George Strait named top country artist of the past 25 years by Billboard; Garth Brooks ranked No. 2
George Strait (Associated Press file photos)
Billboard has compiled its list of the 25 top country music artists of the past 25 years, with Texan George Strait edging out Oklahoma native Garth Brooks for the top spot.
The trade publication combed the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Top Country Albums charts to rank the top 25 country artists from 1985-2010. Artists are ranked based on a point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at the lower end of the chart earning the least.
Strait’s 44 No. 1′s on Hot Country Songs chart pushed him to the head of the class; it is the most chart-toppers by any artist in the chart’s 64-year history. With 82 top 10 singles, he is second only to Eddy Arnold’s 92 top 10 achievements. He is the only artist in Billboard’s history to achieve top 10 singles in 30 consecutive years (1981-2010). He holds several all-time Billboard records, according to the trade publication.
Garth Brooks
Still, the King of Country narrowly prevailed over Brooks. Since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991, Brooks, who lives in Owasso, reigns as the top-selling U.S. album artist, with 68.4 million units total.
But it’s difficult to compare Brooks’ chart success with Strait’s simply because the Okie spent most of the past decade in retirement to spend time with his three daughters and wife Trisha Yearwood, while the Texan has continued to crank out new material. As Billboard notes, Brooks’ last album of all-new material came out in 2001, but the Yukon-bred superstar recently came out of retirement for an exclusive five-year concert engagement at the Wynn Las Vegas resort and casino.
Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire, who hails from Chockie, ranked third on the list, with Billboard noting her career “is a study in how to make all the right career moves, from the time she first debuted on Hot Country Songs in 1976, to her current chart hit, ‘Keep On Loving You.’” The flame-haired songstress has notched 23 No. 1s on Hot Country Songs (Dolly Parton, with 25, is the only female act with more). McEntire is also the only woman to score No. 1 singles in the ’80s, ’90s, ’00s and the current decade. She topped the Hot Country Songs list most recently in December with “Consider Me Gone.”
Toby Keith
Several other Oklahoma artists also made the top 25:
Norman resident Toby Keith is listed at No. 7. He’s scored 19 singles atop Hot Country Songs and eight No. 1s on the Top Country Albums. The trade publication notes that the Clinton native has “established himself during the past decade as country music’s outspoken maverick-in-chief.”
Soon-to-split duo Brooks & Dunn, which includes former Tulsan Ronnie Dunn, round out the top 10. Starting with their No. 1 debut single “Brand New Man” in 1991, Dunn and Kix Brooks have earned 41 top 10s and 20 No. 1s on Hot Country Songs. Ten of the duo’s 16 charted albums have been certified platinum or multi-platinum.
Trio Rascal Flatts, which includes Joe Don Rooney of Picher, ranked No. 11. Ten of the band’s 40 Country Songs entries have reached No. 1, and the band has sold 19.8 million albums in the past decade. Billboard quotes Rooney: “There’s never been a method to our madness. We just cut the best songs we can, and through the years we get better at what we do.”
The No. 17 slot is occupied by Oklahoma City-bred singer/songwriter/musician Vince Gill, whom Billboard notes has earned the reputation as the nicest guy in Nashville. He started notching hits in the mid ’80s when “If It Weren’t For Him,” a duet with Rosanne Cash, became his first top 10 on Hot Country Songs in 1985. His solo breakthrough hit was the Grammy-winning smash “When I Call Your Name” in 1990. He has released 27 top 10 singles, including five No. 1′s on that chart.
See the full list of Billboard’s top 25 country artists of the past 25 years after the break.
Brooks & Dunn
Billboard’s top 25 country artists of the top 25 years
* Oklahoma artists are marked with asterisks.
1. George Strait
**2. Garth Brooks
**3. Reba McEntire
4. Alan Jackson
5. Tim McGraw
6. Randy Travis
**7. Toby Keith
8. Kenny Chesney
9. Alabama
**10. Brooks & Dunn
**11. Rascal Flatts
12. Clint Black
13. Hank Williams Jr.
14. Shania Twain
15. The Judds
16. Faith Hill
**17. Vince Gill
18. Dixie Chicks
19. Keith Urban
20. Brad Paisley
21. Ricky Van Shelton
22. Dwight Yoakam
23. Martina McBride
24. Travis Tritt
25. LeAnn Rimes
-BAM
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Love’m all..But George is the best.He is the King of Country Music.