The Top-50 Country Songs Of The Last 10 Years

For most of my adult life, I've lamented on the downhill slide of commercial country music, and I suspect just about everybody over the age 30 would concede that country music today pales in comparison to the quality of music that came out of Nashville 20 years ago, 30 years, and 40 years ago.  But I still listen to country radio far more than any other genre searching for hidden gems, and they still exist.  Although the country songs I connect with as a 30-something adult are fewer than were in previous eras, just about every year produces a handful of songs that really hit me where I live.  This list of the 50 best country songs of the last 10 years to those quality modern country songs....


1.  Me and Emily--Rachel Proctor (2004)
2.  Till Summer Comes Around--Keith Urban (2009)
3.  Don't Ask Me How I Know--Bobby Pinson (2005)
4.  Tornado--Little Big Town (2013)
5.  Sunny and 75--Joe Nichols (2013)
6.  Whiskey Lullaby--Brad Paisley and Allison Krauss (2004)
7.  Kerosene--Miranda Lambert (2006)
8.  Turning Home--David Nail (2010)
9.  Love Lives On--Mallary Hope (2008)
10. Texas Plates--Kellie Coffey (2004)
11. You're My Better Half--Keith Urban (2005)
12. Raymond--Brett Eldredge (2010)
13. I Don't Want To--Ashley Monroe (2007)
14. Trip Around the Sun--Jimmy Buffett and Martina McBride (2004)
15. If Heaven--Andy Griggs (2005)
16. I Loved Her First--Heartland (2006)
17. I Keep Coming Back--Josh Gracin (2006)
18. Man of the House--Chuck Wicks (2009)
19. I Don't Want This Night To End--Luke Bryan (2011)
20. Eden's Edge--Amen (2011)
21. Walking in Memphis--Lonestar (2004)
22. Let it Rain--David Nail (2011)
23. From a Table Away--Sunny Sweeney (2011)
24. Need You Now--Lady Antebellum (2009)
25. American Honey--Lady Antebellum (2010)
26. Blowin' Smoke--Kacey Musgraves (2013)
27. I Hold On--Dierks Bentley (2014)
28. The Sound of a Million Dreams--David Nail (2012)
29. Online--Brad Paisley (2007)
30. Guinevere--Eli Young Band (2010)
31. God Love Her--Toby Keith (2009)
32. He Oughta Know That By Now--Lee Ann Womack (2005)
33. Men Don't Change--Amy Dalley (2004)
34. If You're Going Through Hell (Keep on Going)--Rodney Atkins (2006)
35. Mama's Broken Heart--Miranda Lambert (2013)
36. Red Light--David Nail (2008)
37. Back to December--Taylor Swift (2011)
38. Long Black Train--Josh Turner (2004)
39. Shinin' on Me--Jerrod Niemann (2012)
40. What Hurts Most--Rascal Flatts (2006)
41. I Would Cry--Amy Dalley (2005)
42. Famous in a Small Town--Miranda Lambert (2007)
43. God's Will--Martina McBride (2005)
44. Good Directions--Billy Currington (2007)
45. Sarabeth--Rascal Flatts (2005)
46. Stupid Boy--Keith Urban (2007) 
47. Runaway--Love and Theft (2009)
48. In Color--Jamey Johnson (2009)
49. Cruise--Florida Georgia Line (2012)
50. Here--Rascal Flatts (2008)


10 More Honorable Mentions

Even If It Breaks My Heart--Eli Young Band (2012)
Brothers--Dean Brody (2010)
As If--Sara Evans (2007)
Love Story--Taylor Swift (2008)
Pretty Good At Drinking Beer--Billy Currington (2010)
Better--Maggie Rose (2013)
Bless the Broken Road--Rascal Flatts (2005)
I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes--Dierks Bentley (2009)
Days of Gold--Jake Owen (2013)
Maybe She'll Get Lonely--Jack Ingram (2008)

Now in one respect, I could do a top-50 song list just from the year 1994 and produce a list as good as this one for an entire decade, but the fact that I needed a separate list of 10 honorable mentions to pack in more songs that touched me at some level does suggest that country radio still occasionally gets it right.  The trendline heading into the middle of this decade is not a good one, but I'm sure there will continue to be a dozen or so songs a year that I always turn up when I hear them played on the radio.