90s country is my prime era of country – I mean, hell, you can’t grow up in Nashville, Tennessee in the 90s and not be constantly surrounded by it. We’re all products of our environment in one way or another, and though I very quickly grew out of country, I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy it back in my younger days. Now, I couldn’t give a shit less about the stuff coming out today, but for me, every now and then, I do like to rewind about 30 years or so and listen to the hits of the era for a nice bit of nostalgia. So, I have to give credit to our guy Steve, who brought this question up on Twitter awhile back. We saw him suggest that ‘Neon Moon‘ was the greatest country song….either of all time, or of the 90s…I don’t remember. But, it sparked a lengthy discussion in the group chat that turned into an article idea – “hey, why don’t we try to rank the top 10 country songs of the 90s?” Well, that proved to be an arduous task and we just kept spouting off songs. So, it ultimately led to our top 50 country songs of the 90s. As for our criteria – hell, we don’t have a criteria…we just picked what we liked. Easy enough, right? Let’s start with the best of the rest – here’s 50-11.
The Top 50 Country Songs of the 90s
50. “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful” by Sammy Kershaw
49. “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair” by George Jones
48. “Blue” by LeAnn Rimes
47. “Some Girls Do” by Sawyer Brown
46. “When You Say Nothing At All” by Alison Krauss
45. “Midnight In Montgomery” by Alan Jackson
44. “Dancin’ Shaggin’ on the Boulevard” by Alabama
43. “How Forever Feels” by Kenny Chesney
42. “Small Town Saturday Night” by Hal Ketchum
41. “T-R-O-U-B-L-E” by Travis Tritt
40. “She’s In Love With The Boy” by Trisha Yearwood
39. “Brand New Man” by Brooks & Dunn
38. “Be My Baby Tonight” by John Michael Montgomery
37. “God Blessed Texas” by Little Texas
36. “Like the Rain” by Clint Black
35. “No One Else on Earth” by Wynonna Judd
34. “Indian Outlaw” by Tim McGraw
33. “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” by Kenny Chesney
32. “I LIke It, I love It” by Tim McGraw
31. “I Can Love You Like That” by John Michael Montgomery
30. “Pickup Man” by Joe Diffie
29. “Love Without End, Amen” by George Strait
28. “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away” by Vince Gill
27. “Heads Carolina, Tails California” by Jo Dee Messina
26. “My Maria” by Brooks & Dunn
25. “Meet in the Middle” by Diamond Rio
24. “Maybe It Was Memphis” by Pam Tillis
23. “Seminole Wind” by John Anderson
22. “Down on the Farm” by Tim McGraw
21. “Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)” by John Michael Montgomery
20. “Rodeo” by Garth Brooks
19. “That Don’t Impress Me Much” by Shania Twain
18. “Independence Day” by Martina McBride
17. “Time Marches On” by Tracy Lawrence
16. “Check Yes or No” by George Strait
15. “Watermelon Crawl” by Tracy Byrd
14. “It’s Your Love” by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
13. “Life’s a Dance” by John Michael Montgomery
12. “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” by Brooks & Dunn
11. “Chattahoochee” by Alan Jackson
The Top 10 Country Songs of the 90s
10. “Any Man of Mine” by Shania Twain – Teasin’ squeezin’ pleasin’ – Can’t nobody act like this song doesn’t have one of the most iconic opening riffs of all time. As soon as you hear that guitar, you better get the hell out of the way or you’re going to be stampeded by a horde of women heading for the dance floor. Listen – there’s no judging here. I’m going to be right there with ’em belting out every lyric without missing a beat. An all-time classic.
9. “Shameless” by Garth Brooks – Damn, Garth Brooks really said “I’ll do anything you want me to” in country music back in 1991. Talk about shameless – this man was the original “ready to risk it all.” How many babies were conceived as this song played in the background?
8. “Achy Breaky Heart” by Billy Ray Cyrus – Laugh all you want, but those of us who were around in 1992 to remember this song completely taking over the world will tell you just what a damned sensation it was. And, for the record, I make no apologies for how much I love this song…even today.
7. “Dust on the Bottle” by David Lee Murphy – I don’t know if David Lee Murphy ever did a single other thing in country music, but damn, if you’re going to shoot, make it count. No better example of that than this song, which is still a honky tonk anthem down on Broadway today.
6. “Straight Tequila Night” by John Anderson – Big Country doesn’t want you to know this, but John Anderson put out banger after banger after banger back in the 80s and 90s. The BDE was never more present than on ‘Straight Tequila Night‘ which I still catch myself singing in the shower to this day.
5. “Fancy” by Reba McEntire – To this day, I can hear “I might’ve been born just plain white trash, but Fancy was a my name” and I’m ready to run through a brick wall. It’s a bit of an unsettling story, for sure, but if that line and the inflection in Reba’s voice doesn’t fire you up, you don’t have a pulse.
4. “Neon Moon” by Brooks & Dunn – I’ll level with you guys – I don’t think “Neon Moon” gets nearly the credit it deserves for being such an emotional song. There’s a lot of loneliness in this one, but the twang makes it all oh so sweet and catchy.
3. “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks – I mean, it’s one of the most iconic country songs of all time. Nothing’s better for a singalong, and everyone knows the words. It barely makes the cut, having been released in 1990, but there’s no doubt about this one – it’s one of the G.O.A.T.s.
2. “Don’t Take the Girl” by Tim McGraw – This was my vote for #1, but I was outvoted by the majority. If you can listen to this fucking song and not shed a tear, I don’t think you’re human. What a full circle story and an emotional rollercoaster. That Tim McGraw, man – he was ON ONE back in the 90s. I saw that man doing pistol squats on stage in Tunica in 2013. What does he put in his coffee? Hot damn.
1. “Strawberry Wine” by Deana Carter – It wasn’t my vote, but I respect the integrity of the election, and if this is what the team votes, I’ll stand by it. It’s one of the greatest love stories of all time – it’s wild how this song just puts you right in that moment…to this day, it makes me feel the freedom of youth. Not to mention, we’ve all dreamed of getting it on on a river bank for the hot July moon to see.
And, because I’m a man of the people and want you all to enjoy this trip down Memory Lane, I compiled these 50 songs in a special SoBros playlist on Spotify. Enjoy!
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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