Top 100 Country Artist Countdown: #1-25

25. Dierks Bentley — We saw him in 2006 as the opening act, playing behind Sugarland and Kenny Chesney.  Two months later he was headlining the XCel.  Quite a turnaround for Dierks!  I almost would consider Dierks for a boys’ name if not for it rhyming with Jerks.

24. Confederate Railroad — They saw the Stones dancing on the water, and heard Elvis singing “Blue Suede Shoes.”  Confederate Railroad was not a train, but a six-man band from the deep south that looked like they could beat the crap out of Alabama and Rascal Flatts combined.

23. David Lee Murphy — Nick will tell you his favorite song of all-time is “Dust on the Bottle.”  But could Nick tell you off the top of his head who sings that song?  I’ll ask him now.  Nick?  Nick!  Who sings “Dust on the Bottle?”  Hmm… all I hear is some rustling coming from his bedroom.  I’ll take that as he doesn’t know.

22. Mark Chesnutt — One of the all-time great country songs, in my opinion, was sung by a man named after a nut: “I Just Wanted You to Know.”  Some of Mark’s best work was songs about jukeboxes: “Bubba Shot the Jukebox” and “Brother Jukebox.”

21. Sugarland — I wonder if that guitar playing dude in Sugarland is the unluckiest man in the country music business.  Jennifer Nettles is the face of the duo, and no one even knows that guy’s name.  It won’t be long before it’s a solo act.  Jennifer Nettle’s good looks already knocked the camera-unfriendly third woman out of the trio!  And if I must say so, she’s the best female lead in country music.

20. Keith Urban — I saw him at WeFest in 2007, and after many hours of drinking prior to the show, all I remember is one big blur of a two-hour song.  I may not be able to fairly judge his live performance very well.  Lauren, however, likes his new song “You Look Good in My Shirt.”

19. George Strait — No matter how prolific George Strait is in any given year, it seems like he’s still always up for Top Male Vocalist.  He could release an album of himself reading the dictionary and he’d still be nominated.  I must admit a junior high favorite was “Check Yes or No.”

18. John Michael Montgomery — What’s a wedding dance without someone requesting “Sold,” that song about John Michael’s trip to the county auction?  My personal fave was definitely “Life’s a Dance” and I believe it cracked my all-time Top 100 Songs countdown.

17. Clay Walker — A top school bus memory was everyone on the bus singing along and clapping to “What’s It to You,” a modest Clay Walker hit of 1994 or so.  Seriously, 25 people all spontaneously broke out into song: “love is the rhythm of two hearts beating, pounding out a message, steady and true…”

16. Big & Rich — These guys are still climbing on my chart.  They’re the only country act that can get a song played at the clubs in downtown Minneapolis.  Everyone’s listening to rap and hip-hop, when all of a sudden “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” starts blaring.  People love it, but none more than Brandon Nase, who in college danced around at parties screaming “Save a horse, ride a Brandon!”

15. Billy Ray Cyrus — Hey, “Achy Breaky Heart” sucked.  Seriously, one of Billy Ray’s worst.  But take that away and he had some good stuff, like “Could’ve Been Me” and “Some Gave All.”  Jason and I thought it was funny that Comcast has a karaoke channel, and the only free country song available is Billy Ray’s “Where’m I Gonna Live,” a very low chart-ranking song from the mid-90s.

14. Josh Turner — That’s a hell of a deep voice Josh Turner has.  It’s so deep that it brings back flashes of Rick Astley, only Turner has the look to back it up.  “Would You Go With Me” is one of my favorites and was even my ringtone for a long time.  I saw him at WeFest 2007, and he rocked the stage with John Anderson doing “White Noise.”

13. John Anderson — Say what you want about John Anderson, owner of country’s most unique twang, but he’s definitely considered a legend in the industry.  John Anderson live at WeFest 2007 was second only to Toby Keith.  Anderson’s list of mega-hits is pretty short, though, starting and ending with “Swingin’.”

12. Blackhawk — I got very attached to Blackhawk after their first two albums in the mid-90s.  Every last song from their self-titled debut album hit the radio, I think, and their follow-up album “Not Strong Enough” wasn’t weak.  Their best song was “Just About Right” which to this day might be the only country song about someone moving to the mountains to paint.

11. Travis Tritt — If you ever want to wow a crowd at karaoke, look no further than Travis Tritt’s “T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” one of the more upbeat country/rock songs of its time.  I’ve had excellent reviews after performing it.  Travis Tritt has been solid for a couple decades now, coming back in 2003 with “Great Day to Be Alive.”

10. Sawyer Brown — Sawyer Brown was big in the 80s and early 90s, and produced a dozen or so major hits.  I twice have sung “The Race Is On” live with Johnny Holm’s Band.  And they’re always good for a tear-jerker like “The Walk” or “Cafe Down on the Corner.”

9. Randy Travis — Travis Bolton would agree with me, Randy Travis has country’s sweetest voice.  A wedding dance staple, “Forever and Ever, Amen” is one of my all-time faves, and “If There Hadn’t Been You” is another good one.  He just came out with his first new country album in years this month.

8. Diamond Rio — One of the first cassettes I ever owned was Diamond Rio “Close to the Edge,” featuring the chart-topper “In a Week or Two.”  I saw them play at the SD State Fair in 2000 in front of an embarassingly small crowd.  They ended up playing bits and pieces of songs and were off the stage in an hour flat.

7. Tracy Lawrence — Tracy Lawrence has eight big #1 singles to his name from the mid-90s on to today, and my two favorites aren’t even among them, including “As Any Fool Can See” and “Texas Tornado.”  After a whole wife-beating ordeal in the early 2000s, Tracy stormed back onto the charts last year with “Find Out Who Your Friends Are,” joined by country stars Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney.

6.  Brad Paisley — Owner of country’s most amusing videos and most gimmicky songs is Brad Paisley.  He finds off-beat subjects to sing about, like being a celebrity, ticks, the internet, mud, and letters, and takes them all to #1.

5. Tim McGraw — Few have had as much success as Tim McGraw over the last fifteen years.  Every album he’s released has gone #1 and damn near every single gets to the top spot.  He shook up the charts in 1994 with “Indian Outlaw,” a song I despised, but soon won me back with “Don’t Take the Girl” and “Not a Moment Too Soon.”

4. Brooks & Dunn — My favorite music act from grade school was unquestionably Brooks & Dunn.  I had a weird obsession with “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” in 1993, but that album is pretty awesome.  “Brand New Man” and “Neon Moon” also stood out on that album.  I will definitely have to see them someday in concert.

3. Kenny Chesney — Kenny really made an impact with me in 1997 with “She’s Got It All” and “That’s Why I’m Here.”  Steve and I saw him in concert in 2006 at XCel and it was an awesome show.  We were told to stop dancing in the aisles and return to our seats at least five times.  Kenny’s still up to old tricks with hits like “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven” and “Shiftwork.”

2. Garth Brooks — Now how on earth could anyone top Garth Brooks, you may ask yourself?  It was a difficult choice to slide the king of country back to #2.  Garth would be the #1 concert I’d want to see if he ever toured in this area again.  An old favorite was “Friends in Low Places.”  Who in 1992 would have thought that song would be basically the most popular country song of all-time?  I enjoyed his big comeback single “More Than a Memory” last year too.

1. Alabama — And that leaves Alabama at #1.  40-some #1 hits over the 80s and 90s was very impressive.  They essentially dominated the country industry in the 80s.  Every damn song hit #1!  The first song I remember hearing on the radio was “Old Flame” in 1986.  Then in 1992, Dusty and I were requesting “I’m in a Hurry” on KDLO, and a year later, we wrote our own version of “Cheap Seats.”  I saw them at the State Fair in 1999 or so.  If I had to pick a favorite song, it would either be “Old Flame” or “Sad Lookin Moon.”