The biggest songs and artists on country radio the past two decades have been revealed.
Despite country radio clearly losing the decades-long stranglehold it has had on consumers for the better part of the past five or so years, there’s no denying that it’s still a major player in terms of introducing casual listeners to music as it has throughout history. As pretty everyone knows by now, however, country radio has taken what can only be described as a nose-dive in quality over the years.
Gone are the days when you can fire up your local station and hear some stone-cold country songs, complete with some fiddle and steel, or even some hidden gems that a local DJ caught wind of early. Of course, that ended when major corporations such as iHeartRadio bought out the majority of radio stations around the country. Nowadays, you admittedly have to actively seek out the best country music has to offer, whether it’s here at Whiskey Riff, on streaming services or online on various different social media platforms.
With that being said, however, there’s absolutely no denying that country radio still some bright spots from time to time, namely Koe Wetzel scoring the most-played song of 2025 with “High Road” and Ella Langley recently breaking records — not only on the Billboard Hot 100, but on the radio as well.
Of course, before the 2010s bro-country era and general pop takeover we’ve seen recently, there was an undeniable quality that was still present on the radio. And if you were wondering just which songs and artists have been the most popular over the past twenty years, you’re in luck.
During their 2026 fall print special, Country Aircheck, the leading publication and news source for the country music radio, published the Top 100 songs on country radio over the past 20 years (2006-2026) in honor of their 20th anniversary.
A bit surprisingly, none other than Zac Brown Band’s 2008 breakout smash hit, “Chicken Fried,” was named the #1 song on country radio over the past 20 years. Rounding out the Top 5 are the likes of Sam Hunt’s “Body Like A Back Road,” Darius Rucker’s “Wagon Wheel,” Blake Shelton’s “Honey Bee” and Jake Owen’s “Barefoot Blue Jean Night.”
Zac Brown Band particularly dominates the list, owning three songs in the Top 25 with “Chicken Fried,” “Toes” and their Jimmy Buffett collaboration, “Knee Deep” and five of the Top 50 overall.
Speaking of domination, Luke Combs absolutely owns this list, charting a staggering 10 songs in the Top 100. These include the likes of certified Diamond hits such as “She Got the Best of Me,” “When It Rains It Pours” and “Beautiful Crazy.” What makes Combs’ domination of the list particularly fascinating is the fact that he has released his debut album This One’s For You back in 2017, meaning he owns 10% of this list despite the fact that he’s been only been active for nine years — less than half of the overall time frame.
Rounding out the Top 5 artists (by entries) are the likes Jason Aldean (8), Luke Bryan (7), Zac Brown Band (5) and Blake Shelton (4).
Though it shouldn’t be shocking considering that he’s never played the radio game throughout his career, Eric Church only charts two songs on the list. With that being said, however, they were absolute smashes with “Springsteen” and “Drink in My Hand” both cracking the Top 20 at #12 and #14 respectively.
The reigning Billboard Artist of the Year, Morgan Wallen, surprisingly only scores four entries with the likes of “Whiskey Glasses,” (#36), “Last Night,” (#70) “You Proof” (#91) and his Post Malone collaboration, “I Had Some Help.” (#98).
Some particularly notable entries, in terms of recency, are the likes of Cody Johnson’s lone entry “‘Til You Can’t” from 2021 all the way up at #23, Luke Comb’s “Fast Car” from 2023 at #59, Bailey Zimmerman’s “Rock and a Hard Place” from 2022 at #76, Jelly Roll’s “Need A Favor” from 2022 at #77, Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” from 2024 at #82 and Morgan Wallen and Post Malone’s aforementioned “I Had Some Help” from 2024 at #98.
Top 10 Artists (By Entries)
- Luke Combs (10)
- Jason Aldean (8)
- Luke Bryan (7)
- Zac Brown Band (5)
- Blake Shelton (4)
- Kenny Chesney (4)
- Thomas Rhett (4)
- Morgan Wallen (4)
- Billy Currington (3)
- Rodney Atkins (3)
Top 100 Songs
- “Chicken Fried” – Zac Brown Band
- “Body Like A Back Road” – Sam Hunt
- “Wagon Wheel” – Darius Rucker
- “Honey Bee” – Blake Shelton
- “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” – Jake Owen
- “Before He Cheats” – Carrie Underwood
- “Cruise” – Florida Georgia Line
- “One of Them Girls” – Lee Brice
- “She Had Me At Heads Carolina” – Cole Swindell
- “Good Directions” – Billy Currington
- “Watching You” – Rodnety Atkins
- “Springsteen” – Eric Church
- “Dirt On My Boots” – Jon Pardi
- “Drink in My Hand” – Eric Church
- “Alright” – Darius Rucker
- “Famous Friends” – Chris Young & Kane Brown
- “Life Is a Highway” – Rascal Flatts
- “Small Town Boy” – Dustin Lynch
- “She’s Country” – Jason Aldean
- “Get Along” – Kenny Chesney
- “She Got the Best of Me” – Luke Combs
- “Toes” – Zac Brown Band
- “‘Til You Can’t” – Cody Johnson
- “Knee Deep” – Zac Brown Band
- “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not” – Thompson Square
- “If You’re Going Through Hell” – Rodney Atkins
- “Thinking ’Bout You” – Dustin Lynch feat. MacKenzie Porter
- “When She Says Baby” – Jason Aldean
- “Blown Away” – Carrie Underwood
- “I Don’t Want This Night to End” – Luke Bryan
- “Mama’s Broken Heart”- Miranda Lambert
- “Dirt Road Anthem” – Jason Aldean
- “Drink a Beer” – Luke Bryan
- “When It Rains It Pours” – Luke Combs
- “What Ifs” – Kane Brown feat. Lauren Alaina
- “Whiskey Glasses” – Morgan Wallen
- “Boys ’Round Here” – Blake Shelton
- “Somethin’ ’Bout a Truck” – Kip Moore
- “Whatever It Is” Zac Brown Band
- “Take a Back Road” – Rodney Atkins
- “My Girl” – Dylan Scott
- “My Kinda Party” – Jason Aldean
- “Singles You Up” – Jordan Davis
- “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)” – Luke Bryan
- “Need You Now” – Lady Antebellum
- “Homegrown” – Zac Brown Band
- “Hotel Key” – Old Dominion
- “Do I Make You Wanna” – Billy Currington
- “Don’t Ya” – Brett Eldredge
- “People Are Crazy” – Billy Currington
- “Beer in Mexico” – Kenny Chesney
- “Dancin’ in the Country” – Tyler Hubbard
- “World on Fire” – Nate Smith
- “Big Green Tractor” – Jason Aldean
- “That’s My Kind of Night” – Luke Bryan
- “Unforgettable” – Thomas Rhett
- “A Guy with a Girl” – Blake Shelton
- “American Kids” – Kenny Chesney
- “Fast Car” – Luke Combs
- “If I Didn’t Love You” – Jason Aldean & Carrie Underwood
- “Somewhere on a Beach — Dierks Bentley
- “I Hope” – Gabby Barrett feat. Charlie Puth
- “Gimme That Girl” – Joe Nichols
- “Die a Happy Man” – Thomas Rhett
- “Heaven” – Kane Brown
- “One Number Away”- Luke Combs
- “Love Ain’t” – Eli Young Band
- “Drunk on a Plane” – Dierks Bentley
- “Tequila” – Dan + Shay
- “Last Night” – Morgan Wallen
- “One Man Band” – Old Dominion
- “Hurricane” – Luke Combs
- “Forever After All” – Luke Combs
- “The Kind of Love We Make” – Luke Combs
- “Girl Like You” – Jason Aldean
- “Rock and a Hard Place” – Bailey Zimmerman
- “Need a Favor” – Jelly Roll
- “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” – Eli Young Band
- “Beer Never Broke My Heart” – Luke Combs
- “What’s Your Country Song” – Thomas Rhett
- “Just Got Started Lovin’ You” – James Otto
- “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – Shaboozey
- “I Love This Life” – LoCash
- “Play It Again” – Luke Bryan
- “Lights Come On” – Jason Aldean
- “I’m Comin’ Over” – Chris Young
- “Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)” – Dierks Bentley
- “God’s Country” – Blake Shelton
- “What My World Spins Around” – Jordan Davis
- “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day” – Luke Bryan
- “You Proof” – Morgan Wallen
- “Beautiful Crazy” – Luke Combs
- “T-Shirt” – Thomas Rhett
- “Lovin’ on You” – Luke Combs
- “In Case You Didn’t Know” – Brett Young
- “Save It for a Rainy Day” – Kenny Chesney
- “One Margarita” – Luke Bryan
- “I Had Some Help” – Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen
- “May We All” – Florida Georgia Line feat. Tim McGraw
- “Single Saturday Night” – Cole Swindell
