Year: 1995

This might be the only song on the countdown that features a washboard.

Formerly of the Kentucky Headhunters (one eventually went back), they were only active from 1992-1995. They weren’t terribly popular, but I dug most of their songs.

Year: 1993

Maybe my favorite country song. You better enjoy it, too, since it took me a while to find it. Garth’s lawyers have done a good job at scrubbing any evidence he exists off of YouTube.

I remember Garth once said he doesn’t allow his songs to be sold individually. Not because of money, but because he felt people would enjoy his music better if they listened to the album as a whole. His arrogance has always grossed me out, but hey, in the early 90s he released a single that was pro-gay, pro freedom-of-religion, pro-integration. So…he’s above the herd, anyway.

Year: 1993

And women too.

Man, Kix is feelin’ it in this video. Don’t blame him, though. I have to be careful listening to this in the car or I might hit the gas too much.

Year: 1993

I legit thought the lead singer’s real name was Boy Howdy for the longest time.

Year: 1992

One of the best voices in country music. Unfortunately, I don’t like most of her songs. But she had a hot steak from 1991 to 1993. It was hard to pick between this, “Drive South,” “Outbound Plane,” and “Someday Soon.”

Year: 1995

A song about art hit the Top 10 of the country charts. 1992 was a different place.

Year: 1992

While Garth Brooks ushered in the new era of country music in the 90’s, Clint Black released his first single three weeks earlier and was nearly as successful on the charts. He had thirteen #1 hits compared to Garth’s nineteen. Of course, the main difference was that Garth was a hell of an entertainer and was a much more vocal person. Black won male vocalist of the year his first two years (from ACM and CMA respectively) and never won another award.

Black has been an incredibly private person. Not that Black shied away from the limelight. He played one of the cheating poker players in Maverick and then did a lot more TV and reality shows. But he has kept his private life really damn private. He and his wife Lisa Hartman (also a country singer and TV actor) have shared very little about their personal lives. They sang about their love (“When I Said I Do”) and it was a huge crossover hit. Black wrote an amazing song about his newborn daughter (“Little Pearl and Lily’s Lullaby”) but they almost never shared pictures or information about her until she was in her late teens and joined her dad as entertainer. Much respect.

Anyway, “Burn One Down” is my favorite. It’s not the most lyrically imaginative, but I love the violin (which is pretty much gone from country nowadays) and the song perfectly shows off his range. He’s also a pretty good harmonica player which he shows off in “Good Run of Bad Luck” and “State of Mind.”

Weirdly, I like almost every single he released from 1989 to 2002 but I like almost none of the album filler.

Year: 2004

Such a stupid song but I can’t help myself. Back in 2004 I had a series of first dates where this song was on the radio on my way to said dates and it helped keep me loose. None of those dates amounted to anything, but hey, I felt loose!

Year: 2006

For me this is all about the chorus with all eight lines crescendoing to the same note. The official music video is just stupid so not showing it.

I also love his ever popular debut single “What Was I Thinkin'” which is still his highest song on the pop charts (#22).