Carrie Underwood‘s best songs weren’t necessarily radio hits. Sure, top songs like “Before He Cheats” and “Jesus Take the Wheel” rank high on this list of her 50 best, but so too do album cuts that fans can’t forget two, three, five or 15 years later.
In fact, you’ll find three songs that barely cracked country radio inside the Top 10, and four more to round out the Top 20 Carrie Underwood songs. Her biggest hits may have soared to No. 1 and sold millions of digital copies, but the American Idol winner’s best songs left an indelible impression on the hearts and souls of fans. In sharing her stories, she’s often giving a voice to your story. Indeed, the very best of these songs are tearjerkers, but that’s not to say all (or even any) are sad.
Find a few collaborations sprinkled throughout this list, but we stuck to songs that feature Underwood as the primary vocalist, so “Remind Me” with Brad Paisley and “The Fighter” with Keith Urban are out. A forgotten Sam Hunt duet cracks the Top 50, as does her early career partnership with Sons of Sylvia and her once-in-a-lifetime recording with Randy Travis. In fact, “I Told You So” is one of our absolute favorite Carrie Underwood songs, and you seem to agree.
To ignore commercial performances would be selfish, but to assume her best songs are among her 15 No. 1 singles or 28 Billboard Country Airplay Top 10s would be naive. We asked, we listened and then we poured through dozens of Carrie Underwood songs to create a definitive list of her best songs. Songs she emphasized on tour earn an edge over some others, as you’ll soon see. No. 1 is a live phenomenon.