Country music is known for its icons, from Merle Haggard to Willie Nelson to Loretta Lynn and many more. As soon as you hear their names, you can “hear” their one-of-a-kind voices, individual styles and the songs they made famous.
They did more than make their mark on this popular genre, they shaped it.
While there are different sub-genres, most country music is centered around the acoustic guitar, and other stringed instruments like the fiddle, steel guitar, banjo and mandolin. And the great songs, as the late songwriter Harlan Howard described it best, boil down to “three chords and the truth.”
Top Country Artists
When one compiles a list of top country singers, it goes beyond record sales, numbers of streams and sold-out shows, although those are important, too.
These top country singers are those artists whose distinctive voices, like no one else before or after, portray the emotion, the message and the stories behind the songs that helped define them.
20. Kenny Rogers
He started off as a pop artist with his group The First Edition, but became even more successful when he turned country. Kenny Rogers had a star quality when it came to using his golden tones to tell a story through a song. One of the greatest examples shines through in “The Gambler.”
And yet, he did it again and again with “Lucille,” “Lady” and his “Islands in the Stream” duet with Dolly Parton. Rogers had No.1 songs between 1977 and 1987. The Houston native’s career spanned six decades before he passed away in 2020 at the age of 81.
19. Reba McEntire
She’s one of the most successful female performers in country music history, selling more than 58 million albums. Reba McEntire’s Oklahoma background prepared her well for country music. She grew up around the rodeo and even competed in barrel racing growing up. When she sang the National Anthem at the National Rodeo Finals, she caught the ear of a Nashville music publisher.
Since launching her career, her megahits have included “Color Me Gone,” I’m a Survivor,” “Fancy” and others. She’s had more No. 1 country albums than any other female singer, and has also found success as an actor, author and businesswoman.
18. Randy Travis
His deep voice brought lasting life to songs like “Forever and Ever Amen,” “Deeper Than The Holler,” “I Told You So” and more. Randy Travis moved to Nashville from North Carolina, emerging onto the music since in the 1980s.
Over the next 25 years, he became one of the most popular artists in country music with his classic, traditional style. Travis suffered a debilitating stroke in 2013 and can no longer perform, but still makes appearances in and around Nashville, often on stages in venues like the Grand Ole Opry. Travis is much-loved and revered by both country music fans and his fellow artists.
17. Garth Brooks
He burst onto the country music scene in the 1990s to become one of the biggest selling music acts of all time. With a collection driving songs and his high-energy shows, Garth Brooks helped move country music into the mainstream. His biggest hits include “Friends in Low Places,” “The Dance,” “If Tomorrow Never Comes” and more. He retired in 2000 to move back home to Oklahoma to raise his three daughters, then returned to Nashville in 2014 to resume his career — without missing a beat. Brooks, who is married to Trisha Yearwood, recently opened his own bar, restaurant and music venue in downtown Nashville called Friends in Low Places.
16. Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson is a singer/songwriter whose storytelling songs touch on the heart and values of traditional country fans. Some of his classics include “Here in the Real World,” “Gone Country,” “Chattahoochee” and more. After Sept. 11, he wrote and recorded “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning” to share his thoughts and feelings on the devastating attack. The Georgia-native emerged onto the country music scene in the 1980s influenced by the music heroes he listened to growing up, artists like Merle Haggard, George Jones and Hank Williams. He is a Grammy award winner with 35 No. 1 songs.
15. George Strait
He is called the King of Country Music for good reason. George Strait has more No. 1 hits than any other artist in any genre (including Elvis). As contemporary country music has shifted its style through the years, the Texas-native has remained steady playing traditional country music and been extremely successful at it.
He’s the only act to have a Top 10 hit every year for over three decades. A few of those familiar hits include “Amarillo By Morning,” “Love Without End, Amen,” “Check Yes Or No” and “Oceanfront Property.” Strait, who still calls Texas home, is officially retired, but plays a limited number of concerts each year.
14. Glen Campbell
He was a singer/songwriter and guitar virtuoso. Glenn Campbell was a respected musician before he was an artist, playing backup for Elvis, Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys and others. After launching his own career, the six-time Grammy winner had a string of hits including “Rhinestone Cowboy,” “Wichita Lineman,” “Gentle On My Mind,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and others. He also had his own variety show on CBS from 1968 to 1972. Campbell’s career spanned six decades before he died from complications due to Alzheimer’s in 2017.
13. Buck Owens
This popular singer/songwriter was known for his twangy, upbeat songs like “Act Naturally,” “Love’s Gonna Live Here” and “I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail” during the 1960s. A driving force in developing the Bakersfield sound, Buck Owens also wrote and recorded the country classic “Together Again.”
His fanbase grew even bigger after he became a regular on TV’s Hee Haw. In 1988, Owens saw a career resurgence when he and Dwight Yoakam recorded and released “Streets of Bakersfield.” Owens opened a popular theater in Bakersfield in the mid-90s called Buck Owen’s Crystal Palace.
12. Conway Twitty
This country crooner started off in rockabilly music, before deciding to make the switch. Interestingly, Conway Twitty’s biggest song, “It’s Only Make Believe” was a pop hit. He was a talented singer/songwriter who recorded as a solo artist, and performed numerous duets with Loretta Lynn.
In 1973, the two topped the country charts with “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man.” Twitty had a strong appeal to female country fans with songs like “Hello Darlin,” “Tight Fittin’ Jeans” and “I’d Love To Lay You Down.”
11. Charley Pride
He was a former baseball player who also had a gift for singing. Charley Pride’s smooth, baritone voice allowed him to break racial barriers and become the first Black country star. When he first went into the studio amid racial tensions of the 1960s, music executives were wary, but couldn’t overlook Pride’s talent.
He went on to have numerous hits over the next two decades including 29 No. 1 songs. His biggest were “Kiss An Angel Good Morning,” “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone” and “All I Have to Offer You (Is Me).” Pride continued his country career for decades from his home base in Dallas. It allowed him to stay close to baseball (his second love) through his association with the Texas Rangers. He passed away in December of 2020.
10. Waylon Jennings
He played in Buddy Holly’s band long before becoming an artist in his own right. Waylon Jennings became popular in the early 1970s as part of the Outlaw movement when he, along with Willie Nelson and others, pushed for creative control of their own music. Jennings’ struggles with substance abuse sometimes affected his relationship with those at his record label, RCA.
Some of his much-loved songs include “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love), “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” and the theme from The Dukes of Hazzard. He married singer Jesse Colter, and was a member of The Highwaymen with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson.
9. Tammy Wynette
She had one of the most unique voices in country music, as highlighted in two of her biggest hits “Stand By Your Man” and “D-I-V-O-R-C-E.” Tammy Wynnette was a hairdresser in Mississippi before she became a country music superstar.
Wynnette had an emotive quality that rang true as she sang about some of life’s challenges. She performed as a solo act, as well as a duet partner with her one-time husband George Jones. One of their biggest hits together was a song called “Golden Rings.”
8. Patsy Cline
She had a deep, rich voice with an innate ability to use it. Patsy Cline’s style and approach with songs like “I Fall to Pieces,” “Crazy” and “Walking After Midnight” continues to inspire up-and-coming female singers today.
Although she was popular during the late 1950s and early 1960s, she became a country music icon after her death in a plane crash in 1963. More than two decades later, the film Sweet Dreams introduced a new generation of fans to her music. With only a couple of notes of a Patsy Cline song, you can immediately tell it’s her voice.
7. Willie Nelson
One of country music’s Outlaws, Willie Nelson has always carved his own path in music. He and Waylon Jennings helped pioneer country music’s Outlaw movement when they pushed for less control from the record label as they tried to move away from some of the more formatted music coming out of Nashville in the late 1960s.
Nelson is a talented musician and prolific songwriter with an unconventional vocal style. As one of his earliest successes, he wrote “Crazy” which became a huge hit for Patsy Cline. In 1975, Nelson released his self-produced Red Headed Stranger album which included his own megahit “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” “On the Road Again” and “Always On My Mind” are two more defining songs for Nelson, of which there are many. He recently entered his 90s and is still writing songs, performing and selling out concerts.
6. George Jones
He’s known for one of the most admired voices in country music. George Jones lived a troubled life during the early years of his career due to a dependency on drugs and alcohol. He missed so many shows he was dubbed “No Show Jones.” But, but through it all, he maintained an amazing ability to bring a depth of emotion to every song he ever sang.
He’s known for a long list of chart-toppers, most notably, “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” Others include “If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me,” and “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair.” Jones married Tammy Wynette and the two performed as a duo before, during and after their marriage. Their duet “We’re Gonna Hold On” reached No. 1 on the country charts in 1973.
5. Dolly Parton
With her warm, warbly voice and true gift for songwriting, Dolly Parton is one of the most beloved country artists of all time. She’s also one of the most honored. Parton has won 11 Grammys and been nominated more than 50 times.
She got her start on the Porter Waggoner show in the late 1960s, later launching her solo career. She’s written and recorded thousands of songs, including “Coat of Many Colors,” which touches on a true story from her childhood, “Jolene,” a song covered by numerous other artists and “I Will Always Love You” which was also rerecorded as at No. 1 hit by Whitney Houston in 1992. Parton is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor, author, philanthropist and extraordinary businesswoman. She’s also a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, and one of the newest inductees of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
4. Johnny Cash
The “Man in Black” was a maverick and a rebel with his deep, gravelly voice. Some of Johnny Cash’s best-known songs are “I Walk the Line,” “Ring of Fire” and “Folsom Prison Blues,” but there are many more.
He began his career with his band, Tennessee Two, before later becoming a solo artist. Cash struggled with drugs and alcohol many times throughout his career and was later open about the demons that plagued him. He was the first to perform inside prisons, and in 1968 he recorded his legendary “Folsom Prison Live” album. He married June Carter that same year.
Cash hosted his own TV show at the Ryman Auditorium from 1969 to 1971. The singer, songwriter and actor was a noted Christian, and many of his songs touched on themes of redemption. He was also a member of The Highwaymen with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. Johny Cash was inducted into both the Country Music and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
3. Loretta Lynn
She was a “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” and so much more. Loretta Lynn grew up in poverty-laden Eastern Kentucky, married as a teenager, and had four children before she turned 20. With strength and determination, she taught herself to play the guitar, write songs and craft her own singing style.
Many of her songs, soulfully sung with the deep Kentucky accent she never lost, were autobiographical and shared the female perspective. Hits included “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” “Don’t Come Home A Drinkin” and many others. Her friend, Patsy Cline, helped guide her during the early stages of her career, sharing tips on how to succeed as a fellow female singer in a male-dominated music world. Singer and musician, Jack White introduced Lynn to a new generation of music fans when he produced her 2004 album Van Lear Rose.
2. Merle Haggard
Described as the “working man’s poet,” Merle Haggard left a legacy of music that drove deep into country, but featured influences from other genres like blues, pop, jazz and folk as well. He wrote songs about pain and struggle, getting through troubled times and the challenges of the common man. And he “lived” every bit of what he wrote, too.
The Bakersfield, California native lost his dad at a young age, which led to troubled teenage years that often ended up with him being incarcerated. Haggard was serving time in San Quention in 1958 when he saw Johnny Cash perform for the prisoners. Haggard would later go on to a successful music career of his own. Songs like “Mama Tried,” “Silver Wings,” “If We Make It Through December” and “Okie From Muskogee” are just a handful of hits from his incredible list.
1. Hank Williams
Although he died tragically at the young age of 29, Hank Williams set the standard as both a performer and songwriter that artists still strive to emulate today. The Alabama native was called the “Hillbilly Shakespeare” for his ability to share emotion through lyrics in a way that hadn’t been done before. And his twangy, soulful voice took every one of his songs to the next level.
Listen and hear the angst in songs like “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” and “Cold, Cold Heart.” Williams music still resonates today, more than 70 years after his passing.
Bottom Line
They defined the genre and paved the way for many of today’s popular country music entertainers. They were risk takers and rule breakers with a passion for music and extraordinary voices to back them up. And each built on the history of the ones who came before them.
And while there may be healthy debate on the ranking order and which artist contributed more to the genre, music fans can agree: They’re all country music icons.
