Honesty is what makes the best Eric Church songs stand out from others on the radio. The “Springsteen” singer only sings what he knows, but as he’s grown and matured, that has become a long list.
Often this means his music is packed full of raw, unedited emotion — just how his fans like it. Other times he’s fully produced, leaning heavy into the fringes of country music and beyond as he tells his stories of love, loss, disappointment, regret and rage.
Songs on this list of the best Eric Church songs find him occasionally nostalgic. In recent years he’s reflected on real-world events in American life, or his own personal life. There’s wisdom, there’s a few dumb mistakes, there’s a father’s fury and a father’s appreciation for what a 3-year-old can teach him. There are a lot of girls.
While he rarely names the women in his songs — “Alabama Hannah” (from “Mr. Misunderstood”) and “Chattanooga Lucy” aside — there’s never a doubt they represent someone he once knew or was drawn to. Wife Katherine is found all over his catalog, including on several of this Top 10 songs. Is she a part of No. 1?
Elsewhere, Church’s rowdy side steps forward during songs like “Drink in My Hand” and “Lotta Boot Left to Fill,” an album cut from Carolina. Five songs from Chief make this list, in addition to four from Carolina and one from his debut album, Sinners Like Me. Is our No. 1, your No. 1? Find out below.
Top 50 Eric Church Songs: His Greatest Hits and Best Deep Cuts
He’s been known to sample R-Rated burners and sage truth-tellers — and then there are two songs about murder. So, Eric Church’s songs fall into rows, but there are a lot of rows in his 15-year-plus catalog.
His best song? Taste of Country asked fans, staff and the industry to weigh in and then looked at chart success, sales data pop culture importance to choose No. 1 from No. 50. Songs with strong lyrical content rank high. Songs with creative production rank high. Songs with both ended up in the Top 5.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes