Throwing it back to the best of 2000s country on this fine Thursday.
The decade following up what’s considered the “Golden Era of Country” had a lot of firepower in its own right. The 2000s saw Toby Keith continue to dominate the charts, beach country really have some moments thanks to Kenny Chesney and Alan Jackson (with a little help from Jimmy Buffett), and superstar artists like Carrie Underwood emerge.
Other names like Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Rodney Atkins and Rascal Flatts (and an artist named Taylor Swift… don’t know if you’ve heard of her) popped up a whole lot as I dove into Billboard’s Top Country Hits from each year of the 2000s.
As you scroll through this list, each year’s top song (the one that spent the most time at No. 1 on the charts) is listed, along with some other massive hits from artists you’ll definitely recognize. Go ahead and dive in, and feel free to let us know if there’s any songs that you feel like we left out in the “honorable mention” sections for each year.
And just a heads up… for 2005 and 2008, there ended up being two songs that tied for the top spot:
2000
“I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack with Sons of the Desert
Honorable Mentions: “How Do You Like Me Now?” by Toby Keith, “Breathe” by Faith Hill, and “That’s The Way” by Jo Dee Messina
2001
“I’m Already There” by Lonestar
Honorable Mentions: “Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You” by Brooks & Dunn, “Austin” by Blake Shelton, and “I Wanna Talk About Me” by Toby Keith
2002
“The Good Stuff” by Kenny Chesney
Honorable Mentions: “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)” by Alan Jackson, “Somebody Like You” by Keith Urban, and “My List” by Toby Keith
2003
“It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” by Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffett
Honorable Mentions: “Beer For My Horses” by Toby Keith and Willie Nelson, “Have You Forgotten?” by Darryl Worley, and “19 Somethin” by Mark Willis (“I Love This Bar” by Toby Keith also had a great run at the end of 2003).
2004
“Live Like You Were Dying” by Tim McGraw
Honorable Mentions: “There Goes My Life” by Kenny Chesney, “American Soldier” by Toby Keith, “Redneck Woman” by Gretchen Wilson (and I’ll also throw in the Chesney-Uncle Kracker collab: “When The Sun Goes Down”).
2005
“As Good As I Once Was” by Toby Keith and “Better Life” by Keith Urban
Honorable Mentions: “Bless The Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts, “That’s What I Love About Sunday” by Craig Morgan, and “Making Memories of Us” by Keith Urban
2006
“Jesus Take The Wheel” by Carrie Underwood
Honorable Mentions: “Summertime” by Kenny Chesney, “If You’re Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)” by Rodney Atkins, and another from Carrie Underwood: “Before He Cheats.”
2007
“Never Wanted Nothing More” by Kenny Chesney
Honorable Mentions: “Watching You” by Rodney Atkins, “Wasted” by Carrie Underwood, and Kenny Chesney’s “Don’t Blink.”
2008
“Our Song” by Taylor Swift and “Letter to Me” by Brad Paisley
Honorable Mentions: “You’re Gonna Miss This” by Trace Adkins, “I’m Still a Guy” by Brad Paisley, and “Good Time” by Alan Jackson
2009
“Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum
Honorable Mentions: “Big Green Tractor” by Jason Aldean, “It Won’t Be Like This For Long” by Darius Rucker, and “Then” by Brad Paisley
