Looking back on the best twenty singles from the Country Universe era, it is striking how well these twenty entries signify the seismic shifts in how music is released and consumed.
When Country Universe launched in 2004, country radio was still king, and big money could still be made through a hit song on the radio stimulating healthy album sales. But the digital era had already begun, and consumers turned songs ignored by radio into massive hits, such as Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt” and the Chicks’ comeback single, “Not Ready to Make Nice.”
As time progressed, and we moved from digital sales to the streaming era, the very idea of what constituted a single changed. The old rules of thumb, like whether it was promoted to radio or a music video was produced, still applied. But artists increasingly released standalone cuts and multiple pre-release album tracks, and some of those ended up connecting with audiences more strongly than the designated promotional singles.
So while this list has multiple entries from multiplatinum superstars and features CMA and Grammy Award-winning singles, there isn’t one among the twenty entries that reached No. 1 on a country radio chart, a stunning distinction that could not be replicated in the pre-Country Universe era.
These twenty entries reflect the essence of what we believe makes for great country music in a way that a radio playlist could never capture. We hope you enjoy revisiting these records, that you discover some gems you’ve overlooked, and that you share your own favorite records from the artists featured and the moments of time they represent.
We’ll post two entries a day, ten entries a week over the next two weeks, starting with two classic singles from the year we were founded.
Country Universe: A 20th Anniversary Retrospective
Leave a Reply