Top 20 Country Artists of All Time
Published on 03 September 2024
Country music is absolutely massive right now. Are you into it? If so, what kind of country do you like?
Country music is a bit like metal in one particular regard: the subgenres! There are so many offshoots of country that it can be difficult to nail down (in some instances) just what is and what isn’t country, far less how ‘Nashville’ it is, or how ‘outlaw’. It can all get quite convoluted, and in the end, there’s a bit of personal interpretation to be had.
So, with that caveat, I’ve put together a Top 20 of the greatest country artists ever, from back in the day until the here-and-now. It has not been an easy task, and several legendary characters have been awkwardly jettisoned from the top list in order to make the overall run of things a little wider and more inclusive of new and old.
Here, then, is a list of the heroes, heroines, villains and rebels of country music, as it stands in 2024…
Top 20 Country Artists of All TIme
Willie Nelson
People talk about the Rolling Stones having longevity, but even they have to concede to the unbeatable career of Wilie Nelson. Active as a musician for over 70 years now, Nelson has made an artform out of straddling the outlaw country scene and the world of gigantic hits with an attitude that is all his own. Still releasing new music and still touring, WIllie Nelson is proof that age ain’t nothin’ if you’ve got ‘it’.
Johnny Cash
He may be known as the ‘Man in Black’, and he did cut a fearsome figure as he swaggered through life, but Johnny Cash’s most resonant quality was his empathy, clearly demonstrated throughout a lifetime of hits and deep cuts. From playing in prisons to covering (and owning) the iconic tunes of other stars, Johnny Cash left an indelible mark in the world of music.
Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton is a force of nature and an inspiration. Displaying a knack for business acumen that matches her ability as a songwriter and performer, Dolly has achieved everything she set out to do, and given how lofty her ambitions were, that’s saying something. From theme parks to books and TV shows, there is a whole industry built out there that Parton built around herself, and it’s inextricably linked to some of the best songs ever written, from Jolene to I Will Always Love You. Talk about ‘pouring yourself a cup of ambition’?
The Carter Family
June Carter was famous in her own right, but prior to her solo career (and marriage to Johnny Cash) she was part of the all-singing, all-dancing, massively influential Carter Family. The family/band goes back almost a century, with their earliest active date agreed to be 1927. Their sound defined country music right up until the 60s, encompassing gospel and bluegrass influences, and the group’s members changed in and out over the years, making them more of a collective than anything else. Each generation built on the sound of the previous one: for example, lead guitarist Maybelle Carter’s daughters Anita, June and Helen all performed for the band.
The Carter Family exists to this day, continuing the family tradition.
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings was one of the main players in the outlaw country subgenre in the 70s. He actually collaborated with fellow ‘outlaw’ Willie Nelson (the term referred to the artists operating outside the Nashville production juggernaut, as opposed to being about crime!) on a record called Wanted! The Outlaws, which ended up being country music’s first platinum selling album!
Early years for Jennings saw him drop out of school to pursue music, work in his family store and even bump into Buddy Holly before success called to him. He operated within the ‘Nashville sound’ during the late 60s, but it was when he broke away and operated from the margins that this Texan’s star truly shone.
Chris Stapleton
Long-haired, bearded and never without his stetson, Chris Stapleton is a modern day country star in the old-school mould. A native Kentuckian, Stapleton originally obtained a degree in engineering before embarking on a songwriting career.
As a writer/co-writer, Stapelton has worked with Sheryl Crow, Taylor Swift, Adele, Brad Paisley and many more. As a solo artist, he regularly makes quadruple platinum selling records and has won 10 Grammy awards.
Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks was one of those artists who became a megastar in the 1990s, when country was huge in America but maybe not so much over here. His was the sound of a new Nashville, polished to a sheen and as slick as oil. He paved the way for artists like Keith Urban and Brad Paisley, although he wasn’t known as much for his axe-slingin’ as he was for his down-home songwriting.
In terms of success, Brooks is about as big as it’s possible to get: he is the only artist in music history who has NINE albums that have all ‘gone diamond’. For context, a record has to sell TEN MILLION COPIES. The Beatles, by comparison, have six.
Shania Twain
Possibly one of the most successful crossover stars in the genre, Shania Twain was already doing well before her Come on Over album rocketed her career into the stratosphere. Married at the time to uber-producer Mutt Lange, Shania proved that nothing could defeat great songs, and that genre mattered less than an ability to effectively sell a great tune. Her commanding slot at this year’s Glastonbury Festival only confirmed her long-ranging appeal.
Luke Combs
He’s this current generation’s iteration of the all-American everyman, and he is one of the top artists in the world in terms of touring success. Combs’ career has been fairly recent, with his debut record being released only in 2017. Stil, he had earned himself 3 Grammy nominations and also the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year award in 2022.
Positioned somewhere between the Nashville establishment and the alternative ‘outlaw’ scene, Combs has an appeal that reaches to everyone.
Brad Paisley
One of country music’s biggest current stars, Brad Paisley is on the map in terms of great 21st century guitarists, for sure! Firmly in place in the shiny end of Nashville songwriting and production, Paisley is an artist whose goal is to entertain. With 11 million record sales to his name and 3 Grammy awards, he’s certainly a force! The West Virginian native is a headlining act across the world, and has worked with Fender on a number of signature guitars.
Buck Owens
Buck Owens is a country artist who has influenced hard rockers like John 5 and Ministry’s Al Jourgensen. Fittingly, Owens always referred to his music as ‘American music’ rather than country.
As well as being a recording and touring artist, Owens co-hosted radio shows and even had his own TV show, Hee Haw, where he’d often be seen playing his famous Harmony H169 ‘American’ acoustic guitar, bedecked in stars and red, white and blue livery.
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris occupies a special place in the musical landscape, in between country, Americana and rock. Discovered by ‘cosmic American music’ pioneer Gram Parsons, Harris went on to achieve a huge degree of critical acclaim, not to mention respect from other songwriters. From Birmingham Alabama to New York’s Greenwich Village and beyond, Harris’ folk-inflected country (or is it country-inflected folk?)
Her career has lasted for over 50 years, and has seen her collaborate with stars like Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt.
Carrie Underwood
With Rolling Stone calling her ‘the female vocalist of her generation in any genre’, Carrie Underwood is a current country music sensation. After winning season 4 of American Idol back in 2005, her debut album quickly became the best-selling female debut in country music history. Her first five albums all reached number one or two in the charts and she has 8 Grammy awards.
In some genres, there can be snobbery about artists appearing in TV show contests, but Underwood has definitively proven that talent speaks louder than anything. Underwood’s voice is a rare instrument indeed, and cites a broad range of influences ranging from Queen to Guns N’ Roses.
Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw is another huge-selling country artist with a side-job in acting. Alongside 25 country chart number ones, McGraw and his wife Faith Hill conducted one of the top 5 highest-grossing tours in all genres of music.
Offstage, you can watch McGraw in movies like Friday Night Lights and TV shows such as Yellowstone.
Keith Urban
Aussie (actually Kiwi) star and husband of Nicole Nidman Keith Urban is a huge country star. Well known as a guitarist, he’s also a big collaborator, working with country artists like Dolly Parton and The Chicks, as well as non-country stars such as Nelly Furtado and Pink.
Urban had achieved success in Australia in the early 90s, before debuting in the US in 1999.
Urban has appeared as a judge on a number of TV shows and was also appointed Officer of the Order of Australia in 2020.
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline is easily one of the most influential country artists there has ever been. In her tragically short life, Cline was instrumental in bringing country music to a mainstream pop audience. IN a career that only lasted 8 years, she moved to Nashville, became a member of the Grand Ole Opry and signed with Decca.
One of her most memorable tunes, Crazy, was actually written by Willie Nelson (Cline tended not to write her own material) and released three studio albums before being killed in a plane crash.
Tyler Childers
Tyler Childers represents an area of contemporary country music that brings in elements of folk, bluegrass and Americana, and has a streak of traditionalism to it that many ‘New Nashville’ artists do not have.
A Kentucky native, Childers learned to sing in church as a child whilst his father worked in the coal mines. Some of his work has dealt with racism, police brutality and civil unrest, making his an authentic voice from the very middle of Southern USA: a voice for the voiceless.
Hank Williams
One of the originals. Hank inspired so many to pursue life as a performing songwriter, that’s it’s arguably a comment to say he was as influential on the pre-Dylan generation as Bob Dylan was on everyone after him.
As with many original country stars, there’s a whole mythology surrounding Hank, particularly given his short lifespan of only 29 years. What isn’t mythical was his ability to distil human suffering very simply into songs that were relatable to all.
Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard came to country music after a spell as a jailbird in his youth. This gave him a perspective on life that added a gritty gravitas to his work, which found favour with a lot of blue-collar Americans.
As well as singing, writing and playing guitar, Haggard also played the violin, acted in a few movies and even hit number one in the charts with no less a collaborator than Clint Eastwood!
Morgan Wallen
Morgan Wallen is as good an example as any of contemporary pop-country. Wallen achieved fame in TV Show The Voice, but unlike the majority of contestants - both winners and failures (Wallen did not win his season) - Wallen has managed to build a successful career.
The mulleted-and-moustachioed Morgan has actually become an international star, playing arenas over here in the UK, which we’ve noted already is only very slowly coming around to the notion of today’s country music. Each album is a record-breaking success for the Sneedville Tennessee native, and his career is less than a decade old!
There are actually loads of country stars - both Nashville and alternative - who deserve to be on this list, and there are all manner of artists who are country-adjacent and worthy of recognition today, too. Perhaps this article will serve to get you into a country frame of mind, and when you’ve checked out each artist on here, you can then springboard off into your own explorations!
