TOP MODERN COUNTRY SONGS of 2015

chris janson

Compilation by Rick Hiduk

Chris Jansen (above) wasn’t asking for too much – was he? – with his tongue-in-cheek hit “Buy Me a Boat,” while Little Big Town’s intriguing “Girl Crush” tugged at people’s ears and sensibilities.

We have to call it what it is. Modern Country bares little resemblance to the music that preceded it by even a decade. None-the-less, there were some clever releases in the past year that somehow succeeded at circumventing the Bro Hick-Hop and slow rock-laced ballads that continued to dominate the scene. Cowboy hats have been sadly relegated to iconic stature.

Squeaky-clean Frankie Ballard is among a few newcomers who seem to remember what Alan Jackson, Clint Black and George Strait sounded like when they were still in charge. In the meantime, more recent established country singers like Miranda Lambert, the Zac Brown Band, Brad Paisley, and Little Big Town continue to rack up sizable hits. Drake White’s “It Feels Good” was a consistent dance floor filler and mixes well with pop and rock songs. 

As with all of my year-end charts for 2015, the final position is dictated largely by audience response to the songs at my DJ gigs.

  1. Chris Jansen – Buy Me a Boat 
  2. Little Big Town – Girl Crush
  3. Drake White – It Feels Good
  4. Miranda Lambert – Little Red Wagon 
  5. Brad Paisley – Crushin’ It 
  6. Kristian Bush – Trailer Hitch 
  7. Frankie Ballard – Young & Crazy 
  8. A Thousand Horses – Smoke 
  9. Maddie & Tae – Fly 
  10. Kelsea Ballerina – Dibs
  11. Florida Georgia Line – Sun Daze 
  12. Jana Kramer – I Got the Boy 
  13. Lee Brice – Drinking Class 
  14. Zac Brown Band – Loving You Easy 
  15. Thomas Rhett – Crash and Burn
  16. Blake Shelton – Sangria 
  17. Darius Rucker – Homegrown Honey
  18. Chris Young – I’m Comin’ Over 
  19. Cole Swindell – Ain’t Worth the Whiskey 
  20. Carrie Underwood – Smoke Break
  21. Dan + Shay – Nothin’ Like You 
  22. Kenny Chesney w Grace Potter – Wild Child
  23. LoCash – I Love This Life
  24. Kacey Musgraves – Biscuits
  25. Lee Brice – That Don’t Sound Like You

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