Rolling Stone reached out to a bevy of artists, producers, critics and industry experts to compile a list of the “100 Greatest Songs of the Century—So Far.”
Of the 100 songs included from the last 18 years, only two country songs made the cut: Miranda Lambert’s “The House That Built Me” (#75) and Eric Church’s “Springsteen” (#68).
Obviously, a list like this is totally subjective, but take into consideration this nugget: in 2014, Rolling Stone compiled a list of the “100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time.” How many of those songs were from the year 2000 and beyond? I’m glad you asked.
- #100—Brad Paisley: “Welcome to the Future” (2009)
- #97—Gretchen Wilson: “Redneck Woman” (2004)
- #84—Neko Case: “People Got a Lotta Nerve” (2009)
- #81—Gary Allan: “Songs About Rain” (2003)
- #76—Jamey Johnson: “In Color” (2008)
- #70—Lee Ann Womack: “I Hope You Dance” (2000)
- #57—Eric Church: “Springsteen” (2011)
- #56—Carrie Underwood: “Before He Cheats” (2006)
- #54—Brad Paisley: “Alcohol” (2005)
- #39—Kacey Musgraves: “Follow Your Arrow” (2013)
- #24—Taylor Swift: “Mean” (2010)
Interestingly enough, Miranda’s “The House That Built Me” (2009) didn’t make the cut for one of the “100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time” in 2014, but it did make the cut for the “100 Greatest Songs of the Century—So Far” in 2018.
Also excluded from the 2018 list are four songs that ranked ahead of Eric’s “Springsteen” on the 2014 list, including Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats,” Brad Paisley’s “Alcohol,” Kacey Musgraves’ “Follow Your Arrow” and Taylor Swift’s “Mean.”
What does it all mean? Nothing, really. It’s just a list. It’s also four years later, with an evolving group of voters.
If you’re interested, here’s the Top 10 of the “100 Greatest Songs of the Century—So Far.”
- #10—The Strokes: “Last Night”
- #9—Lorde: “Royals”
- #8—Adele: “Rolling in the Deep”
- #7—Kanye West: “Runaway”
- #6—Yeah Yeah Yeah: “Maps”
- #5—Jay-Z: “99 Problems”
- #4—OutKast: “Hey Ya!”
- #3—The White Stripes: “Seven Nation Army”
- #2—M.I.A.: “Paper Planes”
- #1—Beyonce & Jay-Z: “Crazy in Love”
