I You See Again Country 1990s

Ah, the 90s! The decade that gave us Harry Potter, Beanie Babies and super-sized chips. Everyone was doing the Macarena, and a new thing called Google could tell you anything you lot wanted to know on a pastel coloured Macbook (if you could get your dial-up connexion to piece of work).

As they say, everything onetime is new once again, and it seems we are in the middle of a 90s country revival. Only here'southward the thing about 90s country: it still sounds amazing today - and even, dare I say, current.

Then, let'southward run down the 50 top tunes of the 90s, equally selected by our cleft squad of contributors, staff, and friends. Let's go girls!

- Baylen Leonard

50

UMG RECORDINGS | 1997

Shania Twain - That Don't Impress Me Much

This global smash hitting broke into the superlative ten in xvi different countries. A state pop banger, 'That Don't Impress Me Much' is i of the catchiest in Twain's repertoire; the lyrics oozing her characteristic playfulness and humour.

Surprisingly, given the songs longevity and global notoriety, it never actually topped the charts in the United states. - Zoe Hodges

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49

MCA RECORDS | 1991

George Strait - If I Know Me

It'south 1 thing to know your better one-half really, really well. Simply this tranquility piano ballad turns that mirror around and then that George Strait gets to know himself well enough to know exactly how things are going to turn out.

He'due south going to turn the car around, say he's sorry and get running dorsum to her. It'southward a quintessential '90s song that uses a play on words to reel you in. - Alison Bonaguro

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48

RCA Records | 1991

Lorrie Morgan - Except For Mon

Lorrie Morgan pretends she is absolutely FINE!! in this toe-tapping tribute to messy breakups.

She bumps into her ex when she's out clubbing on a Sunday night and lets him know just how okay she is with everything. Which it turns out she isn't really. Well, not for most of the week anyway. - Jof Owen

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47

WARNER RECORDS | 1997

Steve Earle - Telephone Road (With The Fairfield Iv)

Steve Earle's tribute to a 10-mile long stretch of road in Houston captures him at the height of his powers in the belatedly-90s.

He brings in American gospel legends The Fairfield Four for this joyously upbeat paean to the restlessness and desperation of small-town America. - JO

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46

BMG ENTERTAINMENT | 1994

Clay Walker - If I Could Make A Living

Wouldn't this be a nice gig? To just beloved someone for a living?

Clay Walker painted a vivid pic – with ample splashes of fiddle - of what that career goal would look like: becoming a millionaire in a calendar week or 2, loving that 8 to 5, never leaving her lonely when he's working overtime, doing what he loves and loving what he does. - AB

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45

ARISTA RECORDS | 1990, 1991

Pam Tillis - Perhaps It Was Memphis

One of the hallmarks of the country genre is the story song, and Pam Tillis masters the art grade on 'Maybe It Was Memphis'.

A nostalgic beloved story set against a hot summer nighttime in the southward, Tillis' epic vocal line cements the song's place as one of the classics of the decade. - Carena Liptak

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44

BMG Entertainment | 1994

Clint Black - Summer's Comin'

Turn on CMT on any given summers day in the mid-90s and information technology wouldn't be long before you were watching the video for this heels up honky-tonker.

Clint Black takes the twenty-four hours off work to hit the beach in a muscle vest and cycling shorts. Somehow still managing to style it out with a cowboy hat. - JO

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43

Curb Records | 1996

Wynonna - Change The Earth

Peradventure now amend known for Eric Clapton'south version, 'Alter the world' was commencement recorded by Wynonna Judd for her 3rd album, Revelations.

Watching Wynonna sing it live was to witness true vocal prowess and control, as she moved abroad from the partnership with her mom Naomi into prized crossover territory. - Helen Jerome

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42

Atlantic Records | 1994

Tracy Lawrence - If The World Had A Forepart Porch

"If the world had a forepart porch like we did dorsum then / we'd still have our issues but nosotros'd all be friends", Tracy Lawrence sings in this wide-eyed celebration of traditional family values and simpler times.

In the music video, Lawrence gets zapped into a vortex and trapped in a quantum realm, singing the vocal on a CGI porch as it flies around the world. The 90s were really weird sometimes. - JO

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41

CURB RECORDS | 1998

Jo Dee Messina - I'm Alright

This is a singalong that everyone loved in 1998. Jo Dee Messina added her sassiness to the story about a vocaliser that'southward down on her luck, but nonetheless happy.

"I've been singing for my rent and singing for my supper / I'm above the below and below the upper".

I gauge she was doin' alright. - Kelly Sutton

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40

Warner Records | 1997

Son Volt - Back Into Your World

Three years afterward the breakup of alt-country'southward most important ring, Jay Farrar fabricated the underrated masterpiece Straightaways.

A follow upward to the as magnificent Trace, information technology included this poetic Byrdsian jangle-popular archetype and proved that Farrar was more than than capable of doing annihilation his ex-Uncle Tupelo bandmate Jeff Tweedy could do; sometimes doing it even improve too. - JO

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39

Sony BMG Music Entertainment | 1994

Patty Loveless - I Endeavor To Think Well-nigh Elvis

When yous're attempting to stop thinking near an ex, you'll try but about anything. Patty Loveless gave usa all a long list of about 23 alternatives to concentrate on instead: Elvis, Oprah, the cosmos, champagne, freight trains, Shakespeare and more.

Merely as the sassy singer admits, her mind wanders where it will, despite her attempts to go him out of her head. - AB

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38

SUGAR Hill RECORDS | 1999

Dolly Parton - The Grass Is Blue

'The Grass is Blue', the title rails off land music legend Dolly Parton'due south 1999 album, intentionally gives a major clue to the fact that the record would embody a bluegrass sound.

Listening to the heartbreak unmarried, you'd never expect that the writing process took place on Parton's thirty-minute lunch suspension. – Madeline OConnell

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37

MCA Records | 1991

Marty Stuart - Tempted

This song might have merely peaked at no.5 on the charts, but it's a fave for united states here at Holler!

Stuart is often known equally a spokesman for the genre, encompassing all that country represents; honouring its roots whilst welcoming the time to come. From the lyrical content to the melodic hooks, with this hugely commercially successful song, he proves why. – ZH

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36

Reprise Records | 1993

Dwight Yoakam - Fast Equally Yous

More than most country songs of the 90s, 'Fast equally You lot' proves that even hit singles of the genre can handle their fair share of rock 'n' gyre inclinations.

'Fast as You lot' embarked on a new era of country music, one that combined the genre's storytelling roots with a West Coast-inspired varnish of glitz and glamor. - CL

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35

Colombia RECORDS | 1999

The Chicks - Cowboy Accept Me Away

The honey story of Chicks member Emily Strayer and husband Charlie Robison inspired this 1999 hitting. Co-writers Martie Maguire and Marcus Hummon imagined the couple riding off into the dusk together as young lovers.

The 3-part harmony, released over 20 years ago on Wing, continues to abound in popularity with each generation. - MO

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34

WARNER RECORDS | 1991

Randy Travis - Heart Of Hearts

'Heart of Hearts' is the 3rd rail off Randy Travis' 1991 platinum loftier lonesome album.

The song is unapologetically honest with beloved the middle of attention, the graphic symbol portrayed in the lyrics grappling with the decision to refrain from cheating on his partner. - MO

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33

MCA RECORDS | 1993

Reba McEntire & Linda Davis - Does He Honey You lot

One of those corny yet intense songs about a love triangle, this 1993 carol found Reba recording with her backing singer, Linda Davis (mother of Lady A's Hillary Scott).

To show its timelessness, Reba has re-recorded the vocal in 2021 with Dolly Parton, their kickoff-always duet together. - HJ

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32

ROUNDER RECORDS | 1995

Alison Krauss - Baby, At present That I've Found You

The breakthrough championship track from her early retrospective collection, this heavenly cover unsurprisingly won a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal in 1995.

Though she brings her own unique have to the song, Krauss' version is even so highly reminiscent of the 1960s original by British soul group The Foundations. - HJ

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31

Arista Records | 1991

Diamond Rio - See In The Centre

This was the earth's first taste of Diamond Rio, and what an introduction it was. This song is about literally and figuratively coming together in the middle of the 700 fenceposts between y'all and your dear, offset as teenagers and so later as a married couple who don't see eye to eye.

The story in this song hadn't been told earlier, and it hasn't been told too in all the years since. - AB

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30

MCA RECORDS | 1998

The Mavericks - Trip the light fantastic The Dark Away

This horn-driven song blasted The Mavs into the Great britain Top 5 after they performed it on the British version of the Powerball show.

Songwriter Raul Malo has mixed emotions about what, in his eyes, is a nursery rhyme: "I feel like I take a meg songs that are x times improve".

Even he tin can't deny that information technology's impossible to resist dancing to it once they strike up the horns. - HJ

29

MCA Records | 1999

Chely Wright - Unmarried White Female

Chely Wright's first and simply no.1 on the Hot Land Songs nautical chart was this fun, upbeat, carefree honey song.

The concept draws inspiration from a alone hearts advert and features beau country vocalist Trisha Yearwood on backing vocals. - ZH

28

MERCURY RECORDS | 1998

Lucinda Williams - Can't Let Go

Of all the tracks on Lucinda Williams' seminal 1998 album, Machine Wheels on a Gravel Road, 'Tin't Let Go' is more than just a cornerstone of her discography.

It'southward also the perfect microcosm of a particular moment in 90s alt-country history, one defined by the gritty freedom of the open road. - CL

27

Oh Boy Records | 1991

John Prine - All The Best

This 1991 song from The Missing Years album is a perfect summary of John Prine's economical songwriting.

There's a generosity of spirit as he tenderly says goodbye to a lover, but undercuts it by wishing that they "never fall in love with someone like you". Masterly. - HJ

26

SIRE RECORDS, WARNER BROS | 1992

k.d. lang - Constant Craving

Composed with her writing partner Ben Mink and released in 1992 – the "watershed" yr lang came out as gay – the music came quickly on her Casio keyboard, but the lyrics were a struggle.

Crucially, this gem of desire and longing crossed over to win a Grammy for Best Female person Pop Vocal. - HJ

25

Scarlet Letter Records | 1996

Gretchen Peters - On A Bus To St. Cloud

With a title grabbed from a random place name on a map, this song, originally a hit for Trisha Yearwood, established Peters in the UK.

Having sung the song from Nashville to London, she says she'll go on performing information technology live equally long as it continues to detect new pregnant over the years. - HJ

24

CAPITOL RECORDS | 1989

Garth Brooks - The Dance

Taken from Brooks' debut album, 'The Dance' topped the charts for three weeks, since becoming one of his signature songs.

The lyrics to this tragic track are flawless, capturing a double meaning both as a love song almost the end of a relationship and a story of someone dying for something he believes in. - ZH

23

MERCURY RECORDS | 1995

Shania Twain - Whose Bed Accept Your Boots Been Under

Louise, Denise, Beverly, encarmine Jill!! For goodness sake. Whose bed haven't his boots been under more like?!

This perky give-a-shit done-me-wrong song was the first song that Shania wrote with her and so-husband Mutt Lange and it became her kickoff hit on country radio, peaking at number 11 in 1995. - JO

22

BMG Entertainment | 1997

Kenny Chesney - That's Why I'one thousand Here

Like any solid country song in the 90s, this ane told a compelling story nigh a guy trying to win his married woman back past going to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

So in the beginning, after she's kicked him to the curb, he shows upwardly to tell her he's sober. Because later on a life of denial, he finally went to AA. By the end of the song, he'southward invited her to join him at the side by side coming together. - AB

21

ARISTA | 1991

Brooks & Dunn - Neon Moon

Drowning your heartbreak under a tacky neon bar sign never sounded so proficient.

Subsequently information technology went to no.ane in 1992, you were hard-pressed to walk into whatsoever honky-tonk and non see someone line dancing to this absolute hit. - KS

twenty

MCA Records | 1994

Vince Gill - Go Rest High On That Mount

It's no accident that Vince Gill was inspired to write 'Get Remainder High on That Mountain' subsequently the death of Keith Whitley.

The song is one of the country genre'due south most profound musical answers to death, with bankroll vocals from Ricky Skaggs and Patty Loveless that further evoke its spirituality.

Gill went on to perform it at the funeral services of the legendary likes of George Jones and Charlie Daniels. - CL

nineteen

Sony BMG Music Amusement | 1992

Mary Chapin Carpenter - He Thinks He'll Go along Her

There'south nothing in the least bit calorie-free almost this 90s feminist state classic.

Mary Chapin Carpenter picks apart the drudgery of housework and unequal parental responsibilities in an unhappy 15-yr wedlock, which she eventually leaves, only to detect that her job opportunities exterior of the habitation are limited by the patriarchy likewise. - JO

xviii

Curb Records | 1990

The Judds - Love Tin can Build A Bridge

The championship track of the Judds' last total studio album, 'Love Can Build a Bridge' serves every bit a final word of sorts from the hitmaking mother-girl duo.

An epic testimony to the power of human connectedness, the song was a fitting sign-off, as poignant as whatsoever of the duo'due south more than upbeat, radio-friendly hits. - CL

17

MCA Nashville | 1995

Trisha Yearwood - 30's and OOO'southward (An American Daughter)

Always since releasing 'She's in Honey with the Boy' every bit her beginning striking single, Trisha Yearwood has proven her extraordinary talent for capturing the imagination of a young daughter on the precipice of adulthood.

Nowhere is that more evident than on 'XXXs and OOOs', a coming-of-age narrative that continues to fit correct into the stories of young women everywhere today. - CL

xvi

Warner Records | 1992

Travis Tritt - T-R-O-U-B-L-East

This vocal feels similar a tornado coming at you full speed.

From the driving guitar to the fiddle, 'T-R-O-U-B-L-Due east' was (and still is) the vocal you want playing in your car as you race down the road on the fashion to the big field party. - KS

xv

ARISTA | 1991

Brooks & Dunn - Boot Scootin' Boogie

Brooks & Dunn'southward signature line dance runway, 'Boot Scootin' Boogie' featured on the duo'due south 1991 debut album, Brand New Human being.

Although get-go recorded past Asleep at the Wheel, Brooks & Dunn saw great success with their version. The 32 counts of footwork choreographed alongside this single quickly became a dance miracle beyond honky tonks worldwide. - MO

fourteen

1990 | MCA

Reba McEntire - Fancy

Originally written and recorded by Bobbie Gentry, Reba McEntire actually made this song her ain in 1990. Now it's become the iconic encore of her shows.

Due to its references to prostitution, it was a slightly edgy song for both Gentry in the 60s and McEntire in the 90s.

McEntire'due south version surpassed the original's success on the state charts. - ZH

13

Sony BMG Music Entertainment | 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998

Joe Diffie - Pickup Man

Joe Diffie finds the double significant of the phrase "choice up" and proceeds to drive all around town with information technology on this hit.

The twanging truck canticle predated bro-country'south predilection for tailgates past a skillful 15 years, every bit he ran through all the incidental benefits of an eight-pes flatbed lifestyle. - JO

12

PATRIOT RECORDS | 1995 / CAPITOL RECORDS | 1996

Deana Carter - Strawberry Wine

It's hard not to love this summery coming-of-age track, inspired by songwriter Matraca Berg'due south ain experiences as a teenager.

From the pedal steel that dominates the production to Carter's wispy vocals, this 1997 CMA Song of the Yr has the power to transport you lot to some other fourth dimension. - ZH

11

Curb Records Inc | 1995

Tim McGraw - I Like It, I Dearest It

Clearly, Tim McGraw is downwardly to practise anything to impress his daughter (if you've e'er been to a canton off-white and tried to win a stuffed teddy carry, you lot sympathise his dedication).

There were few songs in the 90s that had a better claw than this one. It'south not a surprise that it's now the official song for the Nashville Predators NHL Hockey squad - it blares out of the speakers every time the squad score. - KS

10

Arista Records | 1992

Alan Jackson - Chattahoochee

AJ wolfs down a burger and a snow cone and drops his date off early then he can head downwards to the riverbank to shoot cans and pull handbrake turns with his buddies.

He unexpectedly turned 90s summer wear on its head by water skiing in just cowboy boots and a life jacket in the video. We dearest to see it. - JO

9

MCA Records | 1994

Tracy Byrd - Watermelon Crawl

Released in 1994 as the 2d single off No Ordinary Man, Tracy Byrd'south rock-cold party starter 'Watermelon Crawl' is a line dance anthem.

E'er fulfilling his role of responsibleness, the mayor of a minor boondocks in Georgia encourages its people (who are all having a great time knocking back watermelon wine at the local festival) to "obey the law / if you drink, don't drive / practise the watermelon crawl".

Sounds like our kinda town. - Ciara Bains

8

Adjourn RECORDS | 1997

LeAnn Rimes - How Do I Live

Penned by Diane Warren, 'How Do I Alive' was originally written for LeAnn Rimes - although it could also easily be described as a Trisha Yearwood vocal.

Both women released versions of the single on the exact same mean solar day, while both performances were nominated in the same Grammys category (Yearwood's version won).

The song is positive proof that groovy material in the hands of cracking artists can easily stand the test of time. - CL

7

UMG RECORDINGS | 1997

Shania Twain - Human! I Feel Similar A Woman

At that place are two kinds of people in the world: those who become goosebumps when they hear the phrase "Let's get girls" and liars.

Twain's loud-and-proud single demolishes any notion that women - and female artists in country - need to be tranquility or subtle.

The vocal, similar Twain herself, is unabashedly true to its ain quirky personality, equal parts goofy and anthemic. - CL

half dozen

COLUMBIA RECORDS | 1997, 1998

The Chicks - Wide Open Spaces

The Chicks painted a picture of what every girl wants in life: the room to brand a big fault.

This massive hit concluded up in the hands of the trio past way of Natalie Maines' begetter, Lloyd Maines. He produced an album by alt-state band The Groobees, who recorded 'Wide Open Spaces' for information technology.

When the Chicks performed their version of the vocal in concert for the showtime fourth dimension, it's safe to say the fans loved information technology. - KS

five

Capitol Records Nashville | 1990

Garth Brooks - Friends In Low Places

Turn up on any night of the week in any bar forth Nashville'south Broadway and someone will be singing this 90s classic.

Garth reflects on turning upward drunk and inappropriately dressed to an ex-girlfriend's fancy blackness tie result; behaving like an absolute muppet past toasting her new beau and merely by and large embarrassing himself.

We've all been at that place. - JO

4

Yes Roc Records | 1993

Iris Dement - Let The Mystery Be

Iris Dement may be best known for 'Our Town' - or her duet work with John Prine - but it's another pick from her 1992 debut, Infamous Angel, that has all-time kept its replay value over the years.

That'south 'Let the Mystery Exist', a meditation on life's sugariness unknowns and a masterclass in simplicity. - CL

iii

WARNER | 1998

Religion Hill - This Kiss

The start single from Loma'southward third album turned into one of her biggest crossover hits and even snagged two Grammy nominations.

What we all actually remember, though, is the video. It was whimsical and full of fantasy; Faith jumping from flower to flower and swinging on a behemothic nectarine. Long live 90s music videos. - KS

ii

COLOMBIA RECORDS | 1999

The Chicks - Farewell Earl

Shining a light on revenge after corruption, 'Good Bye Earl' lays bare shocking domestic violence.

Sending shivers down the spine with its astonishingly sweet harmonies, information technology'south still hard to fathom that this was written by a man, Dennis Linde. - HJ

1

SONY MUSIC | 1993

Martina McBride - Independence 24-hour interval

A good song is one you come up dorsum to again and again and never tire of. A great song is that, just i that also makes yous feel something; each and every time its layers slowly revealing themselves anew.

'Independence Day' is undoubtedly a great vocal. With raw, honest songwriting from Grethen Peters and unmatched vocals from Martina McBride, here at Holler HQ it'due south our unanimous selection every bit the no.1 song of the 90s.

Certain, you lot tin can scream along with the chorus without really understanding the gravity of the song - equally is evident from the many radio stations who plan it heavily every 4th of July -just in one case you tune in to the story it's telling, it's a shock to the system.

Whether yous've been through what 'Independence Mean solar day' is addressing or not, it's a song that anyone who's ever gotten out of a bad situation, finally free to sing at the superlative of their lungs, can relate to. Let freedom band indeed! - Baylen Leonard

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Y'all can subscribe to the 90s playlist from Holler's selected partners below:

For more of the all-time of country from across the decades, bank check out:

• The Best 50s Land Songs
• The Best 60s Country Songs
• The All-time 70s State Songs
• The Best 80s State Songs

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Source: https://holler.country/lists/essentials/the-best-90s-country-songs

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