The most amazing thing about this list of country songs turning 20 in 2024 is that you can still hear all 20 on the radio today!

Hits for Shania Twain, Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban dominate, but you’ll also find John Michael Montgomery‘s final hit, Gretchen Wilson‘s first and a superstar collaboration that’s sad these days, as two-fifths of the artists involved have died in the last 12 months.

• Tim McGraw‘s “Live Like You Were Dying” was the most-played song of 2004.
• Chesney won CMA Entertainer of the Year, while Toby Keith won the ACM.
• Sugarland and Rodney Atkins are two more hitmakers who debuted that year.

Related: See the Most Played Country Songs from the Year You Were Born

We’ve chosen the 20 most memorable songs from 2004 to make you feel old remind you of what a great year it was. The conversations were similar then as they are today — women struggled to get radio airplay, pop and traditional country were battling for chart supremacy, and people were complaining that the day’s hitmakers didn’t do it like Hank.

In hindsight, it’s impossible to think of songs like “Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts as anything but country, but purists were divided 20 years ago.

Take a look at our list and try to remember where you were the first time you heard each of these songs. If you love this kind of list, be sure to check out our friends at Ultimate Classic Rock, who’ve found 20 great rock albums turning 20 in 2024.

Billy Dukes is a Senior Editor and Executive Producer of Video Content at Taste of Country. He specializes in country music interviews, trend analysis and the Secret History of Country Music. Additionally, Billy covers Yellowstone, 1923 and related television shows through the Dutton Rules podcast. To date, he’s written more than 13,000 articles for Taste of Country and produced over 3,000 videos for the Taste of Country YouTube channel.