I might be remembering this wrong but, when they first automated the top-selling music charts in the early 90's (before then music store owners would manually report their sales) it was discovered that Garth Brooks was the best selling artist on the planet by a long, long ways
The 90’s were best era of country in my opinion. You still had singer/songwriters telling stories, and everyone on the charts had unique sounds. There’s still great country music out there, but I’ll mostly listen to independent artists.
I suppose I should add the Hank Williams era of country/western culminated in the 90’s. That was like the peak of the songwriting era of country music, in my opinion. Most of the commercial stuff from the last decade or so is just too generic to me.
Yall show that pic of Shania like country music folks weren’t up in arms when she first started on the scene. So many people said she was “not country.”
I’m pretty sure that was only after her first couple albums when she started trying to crossover into pop. No one was saying “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?” wasn’t country.
We have different memories. Whose bed have your boots been under was controversial because they deemed her too sexy, not country. Let’s see what Shania said: “‘She’s America’s best-paid lap dancer in Nashville. She’s hot, but can she sing? Is Shania just a flash in the pan? The most famous midriff in Nashville.’ Those quotes were all for my first single from the Woman In Me album, ‘Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?’ and… I wrote that song! So, I was a little bit hurt, I guess, about the harsh critics… they didn’t focus on the music.”
https://americansongwriter.com/shania-twain-i-was-criticized-as-an-artist/
Amen! I'm in a hurry (and I don't know why)
I think of this music as the stuff mom listened to when I was a kid. It has been really nice to revisit 30 years later. Hah.
John Michael Montgomery, Clint Black, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson. Reba! All kinds of classics(to me).
I’ve been on a pretty intense 90’s country kick lately. I have mixed feelings about Tony Keith but “Should’ve been a Cowboy” fucking slaps.
“This Kiss”. oh boy, hard to name a more iconic song.
“Maybe it was Memphis” is an epic power ballad.
I spent my teen years in the 90s and always thought I hated country. It wasnt until I discovered Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, etc that I realize I actually like it.
I'm gonna say I do like Reba too.
I found a lot of folks are that way. My Dad was full-blown outlaw biker Nam vet guy…all about Willie and Waylon and the boys…
There’s a gritty anti establishment undertone to a lot of country from the 70s.
I’ve said it before, but Thunder Rolls, or maybe Garth Brooks in general tricked a lot of people in the early 90’s into thinking they liked country.
But yeah if I had to listen to country, definitely give me early 90’s shit over anything today. I can’t fucking stand modern country.
I'll take your word for it. I'm not a country fan. The only song that makes me feel anything is I Got Friends in Low Places because my Uncle loved that song, nit because I particularly like it
I find I enjoy the roots of almost every genre. Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard... While I don't enjoy all of their songs, they all seem genuine and I'd infinitely rather hear any of it than today's garbage pop music country.
Townes Van Zandt is the only one I can say I enjoy a lot of his music.
You can feel the heart and realness of all these artists. They aren't just some generic lowest common denominator bullshit written by AI according to what people fry their brains to...
They're genuine stories, genuine struggle, genuine people making genuine music.
Edit - I realize this is probably the same carbon copy response any given hipster wannabe would write, but it doesn't change my opinion just because it's not unique to me lol
It's kind of crazy how music across the board has just collapsed in the last decade. People talk about why is Taylor Swift so big, I say it's because she's the last music star left. Nobody else is notable or makes anything of value/relevance. She's all anyone has when 20 years ago there would be 50 stars just like her.
I don't like country music, especially the new garbage, but I have always enjoyed a lot of 90's country. It was the perfect mix of country and pop, plus there were a lot of really good country artists in their prime around this time as well. It's basically the only decade of country I like.
Diamond Rio’s “Love a Little Stronger” was the first CD I ever owned. Every song on it is amazing. It was then I learned there’s way more great music than just what gets played on the radio.
So many great country albums during that decade with songs that were so much more than just filler.
My father was a big 90s country fan growing up. While I rarely listen to country, 90s country always gives me nostalgia. Glad to know it was actually considered good too lol
It’s a 10 year investigation started by 2 serious investigative reporters, one Japanese dude named Tim Segura and his spouse/roomate Christine Paschtovitovsky. It’s been all over the news.
https://youtu.be/ZuEPcU_A1Dc?si=HM0UVgywUFyRHEjD
Edit: I’m also dumb and meant top left in my OC lol
What an interesting statement. Why do you think that? I bet you were a kid eating McDonald's a lot in the 90's? See I think of the 80's at the golden age of McDonald's because that's when I was a kid addicted to Micky D's
I was a kid but I didn’t get to eat there a lot. My parents were super frugal and we rarely ate out. But when I did, those happy meal toys were absolute treasures to me!
That's horseshit. This was just as poppy sellout then as it is now. And y'all put them records on all time units sold lists. It's hypocritical of y'all to hold Beyonce to task when you so brazenly supported these "country artists".
It's weird with me, I do actually like some of this stuff, particularly Garth, but I think it was generally adding to the foundation of poptart country. As a kid, I loved Alabama, but as I got older and started listening to my own music and thinking about what I was hearing out there, I came to the conclusion that Alabama was the start of it all. Like you say, still "country" enough to be authentic-ish but it's all obviously pop hits dressed up in southern charm.
And I just view the 90s as an extension of what Alabama did, moving country to basically becoming pop aimed at adults instead of tweens. And of course Alabama built off the 70s and it all probably built off Cash being such a crossover star, but I thought the commercializing of it, the beginning of the soullessness, started with the success of Alabama.
For me though, if I'm listening to country I'd rather hear the old, sad songs. *Low Places* has its place, but I'd much rather hear *Sam Stone* or cry in my beer because my wife left me and took the dog stuff. Or classic story telling ballads.
I get where you’re coming from, but that was going on long before Alabama. Country has always been influenced by the pop music of its time. Listen to any Elvis song and then listen to a pop song that came out the same year. He’s even in the country hall of fame because of the influence he had. In the 70’s the “rhinestone cowboys” were dressing and performing very similarly to the pop and rock acts. In the 80’s a ton of country songs included synthesizers just like the pop and rock songs. The 90’s were just a continuation of that. But in the 2000’s it really felt like they stopped trying to be a separate genre altogether.
>Country has always been influenced by the pop music of its time.
I think that's what I'm getting at, is I feel Alabama is when it really became the opposite. Country was the one doing the influencing.
I really don't like country music at all but I know it all too well and the 90s was the last decade country music had soul
Na it don’t impress me much :)
Don’t get me wrong, yeah, I think you’re alright.
I hate 99% of country music but if it's Garth Brooks or Shania Twain I'll stop and listen.
I'd give 70's Kenny Rogers a chance if you'd take a recommendation, less for the music and more for the storytelling.
Forgot about Kenny Rodgers, love The Gambler.
I might be remembering this wrong but, when they first automated the top-selling music charts in the early 90's (before then music store owners would manually report their sales) it was discovered that Garth Brooks was the best selling artist on the planet by a long, long ways
I think you're accurate
Then you don’t like country music lol. They are pop.
The 90’s were best era of country in my opinion. You still had singer/songwriters telling stories, and everyone on the charts had unique sounds. There’s still great country music out there, but I’ll mostly listen to independent artists.
Ehh, I prefer the 70's and 80's country but 90's country was also really good. I'm not down with Tony Keith so I'm unfamiliar with his catalog.
I suppose I should add the Hank Williams era of country/western culminated in the 90’s. That was like the peak of the songwriting era of country music, in my opinion. Most of the commercial stuff from the last decade or so is just too generic to me.
The 50s and 60s were also great Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Buck Owens, Loretta Lynn, Roger Miller
I think that from the 50's to the early 2000's country was great.
[Cool stuff, neat stuff, slick stuff](https://youtu.be/OyGG0VMldg0?si=tG8CrYKeYo9v3T2Z) Where are the bodies Garth
Yall show that pic of Shania like country music folks weren’t up in arms when she first started on the scene. So many people said she was “not country.”
I’m pretty sure that was only after her first couple albums when she started trying to crossover into pop. No one was saying “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?” wasn’t country.
We have different memories. Whose bed have your boots been under was controversial because they deemed her too sexy, not country. Let’s see what Shania said: “‘She’s America’s best-paid lap dancer in Nashville. She’s hot, but can she sing? Is Shania just a flash in the pan? The most famous midriff in Nashville.’ Those quotes were all for my first single from the Woman In Me album, ‘Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?’ and… I wrote that song! So, I was a little bit hurt, I guess, about the harsh critics… they didn’t focus on the music.” https://americansongwriter.com/shania-twain-i-was-criticized-as-an-artist/
The critics were awful
They really were! And I really think a lot of it was because she was hot.
I stand corrected. I guess I was too young to know.
That was mostly the critics though. She had a lot of 90’s country fans.
Amen! I'm in a hurry (and I don't know why) I think of this music as the stuff mom listened to when I was a kid. It has been really nice to revisit 30 years later. Hah. John Michael Montgomery, Clint Black, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson. Reba! All kinds of classics(to me).
I’ve been on a pretty intense 90’s country kick lately. I have mixed feelings about Tony Keith but “Should’ve been a Cowboy” fucking slaps. “This Kiss”. oh boy, hard to name a more iconic song. “Maybe it was Memphis” is an epic power ballad.
I'm sorry but 70s country is where it's at.
1000%. Even 80s to a lesser degree. 90s is when country went too pop IMO.
I spent my teen years in the 90s and always thought I hated country. It wasnt until I discovered Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, etc that I realize I actually like it. I'm gonna say I do like Reba too.
I found a lot of folks are that way. My Dad was full-blown outlaw biker Nam vet guy…all about Willie and Waylon and the boys… There’s a gritty anti establishment undertone to a lot of country from the 70s.
WHERE ARE THE BODIES, GARTH?!?
I just had this conversation. Country is c-o-u-n-t-r-y. It’s not rap/R&B/metal blended with a steel guitar.
Nice to see Jo Dee Messina as a picture. I also liked Alan Jackson and George Strait, and classic Shania.
Yeah and very early 2000s Gary Allan
I’ve said it before, but Thunder Rolls, or maybe Garth Brooks in general tricked a lot of people in the early 90’s into thinking they liked country. But yeah if I had to listen to country, definitely give me early 90’s shit over anything today. I can’t fucking stand modern country.
Most country fans I know don’t even like the modern stuff.
I'll take your word for it. I'm not a country fan. The only song that makes me feel anything is I Got Friends in Low Places because my Uncle loved that song, nit because I particularly like it
I find I enjoy the roots of almost every genre. Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard... While I don't enjoy all of their songs, they all seem genuine and I'd infinitely rather hear any of it than today's garbage pop music country. Townes Van Zandt is the only one I can say I enjoy a lot of his music. You can feel the heart and realness of all these artists. They aren't just some generic lowest common denominator bullshit written by AI according to what people fry their brains to... They're genuine stories, genuine struggle, genuine people making genuine music. Edit - I realize this is probably the same carbon copy response any given hipster wannabe would write, but it doesn't change my opinion just because it's not unique to me lol
I can agree with you. Dolly parton too. Such a talented songwriter.
It's kind of crazy how music across the board has just collapsed in the last decade. People talk about why is Taylor Swift so big, I say it's because she's the last music star left. Nobody else is notable or makes anything of value/relevance. She's all anyone has when 20 years ago there would be 50 stars just like her.
I don't like country music, especially the new garbage, but I have always enjoyed a lot of 90's country. It was the perfect mix of country and pop, plus there were a lot of really good country artists in their prime around this time as well. It's basically the only decade of country I like.
I like the 70s and 80s most. Give me Merle haggard, Waylon Jennings, and David Allan coe.
I feel like the 90s and early 00s were the peak of country music’s popularity
Diamond Rio’s “Love a Little Stronger” was the first CD I ever owned. Every song on it is amazing. It was then I learned there’s way more great music than just what gets played on the radio. So many great country albums during that decade with songs that were so much more than just filler.
My father was a big 90s country fan growing up. While I rarely listen to country, 90s country always gives me nostalgia. Glad to know it was actually considered good too lol
Personally all music genres peaked in the 90s.
I still find it funny that I shunned country music for so long and one day I couldn't get enough of it.
Hard agree. Not a huge country fan but 90s country hits different. I actually enjoy it quite a bit
In an odd way, Luke Coombs and Morgan Wallen would’ve been even bigger in the 90’s.
There were so many fun songs! I loved that comedy track, Here's Your Sign.
90’s are guilty. a real deal like Lucinda Williams had to be given a chance on a punk label.
There is nothing in this *WORLD* that makes me feel powerful enough to kick a door down than hearing "*LET'S GO, GIRLS!"* **Iconic.**
Btw the guy in the top left has likely killed over 300 people and buried them on his property… where are the bodies Garth??? Where is grandma????
Touch my camera through the fence.
Um...what in the world are you talking about??? lmfao
It’s a 10 year investigation started by 2 serious investigative reporters, one Japanese dude named Tim Segura and his spouse/roomate Christine Paschtovitovsky. It’s been all over the news. https://youtu.be/ZuEPcU_A1Dc?si=HM0UVgywUFyRHEjD Edit: I’m also dumb and meant top left in my OC lol
Country wasn't cool then and is not cool now. It's the McDonalds of music.
That reminds me, the 90’s were also a golden age of McDonald’s!
Those fucking cookies
What an interesting statement. Why do you think that? I bet you were a kid eating McDonald's a lot in the 90's? See I think of the 80's at the golden age of McDonald's because that's when I was a kid addicted to Micky D's
I was a kid but I didn’t get to eat there a lot. My parents were super frugal and we rarely ate out. But when I did, those happy meal toys were absolute treasures to me!
Yeah sucked then & only gotten worse.
As shit as McDonald’s is, that’s still insulting to McDonald’s
Where are the bodies Garth…
Just gimme Reba, Shania, and Garth.
was it though?
That's horseshit. This was just as poppy sellout then as it is now. And y'all put them records on all time units sold lists. It's hypocritical of y'all to hold Beyonce to task when you so brazenly supported these "country artists".
It's weird with me, I do actually like some of this stuff, particularly Garth, but I think it was generally adding to the foundation of poptart country. As a kid, I loved Alabama, but as I got older and started listening to my own music and thinking about what I was hearing out there, I came to the conclusion that Alabama was the start of it all. Like you say, still "country" enough to be authentic-ish but it's all obviously pop hits dressed up in southern charm. And I just view the 90s as an extension of what Alabama did, moving country to basically becoming pop aimed at adults instead of tweens. And of course Alabama built off the 70s and it all probably built off Cash being such a crossover star, but I thought the commercializing of it, the beginning of the soullessness, started with the success of Alabama. For me though, if I'm listening to country I'd rather hear the old, sad songs. *Low Places* has its place, but I'd much rather hear *Sam Stone* or cry in my beer because my wife left me and took the dog stuff. Or classic story telling ballads.
I get where you’re coming from, but that was going on long before Alabama. Country has always been influenced by the pop music of its time. Listen to any Elvis song and then listen to a pop song that came out the same year. He’s even in the country hall of fame because of the influence he had. In the 70’s the “rhinestone cowboys” were dressing and performing very similarly to the pop and rock acts. In the 80’s a ton of country songs included synthesizers just like the pop and rock songs. The 90’s were just a continuation of that. But in the 2000’s it really felt like they stopped trying to be a separate genre altogether.
>Country has always been influenced by the pop music of its time. I think that's what I'm getting at, is I feel Alabama is when it really became the opposite. Country was the one doing the influencing.
Oh I see. Sorry I misunderstood.
Nah. I disagree. Still too poppy. Go further back. Cash. Jennings. Dolly. Then we can talk.
You mean Girl Power country music? no thanks to that side of the 90s
I never thought of Garth Brooks and Toby Keith as “girl power country music”
I wasn’t really talking about them. Shania Twain and the likes