tOfficial top 100 country acts of all time

[Chewbaccer]

I know bluegrass isn't country, but I'm including bluegrass acts.

1. Waylon Jennings
2. Merle Haggard
3. Willie Nelson
4. Keith Whitley
5. Guy Clark
6. Buck Owens
7. Kris Kristofferson
8. Hank Williams Sr.
9. Jerry Jeff Walker
10. George Jones
11. Gram Parsons
12. Emmylou Harris
13. Steve Earle
14. Dwight Yoakam
15. Johnny Paycheck
16. David Allan Coe
17. Townes Van Zant
18. Hank Williams Jr
19. Loretta Lynn
20. Johnny Cash
21. Rodney Crowell
22. Hank Williams III
23. Alan Jackson
24. Robert Earl Keene
25. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
26. Flatt and Scruggs
27. Roy Clark
28. Jerry Reed
29. Eddie Rabbitt
30. Louvin Brothers
31. Hank Thompson
32. June Carter Cash
33. Gary P Nunn
34. Ray Wylie Hubbard
35. Mel Tillis
36. Radney FOster
37. Mark Chesnutt
38. Roger Miller
39. Conway Twitty
40. Ralph Stanley
41. Gary STewart
42. Jamey Johnson
43. Stonewall Jackson
44. Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys
45. Jimmie Rodgers
46. Marty Robbins
47. John Prine
48. Merle Travis
49. Lefty Frizzell
50. Charley Pride
51. Billy Joe Shaver
52. Statler Brothers
53. The Mavericks
54. Lost Gonzo Band
55. Tanya Tucker
56. Vince Gill
57. George Strait
58. Ernest Tubb
59. Roy Acuff
60. Sturgill Simpson
61. Marty Stuart
62. Tammy Wynette
63. Johnny Horton
64. Tracy Lawrence
65. Porter Wagoner
66. Carlene Carter
67. Dave Dudley
68. Lost Gonzo Band
69. Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real
70. Old Crow Medicine Show
71. Kentucky Headhunters
72. Joe Diffie
73. Shooter Jennings
74. Pam Tillis
75. Carter Family
76. Red Foley
77. Charlie Daniels
78. Tom T Hall
79. Asleep at the Wheel
80. Moe Bandy
81. Gene Watson
82. Don Williams
83. Tommy Collins
84. Chris Ledoux
85. Glen Campbell
86. Travis Tritt
87. Lorrie Morgan
88. David Houston
89. Bobby Bare
90. Ricky Skaggs
91. Patty Loveless
92. Bobbie Gentry
93. Johnny Russell
94. Rickey Van Shelton
95. Johnny Rodriguez
96. Tennessee Ernie Ford
97. John Anderson
98. Charlie Rich
99. TG Sheppard
100. Bill Monroe

 

[Edisto_Tiger]

Is this your favorite 100 or is there some other criteria?

Missing:

VERN GOSDIN
The Bellamy Brothers
Alabama
The Oak Ridge Boys
Brookes and Dunne
Chris Stapleton
Clint Black
Patsy Cline
Sammy Kershaw
Aaron Tippin


And that's just off the top of my head. I might get inspired and try to put together a list too, here in a little while.




Also the Lost Gonzo Band listed twice, #54 and #68

 

[Chewbaccer]

Is this your favorite 100 or is there some other criteria?

Missing:

VERN GOSDIN
The Bellamy Brothers
Alabama
The Oak Ridge Boys
Brookes and Dunne
Chris Stapleton
Clint Black
Patsy Cline
Sammy Kershaw
Aaron Tippin


And that's just off the top of my head. I might get inspired and try to put together a list too, here in a little while.




Also the Lost Gonzo Band listed twice, #54 and #68

Vern is the only one I'd add.

Remove the second Lost Gonzo Band and insert Vern in at 100.

 

[Edisto_Tiger]

Vern is the only one I'd add.

Remove the second Lost Gonzo Band and insert Vern in at 100.

While I like your taste in country, we definitely differ a little on this.

Might be more interesting to narrow it down to about 25 or so, then we could weed out the riff raff.

 

[Chewbaccer]

While I like your taste in country, we definitely differ a little on this.

Might be more interesting to narrow it down to about 25 or so, then we could weed out the riff raff.

25 would have been too hard to narrow it down.

But we could expand it to 500 and Patsy Cline still wouldn't make my list. Just another Jim Reeves/Kenny Rogers/Barbara Mandrell type of pop singers mislabeled as Country.

 

[navamind]

1. Ween
2-100. who cares

 

[BigFin]

Garth Brooks opened up country music to a ton of people, and then these people began checking out your listed great acts, and became full country music fans.

 

[Edisto_Tiger]

25 would have been too hard to narrow it down.

But we could expand it to 500 and Patsy Cline still wouldn't make my list. Just another Jim Reeves/Kenny Rogers/Barbara Mandrell type of pop singers mislabeled as Country.

We will agree to disagree there. Patsy and Kenny left a mark on country music and both are considered, by most, to be country music legends and I tend to agree.

I would call Carrie Underwood and the dixie chics "pop country" and I see both of those names in a lot of top 100 list. Mind boggling. Along with Miranda Lambert, Shania Twain, and Faith Hill. How the hell do you put those people in your "top 100 country artist?"

 

[Edisto_Tiger]

Garth Brooks opened up country music to a ton of people, and then these people began checking out your listed great acts, and became full country music fans.

 

[Chewbaccer]

Garth Brooks opened up country music to a ton of people, and then these people began checking out your listed great acts, and became full country music fans.

"Garth Brooks did for Country Music what panty hose did for finger fucking"

-Waylon Jennings.

 

[BigFin]

I'd have Del McCoury on there.

 

[Rex Racer]

100? I can't even think of one.

 

[Chewbaccer]

We will agree to disagree there. Patsy and Kenny left a mark on country music and both are considered, by most, to be country music legends and I tend to agree.

I would call Carrie Underwood and the dixie chics "pop country" and I see both of those names in a lot of top 100 list. Mind boggling. Along with Miranda Lambert, Shania Twain, and Faith Hill. How the hell do you put those people in your "top 100 country artist?"

I actually like the Dixie Chicks, especially the fiddle player. But it's mostly because I met them at a steakhouse in Cherokee, NC when I was a kid before they were gonna play a concert at the casino and we were on our way to Maggie Valley. Nice girls.

 

[BigFin]

"Garth Brooks did for Country Music what panty hose did for finger fucking"

-Waylon Jennings.

He wasn't outlaw country, but go back to those first few albums, there are so many well-written country music songs. They just have a degree of polish to them.

Waylon and probably every other old-timer owes some 90's revenue to Garth.

 

[Chewbaccer]

He wasn't outlaw country, but go back to those first few albums, there are so many well-written country music songs. They just have a degree of polish to them.

Waylon and probably every other old-timer owes some 90's revenue to Garth.

The music was terrible, had zero edge. It was pop mislabeled as Country, and he brought in the Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney types. There's been artists that changed Country music for the better. Hank Sr, Buck Owens, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Dwight Yoakam, etc. Garth changed it for the worst and all these years later, you still can't hear an actual Country song on the radio.

My most hated musician of all time. Also the fact that he couldn't write shit doesn't help his cause either. Roy Clark couldn't write a song, but he was one of the best instrumentalist of all time.

 

[BigFin]

My favorite are:

Garth Brooks
Mark Chesnutt
Tracy Byrd

Then it's all HM between 20 or between:

C. Black
T. Tritt
V.Gill
T. McGraw
Montgomery Gentry
K. Chesney
T. Keith
D. Yokham
HankJr
HankSr
Waylon
Willie
Merle
Lonestar
A. Jackson
N. McCoy
A. Tippin

I only like the 90's music of all the 90's acts - the "Neo-Traditional" County Music. Around 2002, just about all of Nashville went to hell.

I haven't listened to much pre 80's country music, and I haven't listen to any country music put out in the past 15 years.

 

[GNG]

100? I can't even think of one.

I can...

 

[BigFin]

The music was terrible, had zero edge. It was pop mislabeled as Country, and he brought in the Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney types. There's been artists that changed Country music for the better. Hank Sr, Buck Owens, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Dwight Yoakam, etc. Garth changed it for the worst and all these years later, you still can't hear an actual Country song on the radio.

Edge has its place in country music, but I don't consider it a necessary feature for the songs to be good.

Compare most of Garth's music with today's county radio, and Garth sounds more like Hank Sr.

My most hated musician of all time. Also the fact that he couldn't write shit doesn't help his cause either. Roy Clark couldn't write a song, but he was one of the best instrumentalist of all time.

When using the term "Country Act", I eliminate song-writing from the criteria. 1) Quality of the music and 2) entertainment value of the act would be the only 2 criteria I use.

 

[Chewbaccer]

Edge has its place in country music, but I don't consider it a necessary feature for the songs to be good.

Compare most of Garth's music with today's county radio, and Garth sounds more like Hank Sr.



When using the term "Country Act", I eliminate song-writing from the criteria. 1) Quality of the music and 2) entertainment value of the act would be the only 2 criteria I use.

I can't do music with no edge. Even if the edge is the singers personal life. For the diehard Country music fan, you can't fake it. Garth never went to prison. Garth never had a drug problem. Garth never had a drinking problem. Garth didn't grow up picking cotton. And it shows. He's just not interesting.

And he's largely to blame for today's radio country.

Country and rock go great together. Country and pop, not so much.

 

[BigFin]

And he's largely to blame for today's radio country.

Country and rock go great together. Country and pop, not so much.

I think Garth's pre-Chris Gaines music is just "country music". It's twangy, and country, but without the edge. I think in the late 90's is when the pop country really began. The Neo Traditional country music (The "Hat Acts" was probably the bridge from the 80's to the 2000's Rascal Flatts crap and Kenny/Tim's "bro country" from the early/mid 2000's.