Rolling Stone Ranks The 200 Greatest Country Songs Of All Time!
Rolling Stone has released a list of the 200 best country songs of all time!
They released the list to celebrate the 10 year Anniversary of Rolling Stone’s Country Sector. “We’re expanding the list to 200 songs. The new list gave us more room to go deeper into the music’s rich history, including some aspects that didn’t get enough attention the first time around.” Rolling Stone shared about the ranking.
They originally released the top 100 country songs back in 2014. At that time Johnny Cash took the top spot with his hit “Walk The Line”. Country artists new and old were staggered throughout the list this time around. The top 100 focused more of the classics and included few modern country artists we hear on the radio today.
Modern country Artists like Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers, Maren Morris, and Luke Combs all made the list. Beyonce’s “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM’” just made the list ranking at 192 on the chart of 200 songs.
This may come as controversial to country music listeners as many did not enjoy her country album “Cowboy Carter” released back in February. Similar to Beyonce, Lil Nas X and his remix of the viral hit “Old Town Road” ranked above Zach Bryan and Luke Combs on the list coming in at 138 on the list.
Kacey Musgraves’s “Follow Your Arrow”, Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places” and Taylor Swift’s “Mean” all ranked in the top 40 on the list.
Dolly Parton ultimately took the #1 spot on the list with her classic “Jolene”. It’s a song everyone knows and just seems to stand the test of time.
When asked about the decision Rolling Stone said ” “Jolene” represents Dolly Parton’s peak as a singer, songwriter, and storyteller, making it “the ultimate country heartbreak song.”. This recognition comes over 50 years after the songs release date maintaining it’s relevance decades later.
Some of country’s biggest artists did not get a spot on the coveted list, most notably being Morgan Wallen!
Wallen broke Garth Brooks’s record of longest running number 1 country song with his song “One Thing At A Time” earlier this year. In addition to that he’s had countless #1 chart hits, most recently being his collaboration with Post Malone “I Had Some Help”.
Along with several sold out arena shows, Wallen has done enough to make the list but ultimately did not. Fans speculate this may be because of Wallen’s trouble with the law and his recent harmful actions.
Grammy Award winner Lainey Wilson also did not make the list. The country star seems to have achieved everything else in the country music world this year. She took home the Grammy for “Best Country Album”, and most recently the ACM award for “Entertainer of The Year”!
See Rolling Stone’s full list of The 200 Greatest Country Songs Of All Time HERE!