There’s just something about ’90s country music, isn’t there? On the same radio frequency, you could have your heart torn to pieces by a devastating country ballad one minute and then have yourself a raucous time drinking a beer with your buddies the next.

The ’90s decade of country music was everything all together and all at one time.

With the arrival of 2024, some of those songs are turning 30 years old. They’re saying goodbye to their 20s and entering a new decade of life!

It was a big year: 1994 gave us light-hearted songs like Tracy Byrd‘s “Watermelon Crawl” and “Pickup Man” from the late Joe Diffie. These songs reminded us not to take ourselves so seriously, and they were catchy as all get out.

On the other hand, songs like “That Ain’t No Way to Go” from Brooks & Dunn and Tim McGraw‘s “Don’t Take the Girl” were absolutely heartbreaking. Though painful, these songs showed us that we are not alone in our pain and often times, they offered a few minutes of therapeutic bliss.

One thing all of these songs share? A dedication to storytelling. This style of songwriting is what sets country music apart from every other genre. It’s also the reason so many artists outside the format want to go country — just as Alan Jackson portrayed in his 1994 hit “Gone Country.”

These songs are officially investing in both their retirement and a good face cream. Here are 30 country songs turning the big 3-0 in 2024.