This list of top songs from country music’s top artists drills down to the best from legends such as Alan Jackson and Tim McGraw to relative newcomers such as Lainey Wilson.
There’s just one song per artist and we’ll stand by our picks for perennial hitmakers like Kenny Chesney and Blake Shelton. Eric Church fans will probably won’t agree (when do they?) but we’ll stand by that, too.
The choice for Jelly Roll was simple. Picking Cody Johnson‘s No. 1 song was trickier because the Texan has so many great album cuts.
Related: See the Most-Played Country Song from the Year You Were Born
Morgan Wallen, Miranda Lambert, both Lukes and Toby Keith are also featured on this list of country music’s best. There’s a heavy focus on modern hitmakers, but a few GOATS such as Reba McEntire also pop up. She’s not had a radio hit since 2010 but few days pass without her No. 1 song on any given radio station.
This list was curated by weighing each artist’s biggest commercial hit against the strength of songwriting of others from his or her catalog. Sales and airplay numbers were considered, but more important was the impact. That becomes obvious when you see which song was chosen as Garth Brooks’ top song.
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.
Best Songs By Country Music’s Biggest Stars
Here are the best songs from 33 different country artists, as picked by Taste of Country staff with help from the most recent sales and streaming data.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes