The top 50 country songs
3/4/2026Country music is a genre that music enthusiasts either love, hate or tolerate. Critics cite country as too twangy for their taste. Those who like it, love it and want some more of it. They appreciate the no-nonsense, understandable lyrics and simple, relatable melodies. Songs that leave off the ‘g’, like cheatin’ and drinkin’ make it easy for singin’ along.
Country music is one of the fastest-growing music genres, thanks in part to the “Taylor Swift” effect, unlimited music streaming and pop-country crossover artists.
In Nashville alone, fans can choose from more than 100 live music acts on any single day in hundreds of nightclubs, the Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium. But, country music has flourished here in the Midwest for decades, too. Need proof? Just take a look at the local county fairs and Iowa State Fair Grandstand lineups. Country. Country. And more country — much to a rock-lover’s chagrin.
Some music lovers may prefer other genres, but, if it is music well done, they embrace the country musician’s artistic talents. Even non-country fans might secretly admit to liking some country music, such as Willie Nelson. When Donny and Marie Osmond came out with a variety show in the 1970s, Marie declared she was a ‘”little bit country” while Donny was a “little bit rock and roll.” Can you really like both? It is possible, even for a die-hard rock and roller like me.
Growing up, I listened to my father’s country music — not by choice. Dad listened to country in his work shed, which was equivalent to a mancave back then. Among the rusted tools and spare car parts was a transistor radio playing country songs.
The man in black — Johnny Cash — was Dad’s tough hero who he aspired to be like, except for the prison stuff. When he lamented about his relationship with Mom, he would sing the Hank Williams tune, “I’m so lonesome I could cry.”
When “Hee Haw” aired on TV, Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, along with perky women in pigtails and men in bib overalls, delivered upbeat country songs on fiddles and banjos. It was corny, but with only four channels to choose from, you watched what your parents watched.
The rebel in me begged to listen to “my” rock and roll and not my dad’s country. Yet, over the years, those tunes stuck with me. My sister and cousin sang songs while walking beans like “Rhinestone Cowboy” by Glen Cambell, while my cousin Karen chimed in “Cowgirl.”
The lyrics still permeate my mind as an adult. When I played blackjack in Las Vegas, Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler” kept telling me to never count my money when I’m sitting at the table. So, I took his advice — but it didn’t help me win.
At Valley Junction’s Music in the Junction, inevitably a train rolls by during the concert. “I hear a train a coming,” I tell my friends.
And when I quit a job years ago, the first song that came to my mind was “Take This Job and Shove It,” by Johnny Paycheck.
You, too, may have listened to country music at your grandparents’ home or your own. Your grandpa or dad may have preferred outlaw country songs about drinking whiskey at the bar while your grandma or mother liked Patsy Cline’s “I Fall to Pieces.” And, who hasn’t wanted to go to Luckenbach, Texas, with, Waylon and Willie and the boys?
Country singer Jesse Gutierres knows the lyrics to more than 600 classic country songs. He sings them all without a teleprompter in his band, Jesse and The Medicine Men.
“Urban Cowboy” effect
Over the years, rock and country were separate genres. But, what really made country cool was the movie “Urban Cowboy.” The movie came out in 1980 and featured John Travolta in a honky-tonk music hall riding a mechanical bull and twirling his lady in a two-step dance move. Before long, you were looking for love in all the wrong places and slapping your leg and kicking off your shoes in a Louisiana Saturday night. A pop crossover created a new country sub-genre, making it more mainstream on Top 40 radio.
Country music still booms today. Local country musician Jesse Gutierres plays original country and classic country cover songs in several Des Moines area bands, including Jesse and the Medicine Men. Gutierres gets many requests to play popular country songs. His favorites are too numerous to list, but he cites Don Williams, Hank Williams, Jr., Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and Keith Whitley as his top choices. It’s tough to narrow down as he knows more than 600 country songs by heart and never uses a lyric teleprompter.
“They are all stuck in my memory,” he says. “I just start the first few words, and then I get through it. It’s like preaching and reading the Bible. It’s written on my heart and soul.”
Country is feel-good music that has endured over the years. Gutierres explains why.
“They remember the older generation listening to it in their formative years. Those songs make you feel nostalgia and bring you back to a place with family and home — a comfortable place to be.”
What makes country different than other genres? It offers chords with a definite timing and structure. Instruments, such as a pedal steel guitar, fiddle, banjo and harmonica, add to the sound. It is feel-good, foot-stomping music. The simple lyrics talk about small town rural life, working class and family traditions, and common hardships including cheaters, drinkers and a party way of life.
Gutierres says real country music is complex.
“Real country music is an art. If people say it’s rock country, it’s not country if you mix it with another name,” he reflects.
In comparing pop and rock music, he says country music tells a story.
“It’s not just repeating phrases over and over. It’s has a moral to it with a passionate feel,” he says.
Top country songs
Now that we have flooded your mind with country music lyrics, what are the top classic country songs of all time?
The staff at Big Green Umbrella Media (publisher of CITYVIEW, SeniorView and the Iowa Living magazines) gathered in the conference room to curate a list of the greatest country songs.
For reference, the group contributing to the list varied in age, from a few young baby boomers, to Gen X’ers, millennials and a few Gen Z’ers.
Unlike when we created a Top 50 Rock and Roll Songs list, this was admittedly tougher. Only a small percentage of the group professed to listening to country music on a regular basis.
Even so, we all came up with our country favorites, songs that stood the test of time. And, we agreed that these songs never get old. Among the generations, everyone could recall a Johnny Cash or Dolly Parton tune.
As we brainstormed songs, ideas were over the place. We discussed crossover stars, such as Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Jelly Roll. The Chicks, Chris Stapleton and Brad Paisley came up — even Beyonce (and no, she is not on the list). We recalled line dance songs we attempted at wedding receptions. If we couldn’t think of the song, we hummed it or questioned, “Who sings that rowdy friends’ song?”
Here’s where the tricky part came in. What decade of music should we include? To narrow it down, we focused on music before 2000 — the classics of at least 25 years that stood the test of time. What songs are local cover bands playing? Which DJs break out the country list, where every generation comes out hooking their thumbs in their belt loops while dancing?
Many of the same artists’ names kept cropping up, such Kenny Rogers, who has dozens of country hits. We could have easily listed the top 50 with just a few musicians. However, we limited this list to just one song per band or musician.
The list is in no particular order; however, the top 10 includes songs are cherished by the entire group.
It all boils to down to what song gets your foot stomping, head nodding and singing all the words at the top of your lungs.
Read the list. And, after you read it, we want to hear from you. What songs should be on the list that we missed?
CITYVIEW is pleased to present, the Top 50 Country Songs:
“Ring of Fire”
Johnny Cash
“Jolene”
Dolly Parton
“The Gambler”
Kenny Rogers
“Friends in Low Places”
Garth Brooks
“On the Road Again”
Willie Nelson
“Boot Scootin’ Boogie”
Brooks & Dunn
“Harper Valley P.T.A.”
Jeannie C. Riley
“Achy Breaky Heart”
Billy Ray Cyrus
“Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys”
Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings
“Devil Went Down To Georgia”
Charlie Daniels Band
“Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)”
Big & Rich
“Luckenbach, Texas”
Waylon Jennings
“Elvira”
Oak Ridge Boys
“Okie from Muskogee”
Merle Haggard
“Mountain Music”
Alabama
“Red Solo Cup”
Toby Keith
“Stand by Your Man”
Tammy Wynette
“Delta Dawn”
Tanya Tucker
“Kiss An Angel Good Morning”
Charlie Pride
“Rhinestone Cowboy”
Glen Campbell
“El Paso”
Marty Robbins
“Cotton Eye Joe”
Rednex
“Guitars, Cadillacs”
Dwight Yoakam
“Wasted Days and Wasted Nights”
Freddy Fender
“Tennessee Whiskey”
George Jones
“This Kiss”
Faith Hill
“Chattahoochee”
Alan Jackson
“Family Tradition”
Hank Williams, Jr.
“There’s No Gettin’ Over Me”
Ronnie Milsap
“Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”
Shania Twain
“Amarillo by Morning”
George Strait
“Tight Fittin’ Jeans”
Conway Twitty
“Fancy”
Reba McEntire
“Coal Miner’s Daughter”
Loretta Lynn
“Green Green Grass of Home”
Porter Wagoner
“You Never Even Called Me By My Name”
David Allan Coe
“East Bound and Down”
Jerry Reed
“I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail”
Buck Owens
“Hey, Good Lookin’”
Hank Williams
“King of the Road”
Roger Miller
“Crazy”
Patsy Cline
“Grandpa”
The Judds
“Louisiana Saturday Night”
Mel McDaniel
“Take Me Home Country Roads”
John Denver
“God Bless the U.S.A.”
Lee Greenwood
“The Most Beautiful Girl”
Charlie Rich
“Take This Job and Shove it”
Johnny Paycheck
“Country Boy”
Ricky Skaggs
“Don’t The Girls Get Prettier at Closing Time”
Mickey Gilley
“Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue”
Crystal Gayle ♦
