, they still play with conviction, and they still have a strong body of songs here.” STE On songs like “the defiant Not Ready to Make Nice [Grammy winner for song and record of the year] and the redneck-baiting Lubbock or Live It” STE they “don’t sound like they’re in retreat…they merely sound like they’re being themselves.” STE “They are now savvy, sophisticated urbanites” STE that are now “a little more NPR than hot country” STE with a sound that is “more suited for upscale apartments and coffeehouses” STE than Nashville. The album cover even suggests the newer image with them looking “like they’ve stepped out of Sex and the City.” STE The band outsourced some songwriting to the likes of Sheryl Crow, Neil Finn (Crowded House, Split Enz), Mike Campbell (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers), Dan Wilson (Semisonic, Trip Shakespeare), and bluesman Keb’ Mo’. “All are accomplished songwriters whose strengths may not seem to lie in country, but they all know how to structure a song, and they help give the group direction and the album focus.” STE They also worked with famed producer Rick Rubin. His “skill on picking collaborators for the trio makes up for his typically flat production – it’s clean and classy but not colorful, which it begs to be, given that this is a pop album filled with different styles and textures from rollicking rock & roll to soulful laments to sweet ballads. But this lack of zest in the production is forgivable because Taking the Long Way is otherwise a strong, confident affair that is far from suggesting the Dixie Chicks are being cowardly for moving away from country. Rather, they’re bravely asserting their identity through this varied, successful crossover move.” STE

Resources and Related Links: STE Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 10/8/2011; last updated 2/6/2024.

 

Shania Twain The Woman in Me spent first of 20 weeks atop the country chart

The Woman in Me Shania Twain

Released: February 7, 1995 Peak: 5 US, 129 CW, 7 UK, 6 CN, 17 AU Sales (in millions): 12.3 US, 0.38 UK, 20.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: country

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Home Ain’t Where His Heart Is Anymore (7/24/96, 28 CW) Any Man of Mine (4/26/95, 31 BB, 1 CW, 35 DF) Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under? (1/2/95, 87 BB, 11 CW, 21 DF) If You’re Not in It for Love, I’m Outta Here (10/28/95, 74 BB, 1 CW, 5 AU, 10 DF) The Woman in Me Needs the Man in You (8/9/95, 14 CW) Is There Life after Love? If It Don’t Take Two You Win My Love (1/26/96, 1 CW, 67 AU) Raining on Our Love Leaving Is the Only Way Out No One Needs to Know (5/11/96, 1 CW) God Bless the Child (10/26/96, 75 BB, 48 CW) Total Running Time: 48:08

Rating: 3.718 out of 5.00 (average of 26 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Shania’s Early Years Country singer/songwriter Eilleen Regina “Shania” Twain was born in 1965 in Ontario, Canada. After graduating from high school in 1983, she toured with a cover band called Flirt. Toronto DJ Stan Campbell noticed her talent and used her as a backing vocalist on an album by Canadian musician Tim Denis. Twain halted her burgeoning music career in 1987 when her mother and stepfather died in a car accident. She moved home to take care of her younger siblings. After her siblings moved out on their own, Twain re-entered the music world by assembling a demo which caught the attention of a few labels. She signed with Mercury Nashville Records and released her self-titled debut album in 1993. The album failed to chart in her native Canada or the United States, although the single “What Made You Say That” backed by “Dance with the One That Brought You” reached #55 on the Billboard country chart. Sophomore Success Her next album, 1995’s The Woman in Me, was a blockbuster. It reached the top 10 in Canada and the U.S. and has sold 20 million copies worldwide. It featured four #1 country hits, including the double-platinum Any Man of Mine. “Like many country artists of the mid-‘90s, Twain’s music combined country conventions with mainstream rock flourishes, creating a sound that appealed to both audiences.” AM Mutt Lange One of the key components in Shania’s huge leap in commercial success had to do with Robert John “Mutt” Lange. The famed producer reached out to her after hearing her first album. After hours on the phone, the two met six months later and married by the end of 1993. As the man who had produced iconic rock albums for Bryan Adams, AC/DC, the Cars, Def Leppard, and Foreigner, he was able to bring that same sensibility for catchy hits to Shania’s The Woman in Me. The Results Twain and Lange made for “a sassy combination of witty, well-crafted lyrics, strong melodies and hooks, all shown off to best effect by deft arrangements. Twain’s solid yet agile voice is just as at home with the traditional country of Who’s Bed Have Your Boots Been Under? as it is with the rockier You Win My Love or the balladry of Home Ain’t Where His Heart Is Anymore.” AB “The Woman in Me isn’t necessarily a flawless product – the material is a bit inconsistent, and the music plays it a bit too safe – but it all sounds convincing, thanks to the dynamic charisma of Shania Twain.” AM

Resources: AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine AB Michael Spilling (editor) (2015). Best-Selling Albums: From Vinyl Records to Digital Downloads. Amber Books Ltd.: London, United Kingdom. Page 164. Related DMDB Links: First posted 3/27/2008; last updated 12/9/2024.