Top 100 Country Songs: Nominee List (200 Songs)

Well, here's the long awaited nominee list. I've complied 200 songs, of which, I will over the next week, select 100 and try and put them in some sort of order. The final Top 100 list will hopefully have a video of each song, but that's for later. For now, here's the list. I may have forgotten a song or two, and I'm not ruling out adding nominees to be considered. If I do, I will post them on here at the bottom with an asterisk by them. Without further adieu, here's the list in alphabetical order by song title.

18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses- Kathy Mattea

A Boy Named Sue- Johnny Cash

A Country Boy can Survive- Hank Williams Jr.

Act Naturally- Buck Owens

All My Exes Live in Texas- George Strait

Always on my Mind-Willie Nelson

Amarillo By Morning- George Strait

Amazed- Lonestar

Another Puff- Jerry Reed

Are You Sure Hank Done it this Way- Waylon Jennings

Battle of New Orleans- Johnny Horton

Beer For My Horses- Toby Keith

Before the Next Teardrop Falls- Freddy Fender

Behind Closed Doors- Charlie Rich

Beneath Still Waters- Emmylou Harris

Better Man- Clint Black

Blue Clear Sky- George Strait

Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain- Willie Nelson

Blue Moon of Kentucky- Bill Monroe

Blue Yodel #1 (T is for Texas)- Jimmie Rodgers

Boondocks- Little Big Town

Boot Scooti’n Boogie- Brooks & Dunn

Breathe- Faith Hill

Brokenheartsville- Joe Nichols

By the time I get to Phoenix- Glen Campbell

Calling Baton Rouge- Garth Brooks

Carried Away- George Strait

Carroll County Accident- Porter Wagoner

Carrying Your Love With Me- George Strait

Chicken Fried- Zac Brown Band

Chug-a-Lug- Roger Miller

Coal Miners Daughter- Loretta Lynn

Coat of Many Colors- Dolly Parton

Convoy- C.W. McCall

Country Boy- Glen Campbell

Cowboys Like Us- George Strait

Crazy- Patsy Cline

Cry, Cry, Cry- Johnny Cash

Crying My Heart Out Over You- Ricky Skiggs

Dang Me- Roger Miller

Daydreams About Night Things- Ronnie Milsap

Deeper Then the Holler- Randy Travis

Delta Dawn- Tanya Tucker

Denver- Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers

Diggin Up Bones- Randy Travis

Do You Know You are my Sunshine- The Statler Brothers

Don’t Close Your Eyes- Keith Whitley

Don’t It Make my Brown Eyes Blue- Crystal Gale

Don’t Rock the Juke Box- Alan Jackson

Don’t Take The Girl- Tim McGraw

Dust on the Bottle- David Lee Murphy

East Bound and Down- Jerry Reed

El Paso- Marty Robbins

Elizabeth- The Statler Brothers

Elvira- The Oak Ridge Boys

Faded Love- Bob Wills

Family Tradition- Hank William Jr.

Fancy- Reba McEntire

Fighting Side of Me- Merle Haggard

Fishing in the Dark- Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Flowers on the Wall- The Statler Brothers

Foggy Mountain Breakdown- Flatt and Scruggs

Folsom Prison Blues- Johnny Cash

Forever and Ever Amen- Randy Travis

Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go) Dierks Bentley

Friends in Low Places- Garth Brooks

Gentle on my Mind- Glen Campbell

Get Rhythm- Johnny Cash

Go Rest High on that Mountain- Vince Gill

God Bless the USA- Lee Greenwood

Golden Rings- George Jones and Tammy Wynette

Good Hearted Women- Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson

Grandpa (Tell me Bout the Good old days)-The Judds

Green Green Grass of Home- Porter Wagoner

Guitars, Cadillac’s- Dwight Yoakam

Harper Valley PTA- Jeannie C Riley

He Stopped Loving Her Today- George Jones

He’ll Have to Go- Jim Reeves

Heartland- George Strait

Hello Darlin- Conway Twitty

Hello Walls- Faron Young

Here’s A Quarter (Call Someone who Cares)- Travis Tritt

Hey Good Lookin- Hank Williams

Highway 40 Blues- Ricky Skaggs

Highwayman- The Highwaymen

Houston- Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers

I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love with You)- Hank Williams

I Can’t stop Loving You- Ray Charles

I Cross My Heart- George Strait

I Don’t Believe You’ve Met My Baby- The Louvin Brothers

I Don’t Wanna Play House- Tammy Wynette

I Fall to Pieces- Patsy Cline

I think I’ll just stay here and Drink- Merle Haggard

I Walk the Line- Johnny Cash

I Will Always Love You- Dolly Parton

I’d Be a Legend (In my Time)- Ronnie Milsap

I’ll Go to my Grave Loving You- The Statler Brothers

I’m Gonna Miss Her- Brad Paisley

I’m so Lonesome I could Cry- Hank Williams

If I could Only win Your Love- Emmylou Harris

If You’ve Got the Money Honey- Lefty Frizzel

In Color- Jamey Johnson

Independence Day- Martina McBride

It Was Almost Like a Song- Ronnie Milsap

It Wasn’t God who made Honky Tonk Angels- Kitty Wells

It’s A Great Day to be Alive- Travis Tritt

Jackson- Johnny Cash and June Carter

Jolene- Dolly Parton

Kentucky Waltz- Bill Monroe

Killin’ Time- Clint Black

King of the Road- Roger Miller

Kiss an Angel Good Morning- Charlie Pride

Last Date- Floyd Cramer

Lay You Down- Conway Twitty

Leave The Pieces- The Wreckers

Linda On My Mind- Conway Twitty

Livin’ on Love- Alan Jackson

Long Black Train- Josh Turner

Look at Us- Vince Gill

Lost River- Michael Martin Murphy

Louisiana Saturday Night- Mel McDaniel

Louisiana Women, Mississippi Man- Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn

Love Without End, Amen- George Strait

Lukenbach Texas- Waylon Jennings

Make the World Go Away- Eddy Arnold

Making Believe- Kitty Wells

Mama Tried- Merle Haggard

Mamas Don’t Let your Baby’s Grow up to be Cowboys- Waylon Jennings

Meet in the Middle- Diamond Rio

Mississippi Squirrel Revival- Ray Stevens

Momma He’s Crazy- The Judds

Mountain Music- Alabama

Mule Skinner Blues- Bill Monroe

My Baby’s Gone- The Louvin Brothers

My oh My- The Wreckers

Neon Moon- Brooks & Dunn

North to Alaska- Johnny Horton

Okie From Muskogee- Merle Haggard

On the Other Hand- Randy Travis

On the Road Again- Willie Nelson

Pocket Full of Gold- Vince Gill

Pop a top Again- Jim Ed Brown

Pure Love- Ronnie Milsap

Ragged Old Flag- Johnny Cash

Rainbow Stew- Merle Haggard

Remember When- Alan Jackson

Rhinestone Cowboy- Glen Campbell

Ring of Fire- Johnny Cash

Rock Island Line- Johnny Cash

Rocky Top- The Osborne Brothers

Roll in my Sweet Baby’s Arms- Flatt & Scruggs

Rose Garden- Lynn Anderson

San Antonio Rose- Bob Wills

Seminole Wind- John Anderson

Seven Spanish Angels- Willie Nelson/ Ray Charles

She got the Goldmine (I got the Shaft)- Jerry Reed

She’s In Love with the Boy- Trisha Yearwood

Should’ve Been A Cowboy- Toby Keith

Smoky Mountain Rain- Ronnie Milsap

Someday Soon- Suzy Bogguss

Song of the South- Alabama

Stand By Your Man- Tammy Wynette

Strawberry Wine- Deanna Carter

Streets of Bakersfield- Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens

Sweet Dreams- Patsy Cline

Sweet Southern Comfort- Buddy Jewel

Tennessee Mountain Home- Dolly Parton

The Ballad of Jed Clampett- Flatt & Scruggs

The Beaches of Cheyenne- Garth Brooks

The Dance- Garth Brooks

The Devil Went Down to Georgia- Charlie Daniels Band

The Gambler- Kenny Rogers

The Night the Lights went out in Georgia- Reba McEntire

The Ride- David Allen Coe

The Three Bells- The Browns

There Stands the Glass- Webb Pierce

Today I Started Loving You Again- Merle Haggard

Together Again- Buck Owens

Travelin’ Soldier- Dixie Chicks

Troubadour- George Strait

Tryin To Get Over You- Vince Gill

Uncle Pen- Ricky Skaggs

Waitin For A Train- Jimmie Rodgers

Walking the Floor over You- Ernest Tubb

Watermelon Crawl- Tracy Byrd

When I Call Your Name- Vince Gill

When I Stop Dreaming- The Louvin Brothers/ George and Tammy

When You Say Nothing At All- Alison Krauss

Whenever You Come Around- Vince Gill

Where the Sidewalk Ends- George Strait

Where were You when the World Stopped Turning- Alan Jackson

Whiskey Lullaby- Brad Paisley

Whiskey River- Willie Nelson

White Lightning- George Jones

Whoever’s in New England- Reba McEntire

Wildwood Flower- The Carter Family

Wreck of the Old 97- Johnny Cash/Vernon Dalhart

You Are my Sunshine- Jimmie Davis

You Never Even Called Me By  my Name- David Allen Coe

You’re My Kind of Woman, My kind of Man- Vince Gill/Patty Loveless

Your Cheatin’ Heart- Hank Williams

What is Bluegrass? Probably Not What You Think it Is.

I love music. It's a huge part of me, but it's never been a singular genre of music, but rather many. Jazz, classical, country, rock and roll, pop, blues, hip-hop and bluegrass all have their places with me. I'll listen to most anything, or at least give it a chance. However, bluegrass may be the one style of music that has played the biggest part in my life growing up, as a fiddle, mandolin and guitar player, and singer of the music. Over the last few months, I've come to realize there is a huge misconception about what Bluegrass music is among casual music fans.

Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to get to go to the Blue Note in Columbia, MO for the first time. It's one of the great music scenes in town, and I was really excited to go, and pretty excited about the act that was playing there that night. The band (The Hipnecks), whom I really like, put on a good show that evening. I like the Hipnecks for their unique sound, which is basically a blend of many different musical styles. Over the course of the evening, I heard more than one person refer to the band as a bluegrass band, which couldn't be farther from the truth, and it's a trend I've been noticing. It seems any band today that has a more traditional folk sound and a lot of cool, unique acoustic instruments gets labeled as "Bluegrass" whether or not that's the case.

Bluegrass itself is a blend of musical styles, well really two dominant styles. It blends appalachia hill music with blues. Bill Monroe, known as the father of bluegrass music, harnessed this sound. He came from a poor family in east Kentucky, and grew up listening to the fiddle tunes his mother would play and sing. Most of the folk songs that were played and sang across Appalachia came from the British Isles; Ireland, Scotland and England. Monroe learned to play the Mandolin and grew up singing these songs. Another type of music being sang in poor areas of the south, was blues. This was a style of music played and sang throughout the South, predominantly in poor, African-American communities. The old spirituals and songs sang by slaves in the old south were the basis for what would eventually become "the Blues", and then of course, Blues music itself would later take on many different forms. Monroe became very intrigued by Blues music, starting, as he tells it, by listening to a black gentlemen playing the guitar and singing one day out front of a local store. An idea sprung into his head, and Bluegrass Music was born.

The instrumentation for the standard bluegrass band, is derived from the instruments played in many homes in the mountains of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. The acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass fiddle and the fiddle are the most common makeup of a bluegrass band. The mournful singing and harmonies is derived from the Blues music Monroe first heard as a teenager. One of the most distinguishable, yet hard to define qualities about Bluegrass music is called "The High Lonesome Sound". Much like the rebel yell during the Civil War, the High Lonesome Sound is something that is very difficult to put into words, but you know it when you hear it. Sometimes it's the result of the high harmony in the tenor line in a bluegrass song, or the incredibly high, mournful lead, sung by the lead singer. It's an incredibly unique blend of music that has a sound all it's own.

Through the years, bluegrass has morphed and changed, but only the nuances. It's never wandered all that far from the sound Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys first put forth for the American public to hear. Earl Scruggs revolutionized the way the banjo was played, JD Crowe, The Country Gentlemen, and Tony Rice, among others, have changed the type of song that is accepted for Bluegrass music, but the sound has remained nearly the same. Only the technology in the studio has enhanced the quality of the music on the records. Sure, they have been off-shoots, like Alison Krauss who has taken a traditional bluegrass band and created a sound all her own, "walking the fine line between bluegrass and country music".

Which brings me back to The Hipnecks. I really like them, but, they're not a bluegrass band. They are mix of Southern Rock, Folk Rock, and Ozark Fusion. Sure, they have a stand-up base. The lead singer busts out a mandolin every now and again. They have a fiddle player, and some ripping harmonica solos. All of these qualities make them an awesome band. Just not a bluegrass band. It's not the instruments in one's band, but the way those instruments are being played. And don't forget the singing. The lead melody and the harmonic structure of the back-up singers is also huge part of what makes Bluegrass music, Bluegrass. I could give a bluegrass history lesson, but I'm not going to do that. My only point is, don't make generalizations. Just because a band is a little off the beaten path and sounds a little different, don't assume it's a bluegrass band. Besides, most likely, the band itself will tell you they're not one either. And please, don't take this as a rip on the Hipnecks or any of the bands that played at the Blue Note that particular Friday night, or any of the groups that people mistakenly refer to as Bluegrass, because it's not. I like them, I like their sound, but as a "music snob" as I've been called, I just don't like seeing bands mis-classified. Especially when their classified as a style whose people are very protective of their music. Bluegrass is Bluegrass, and trust me, you'll know it when you hear it.