The sound of country music has changed drastically over the last century, and even more so in the last 20 years. Today, one might be more likely to hear electronic keyboards and computer-programmed drum beats on their local country radio station than the whine of a pedal steel guitar. Yet listeners across the globe continue to be drawn to the famously American genre — both today’s pop-oriented version and the more traditional sounds of yesterday.
The status of country pop over the last few years is perhaps best understood by the song “Meant to Be” by Brooklyn-born singer Bebe Rexha and country duo Florida Georgia Line. The song, which utilizes modern pop music production techniques, may sound more appropriate in a club than an old fashioned honky tonk. Yet the song broke the record for most weeks spent at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in 2018. “Meant to Be” — which remains on the chart — spent a total of 50 weeks at No. 1, illustrating the exceptional popularity of this strain of country music.
Fans of more traditional country music need not fret, however, as there are numerous musicians putting out new, popular music that employs more conventional instrumentation and sounds. Grammy-award winning musician Chris Stapleton — whose solo work would largely be considered “authentic” country — has had 17 songs in the Hot Country charts since he released his debut solo album in 2015. Singer and songwriter Luke Combs has similarly found great success playing in a familiar style of country.
Older, more established country artists also continue to be popular. George Strait, whose new album “Honky Tonk Time Machine” is scheduled to be released at the end of the March, has maintained a strong presence in popular country. He is touring this year. Country legends Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton have also appeared on the country charts in recent years.
Click here to see America’s most popular country music stars.
To determine the 100 most popular country music stars, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed artist performance on the Billboard Hot Country Songs music chart for the past three years from the week of Feb. 6, 2016 through the week of Feb. 9, 2019. We then created an index using the number of weeks an artist spent on the chart during that period, the positions the artist held on the charts, and the number of page views each artist’s Wikipedia page received over the past two years, a reflection of each musician/group’s popularity. The number of weeks each artist spent on the Hot Country charts is tallied by the weeks each song spent on the charts, so if an artist had two singles on the chart during one week it would count as two total weeks.
100. Canaan Smith
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 18
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Hole In A Bottle
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 61,544
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99. Ashley McBryde
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 17
> Most recent Hot Country hit: A Little Dive Bar In Dahlonega
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 194,080
98. Danielle Bradbery
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 15
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Sway
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 541,538
97. Montgomery Gentry
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 2
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Better Me
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,275,490
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96. Jana Kramer
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 3
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Dammit
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,258,064
95. Maddie & Tae
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 22
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Friends Don’t
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 267,644
94. Craig Campbell
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 25
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Outskirts Of Heaven
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 78,207
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93. Cam
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 20
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Diane
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 458,777
92. Riley Green
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 23
> Most recent Hot Country hit: There Was This Girl
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 22,314
91. Tyler Rich
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 29
> Most recent Hot Country hit: The Difference
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 14,472
90. Rodney Atkins
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 28
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Caught Up In The Country (Rodney Atkins ft. The Fisk Jubilee Singers)
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 197,541
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89. Eli Young Band
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 31
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Love Ain’t
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 104,255
88. George Strait
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 2
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Cold Beer Conversation
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,020,655
87. Frankie Ballard
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 24
> Most recent Hot Country hit: It All Started With A Beer
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 109,267
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86. David Nail
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 25
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Night’s On Fire
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 64,763
85. Hillary Scott & The Scott Family
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 21
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Thy Will
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 568,451
84. Lindsay Ell
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 26
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Criminal
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 332,646
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83. Aaron Watson
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 29
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Outta Style
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 177,012
82. Tucker Beathard
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 27
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Rock On
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 94,353
81. RaeLynn
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 33
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Queens Don’t
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 346,116
80. Cody Johnson
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 35
> Most recent Hot Country hit: On My Way To You
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 228,963
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79. Jennifer Nettles
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 29
> Most recent Hot Country hit: O Holy Night
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 733,334
78. Trent Harmon
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 35
> Most recent Hot Country hit: There’s A Girl
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 222,070
77. Morgan Evans
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 28
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Things That We Drink To
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 383,990
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76. Mitchell Tenpenny
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 26
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Drunk Me
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 93,088
75. William Michael Morgan
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 40
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Missing
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 75,845
74. Kid Rock
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 3
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Tennessee Mountain Top
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,973,530
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73. Reba McEntire
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 7
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Back To God (Reba McEntire & Lauren Daigle)
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 3,276,629
72. Kacey Musgraves
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 16
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Space Cowboy
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,526,198
71. Sugarland
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 33
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Still The Same
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 651,270
70. Josh Turner
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 35
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Hometown Girl
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 457,981
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69. Devin Dawson
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 39
> Most recent Hot Country hit: All On Me
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 108,201
68. Drake White
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 50
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Makin’ Me Look Good Again
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 112,441
67. Jimmie Allen
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 38
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Best Shot
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 131,935
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66. Big & Rich
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 54
> Most recent Hot Country hit: California
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 279,817
65. Easton Corbin
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 52
> Most recent Hot Country hit: A Girl Like You
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 189,325
64. Walker Hayes
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 39
> Most recent Hot Country hit: You Broke Up With Me
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 492,457
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63. John Mayer
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 2
> Most recent Hot Country hit: In The Blood
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 3,986,340
62. Steven Tyler
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 3
> Most recent Hot Country hit: RED, WHITE & YOU
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 3,952,076
61. Pentatonix
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 9
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Jolene (Pentatonix ft. Dolly Parton)
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 4,295,575
60. LOCASH
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 60
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Feels Like A Party
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 132,027
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59. Chase Rice
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 73
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Eyes On You
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 352,211
58. Rascal Flatts
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 51
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Back To Life
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 734,530
57. Carly Pearce
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 65
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Closer To You
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 368,469
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56. Billy Currington
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 65
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Bring It On Over
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 348,259
55. High Valley
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 71
> Most recent Hot Country hit: She’s With Me
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 130,833
54. Lauren Alaina
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 64
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Doin’ Fine
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 954,454
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53. Shania Twain
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 2
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Life’s About To Get Good
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 5,867,491
52. Russell Dickerson
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 63
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Blue Tacoma
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 160,989
51. Jordan Davis
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 72
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Take It From Me
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 94,902
50. Lee Brice
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 75
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Rumor
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 291,015
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49. Bebe Rexha
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 67
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Meant To Be (Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line)
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 6,391,923
48. Granger Smith
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 74
> Most recent Hot Country hit: You’re In It
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 241,028
47. Little Big Town
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 64
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Summer Fever
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,188,930
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46. Zac Brown Band
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 65
> Most recent Hot Country hit: From Now On
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 953,813
45. Morgan Wallen
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 81
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Whiskey Glasses
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 223,734
44. Midland
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 80
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Burn Out
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 600,134
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43. Lady Antebellum
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 67
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Heart Break
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,196,962
42. Dolly Parton
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 1
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Here I Am (Dolly Parton & Sia)
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 7,126,416
41. Scotty McCreery
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 73
> Most recent Hot Country hit: This Is It
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 934,009
40. Brantley Gilbert
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 83
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Ones That Like Me
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 545,017
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39. Brad Paisley
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 72
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Last Time For Everything
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,481,614
38. Michael Ray
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 90
> Most recent Hot Country hit: One That Got Away
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 276,678
37. LANCO
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 90
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Born To Love You
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 163,496
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36. Justin Moore
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 94
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Kinda Don’t Care
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 266,573
35. Kip Moore
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 94
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Last Shot
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 308,025
34. Darius Rucker
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 75
> Most recent Hot Country hit: For The First Time
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,796,742
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33. Brothers Osborne
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 101
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Shoot Me Straight
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 616,613
32. Chris Janson
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 100
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Drunk Girl
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 299,411
31. Tim McGraw
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 68
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Neon Church
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,309,316
30. Miranda Lambert
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 75
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Tin Man
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,319,656
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29. Jake Owen
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 96
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Down To The Honkytonk
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 481,000
28. Garth Brooks
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 78
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Stronger Than Me
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 3,208,077
27. Dylan Scott
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 109
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Nothing To Do Town
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 235,739
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26. Chris Young
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 119
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Raised On Country
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 511,161
25. Chris Lane
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 132
> Most recent Hot Country hit: I Don’t Know About You
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 268,253
24. Brett Eldredge
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 129
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Love Someone
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 837,085
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23. Sam Hunt
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 100
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Downtown’s Dead
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,252,876
22. Taylor Swift
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 8
> Most recent Hot Country hit: New Year’s Day
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 12,351,589
21. Eric Church
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 129
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Some Of It
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 963,954
20. Dustin Lynch
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 147
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Good Girl
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 515,958
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19. Kelsea Ballerini
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 140
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Miss Me More
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,508,717
18. Jon Pardi
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 140
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Night Shift
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 495,273
17. Cole Swindell
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 147
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Break Up In The End
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 474,794
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16. Kenny Chesney
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 129
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Get Along
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,713,419
15. Carrie Underwood
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 108
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Love Wins
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 3,837,228
14. Old Dominion
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 155
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Make It Sweet
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 435,089
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13. Maren Morris
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 146
> Most recent Hot Country hit: GIRL
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,686,877
12. Dierks Bentley
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 141
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Woman, Amen
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 840,128
11. Brett Young
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 167
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Here Tonight
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 794,544
10. Dan + Shay
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 173
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Tequila
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 954,481
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9. Florida Georgia Line
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 174
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Talk You Out Of It
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,296,805
8. Keith Urban
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 166
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Never Comin Down
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 3,649,509
7. Luke Bryan
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 176
> Most recent Hot Country hit: What Makes You Country
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,955,581
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6. Jason Aldean
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 191
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Girl Like You
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,960,693
5. Chris Stapleton
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 227
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Millionaire
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 3,446,017
4. Blake Shelton
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 173
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Turnin’ Me On
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 4,978,570
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3. Luke Combs
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 227
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Beautiful Crazy
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,257,245
2. Kane Brown
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 250
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Good As You
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 3,507,197
1. Thomas Rhett
> No. of weeks on Hot Country chart (last 3 yr.): 236
> Most recent Hot Country hit: Sixteen
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,997,086
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