The 25 biggest country hits in Billboard history

- Artist: Alan Jackson
- Billboard rank: #25

This fast-paced, heartfelt song filled country music fans with hopeful nostalgia. The 1993 song received CMA awards for Single of the Year and Song of the Year.

- Artist: Rodney Atkins
- Billboard rank: #24

Rodney Atkins' upbeat anthem spent four weeks at the top of the country charts in 2006 before breaking into the Billboard Hot 100. The lyrics encourage listeners to keep on fighting when the going gets tough.

- Artist: Dolly Parton
- Billboard rank: #23

Dolly Parton's first big pop crossover hit topped the country charts for five weeks and earned her a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Parton's song, in which she sings about a man she just can't seem to get over, has been covered more than a dozen times.

- Artist: Toby Keith
- Billboard rank: #22

Toby Keith sings to a girl who once rejected him, flaunting his newfound fame in this 1999 honky-tonk jam. The song earned several award nominations, and hit the top of the country chart, breaking into the Top 40 as well.

- Artist: Glen Campbell
- Billboard rank: #21

Country music legend Glen Campbell's hit "Rhinestone Cowboy" resonated with any country music fan who ever dreamed of becoming a star. Songwriter Larry Weiss recorded it first in 1974, but Campbell's 1975 version topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and the country charts. It has since been covered by artists like Charley Pride, Loretta Lynn, and Bruce Springsteen.

- Artist: George Strait
- Billboard rank: #20

This playful song is an ode to a lover, whose relationship with the narrator started when they were just kids. The single hit #1 on the country charts in the United States and Canada.

- Artist: Tim McGraw with Faith Hill
- Billboard rank: #19

This collaboration between one of the most famous couples in country music is not their only duet, but it was the most successful. The 1997 song spent six weeks at the top of the country charts and became both musicians' first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

- Artist: Freddie Hart
- Billboard rank: #18

"My Hang-Up Is You" was Freddie Hart's second #1 hit on the country charts, remaining at the top for six consecutive weeks. The song's narrator admits that his greatest weakness in life is the person he loves.

- Artist: Mark Wills
- Billboard rank: #17

Mark Wills' musical ode to each decade of the late 20th century spent six weeks at #1 on the country charts and peaked at #23 on the Hot 100.

- Artist: Waylon Jennings
- Billboard rank: #16

This 1977 song about a couple who returns to country living after high society takes its toll on their relationship made waves on both pop and country charts.

- Artist: Tim McGraw
- Billboard rank: #15

Tim McGraw's 2004 hit is an ode to loved ones struggling with cancer. It won several major awards, including Single of the Year and Song of the Year at the CMAs, and Best Country Song at the Grammys.

- Artist: Lady A (formerly Lady Antebellum)
- Billboard rank: #14

The 2009 song, about an on-again, off-again relationship, won four Grammy Awards in 2011, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year. In 2011, "Need You Now" became the most downloaded country song, surpassing Taylor Swift's "Love Story."

- Artist: Connie Smith
- Billboard rank: #13

"Once A Day" spent eight weeks at the top of the country charts in 1964 and 1965, setting the record for the most weeks spent at #1 by a female country artist. It was surpassed in 2012 by Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together."

- Artist: Tim McGraw
- Billboard rank: #12

McGraw's 1997 single spent 42 weeks on the Billboard country chart, setting the record at the time for the longest run ever. The song's narrator pledges he will do anything to make his loved one smile.

- Artist: Charley Pride
- Billboard rank: #11

This song was Pride's eighth to top the country charts, and it spent four months on the pop chart. It follows a man's unconditional love for the woman he wakes up to.

- Artist: Johnny Cash
- Billboard rank: #10

Written by Cash's friend and former Sun Records labelmate Carl Perkins, this 1969 hit borrows lines from the Carter Family's "Can the Circle Be Unbroken." The narrator remembers his family singing together, despite the passing of his little brother. It stayed #1 on the country charts for six weeks.

- Artist: Lonestar
- Billboard rank: #9

The country group Lonestar's 1999 hit spent eight weeks at the top of the Billboard country chart. A remix of the song hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single is a powerful declaration of a man's love for his romantic partner, whose every move leaves him "amazed."

- Artist: Keith Urban
- Billboard rank: #8

Keith Urban's 2002 single, which Billboard dubbed the #1 country song of the first decade of the 21st century, is a simple love song. The narrator has finally found a woman who makes him forget about life's troubles.

- Artist: C. W. McCall
- Billboard rank: #7

C. W. McCall's 1975 song hit #1 on both country and pop charts. The song, laced with trucker slang, follows a group of truck drivers through a protest.

- Artist: Buck Owens
- Billboard rank: #6

Buck Owens' 1963 hit held the top spot for 16 weeks, a run no country single came close to for a jaw-dropping 49 years. The song follows the narrator's recovery from a breakup and excitement about falling in love in the future.

- Artist: Jack Greene
- Billboard rank: #5

Jack Greene's song about a tough breakup peaked at #65 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966 and spent seven weeks at the top of the country chart. At the first-ever CMA Awards in 1967, it won both Single of the Year and Song of the Year.

- Artist: Sam Hunt
- Billboard rank: #4

This 2014 recording became Hunt's second consecutive single to reach #1 on the country charts. The narrator seeks a romantic encounter with someone he meets in a crowd.

- Artist: Hunter Hayes
- Billboard rank: #3

Hunter Hayes broke a record held since 1973 as the youngest male artist to reach #1 when "Wanted" topped the Hot Country Songs chart. His second single, a love song, helped him win the CMA award for New Artist of the Year in 2012.

- Artist: Leroy Van Dyke
- Billboard rank: #2

Leroy Van Dyke's most successful song spent 37 weeks on the country chart starting in 1961, with a record-breaking 19 in the #1 spot (a mark that stood until 2013). It also crossed over to #5 on the Hot 100, and Billboard later named it the biggest country record in history in its 1994 centennial issue.

- Artist: Florida Georgia Line
- Billboard rank: #1

The duo's 2012 single spent a then-record 24 weeks at #1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart and logged 66 weeks on the chart overall. The remix, which featured rapper Nelly, hit #4 on the Hot 100. By early 2014, "Cruise" was the best-selling country song in digital history, and in 2016 it became the first country song certified Diamond.

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• 25 most covered country songs of all time: The country classics that artists keep coming back to, decade after decade.
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