This section begins with a song about a farmer and his wife and ends with one about Mama. Doesn’t get much more country than this!
400 Greatest Singles of the Nineties: #275-#251
#275
Somewhere Other Than the Night
Garth Brooks
1992 | Peak: #1
About a woman who only feels truly appreciated by her husband when they’re having sex. Practically literature, that. – Dan Milliken
#274
Looking Out For Number One
Travis Tritt
1993 | Peak: #11
From his rocking side, Tritt is tired of trying to please everyone around him, including his demanding lover. As a result, he brashly declares that he’s going to make some changes, which will include looking out for himself. Get out of the way, because his ferocious performance makes him seem quite serious about his epiphany. – Leeann Ward
#273
Let That Pony Run
Pam Tillis
1992 | Peak: #4
Gretchen Peters wrote the gorgeous song and Pam Tillis, in turn, beautifully sings it. The song is about Mary, a woman who is forced to start a new life after her husband confesses his infidelities with no apologies. The story is sad, it’s resilient, and it’s hopeful. – LW
#272
I Just Want to Dance With You
George Strait
1998 | Peak: #1
Any monotony in the verses is overcome by the song’s completely enticing rhythm and flavor. How can you not get lost in this? – Tara Seetharam
#271
Come Next Monday
K.T. Oslin
1990 | Peak: #1
The cheap-sounding keyboard production is actually a perfect fit for this plucky song about forgetting an old love…next week. Also a perfect fit for the song: the hilarious, similarly cheap video. – DM
#270
Keep it Between the Lines
Ricky Van Shelton
1991| Peak: #1
The rich voiced, traditionally minded Van Shelton seems almost forgotten today. In turn, “Keep It Between the Lines” is one of his nearly forgotten hits, which is a shame, as it’s a heartbreaking, yet tender, father song that’s rarely recognized on the annual Father’s Day lists. – LW
#269
I Can’t Do That Anymore
Faith Hill
1996 | Peak: #8
The sinking housewife is Faith Hill’s specialty role. If this Alan Jackson-penned confessional doesn’t have the striking vision of “Stealing Kisses”, it’s nonetheless powerful in its directness. – DM
#268
Holes in the Floor of Heaven
Steve Wariner
1998 | Peak: #2
Over-the-top sad but wonderfully written, Wariner’s classic serves as both a touching homage to lost loved ones and a comfort to those they’ve left behind. – TS
#267
Wish I Didn’t Know
Toby Keith
1994 | Peak: #2
Is ignorance bliss when it comes to cheating lovers? Keith wrestles with his conflicting feelings in this cleverly written song, proving once again that his gruff bravado is most effective when he’s expressing a multi-faceted sentiment. – TS
#266
Why Didn’t I Think of That
Doug Stone
1993 | Peak: #1
Call it the mature version of Mark Chesnutt’s “It’s a Little Too Late” – same concept, but more introspective and wistful. – TS
#265
Quittin’ Time
Mary Chapin Carpenter
1990 | Peak: #7
One of her earliest hits benefits from an aggressive vocal and escalating production that goes crazy with the drums in the final verse. – Kevin Coyne
#264
Wrong Again
Martina McBride
1998 | Peak: #1
Nobody likes to be wrong, but poor Martina seems to have a knack for it. Just when she’s sure that she’s finally found “the one”, she discovers that she’s, once again, wrong. It’s one of Martina’s best songs, which, just about marks the end of her time of best songs. – LW
#263
One Way Ticket (Because I Can)
LeAnn Rimes
1996 | Peak: #1
There’s a distinct moment after every break-up when the pain subsides, the clouds part and there it is – a world of opportunities in front of you that you feel like you’re seeing for the first time. Rimes captures this experience perfectly in “One Way Ticket,” with a performance that exudes spirit and conviction. – TS
#262
Down to My Last Teardrop
Tanya Tucker
1991 | Peak: #2
A snappy, energetic performance brimming with self-assurance. – TS
#261
Sawmill Road
Diamond Rio
1993 | Peak: #21
In contrast to their very successful first few singles, this was the first single of Diamond Rio’s to receive lukewarm radio reception. It is, however, a gem from their sophomore album that portrays a tight knit sibling group with ideal childhoods who all grew up to take vastly different paths as adults. – LW
#260
You’re Easy on the Eyes
Terri Clark
1998 | Peak: #1
Good-looking men and women who are otherwise terrible people are among the key recurring characters in country music lore. This song about one such man has become so well-known that it’s easy to take for granted how well it actually upholds the tradition. – DM
#259
Cheap Whiskey
Martina McBride
1992 | Peak: #44
Written by Emory Gordy, Jr. (Patty Loveless’ husband), “Cheap Whiskey” is a straight up country song that McBride mournfully tackles with complete success. The man chooses cheap whiskey over good love and he lives to regret it as a lonely, broken person. And who’s that guy singing in the background? Well, none other than Garth Brooks. – LW
#258
The Day That She Left Tulsa (In a Chevy)
Wade Hayes
1997 | Peak: #5
A great modern heartbreak story narrated by one of our great modern heartbreak singers. You just can’t go wrong. – DM
#257
Baby Likes to Rock It
The Tractors
1994 | Peak: #11
A bizarre, awesome, unique boogie-woogie record that somehow got to be a #11 country hit. My personal favorite part is how the lead singer’s riffs near the beginning of the song actually sound like a tractor revving. – DM
#256
Out of My Bones
Randy Travis
1998 | Peak: #2
How do you know that Travis will get this woman out of his bones? Because his searing voice and the fiery fiddle combine to cut right down to them. – KC
#255
Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away
Vince Gill
1992 | Peak: #1
This song is essentially a plea to save a relationship, but I find it uplifting more than anything else, perhaps because the focus is kept on the couple’s underlying love. There’s a hopefulness to the song that’s woven into both Gill’s performance and the warm melody. – TS
#254
When I Said I Do
Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black
1999 | Peak: #1
Don’t look at me like that. Not all schmaltz is inherently evil, and when it’s as well-crafted and exceptionally well-sung as it is here, who’s going to complain about a little extra sentimentality dripping off? – DM
#253
Whatcha Gonna Do With a Cowboy
Chris LeDoux with Garth Brooks
1992 | Peak: #7
Garth Brooks gets to sing with one of his performing heroes and you can hear the joy in the recording as a result. The comical, fiddle-laden song asks the unthinkable: “Whatchya gonna do with a cowboy when he don’t saddle up and ride away?” – LW
#252
Thinkin’ Problem
David Ball
1994 | Peak: #2
Again, all you have know is the title to know why country fans like us love songs like this. – DM
#251
Mama Knows the Highway
Hal Ketchum
1993 | Peak: #8
Country music chronicles a lot of trucking fathers, but the trucker in this song isn’t your typical truck driver character, but instead, a mama who knows the highway by heart, including its conditions at various points. – LW