Throughout the week, Billboard has been slowly revealing its updated 21st century charts. With all-genre artist, albums and song charts releasing, there has been plenty of information to comb through from the legendary music publication.
Yesterday, Billboard began zeroing in on country music with Kenny Chesney being crowned as the #1 country artist of the 21st century. Rounding out the Top 10 were the likes of Morgan Wallen, Toby Keith and Jason Aldean.
- Kenny Chesney
- Tim McGraw
- Taylor Swift
- Toby Keith
- Toby Keith
- Rascal Flatts
- Luke Combs
- Jason Aldean
- Blake Shelton
- Carrie Underwood
One thing that must be kept in mind is that this is not a subjective list from Billboard. This is not a list or ranking but rather a comprehensive guide that tracks each artist’s and album’s success on a plethora of charts from Jan. 1, 2000, to Dec. 28, 2024.
Billboard explains their process here: “Billboard’s Top Country Artists, Top Country Albums and Top Hot Country Songs of the 21st Century recaps reflect performance on weekly charts dated Jan. 1, 2000, through Dec. 28, 2024. The Top Country Artists category ranks the best-performing acts in that span based on activity on Top Country Albums and Hot Country Songs. (Titles released prior to mid-1999 are excluded, although such entries that appeared on Top Country Albums or Hot Country Songs in that span contribute to the calculation of the Top Country Artists chart.)”
Without further ado, let’s dive into the chart.
None other than Chris Stapleton’s debut album, Traveller, was named the #1 country album of the 21st century. This should come as no surprise given the absolute powerhouse the record has been both commercially and critically since its release on May 5, 2015.
Traveller has spent a jaw-dropping 525 weeks on the Top Country Albums chart, which is the second-most in history behind Willie Nelson’s Stardust (551). Throughout its 525 weeks on the chart, Traveller has spent 29 weeks at #1 as well as two weeks at #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200.
In addition to the record’s success on the album charts, its placement was also boosted by the immense success of “Tennessee Whiskey,” which spent two weeks on the Hot Country Songs chart and would later procure over a billion streams on Spotify. Other standout tracks, such as the title track, “Either Way” and “Parachute,” all of which notched Stapleton Top 20 hits on the aforementioned Hot Country Songs chart, aided Traveller’s #1 spot.
The rest of the Top 10 is comprised of two entries from Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and Taylor Swift, along with singular entries from Sam Hunt, Florida Georgia Line and Luke Bryan.
- Traveller – Chris Stapleton
- This One’s For You – Luke Combs
- Dangerous: The Double Album – Morgan Wallen
- If I Know Me – Morgan Wallen
- What You See Is What You Get – Luke Combs
- Montevallo – Sam Hunt
- Taylor Swift – Taylor Swift
- Here’s To The Good Times – Florida Georgia Line
- Fearless – Taylor Swift
- Crash My Party – Luke Bryan
The double entries from both Wallen, Combs and Swift should also come as no surprise given the strength of all three artists’ fanbase and streaming success. With Swift’s record-breaking success over the past decade and Wallen’s unmatched popularity in the genre over the past three years, their placement is well-deserved.
As for Combs, his incredible success on the Top Country Albums chart should not go unnoticed, with This One’s For You and What You See Is What You Get spending a combined 705 weeks on the chart (416 and 289 weeks respectively). The “Beer Never Broke My Heart” singer, similarly to Wallen, has experienced nothing short of unprecedented success on the aforementioned chart.
As for the rest of the chart, many familiar names are present with the likes of Jason Aldean, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood and the aforementioned Swift having the most entries.
Artists with the most entries on the chart are as follows:
- Taylor Swift (6)
- Carrie Underwood (6)
- Tim McGraw (5)
- Toby Keith (5)
- Jason Aldean (5)
Other top artists on the chart include reigning Billboard Country Artist of the Century, Kenny Chesney, as well as the likes of Eric Church, Blake Shelton, Zac Brown Band, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban and Lady Antebellum, all of whom have three entries respectively.
Some arguably surprising additions to the list include the likes of Gretchen Wilson’s Here For The Party (#35), The Band Perry’s self-titled debut (#69) Hunter Hayes’ self-titled debut (#70) and the Coyote Ugly soundtrack which made it all the way to #37, one spot over Eric Church’s Chief.
Just making the list at #100 was none other than Tyler Childers’ breakthrough 2017 record, Purgatory, making it the only record from an independent label to make the chart. Despite getting next to no major radio play and not charting a single song from the record, Purgatory has spent a staggering 306 weeks on the Top Country Albums chart.
Finally, it should be noted that Zach Bryan has not one but two records (American Heartbreak and Zach Bryan) on the chart, with his major label debut skyrocketing all the way to #17 despite being out for less than three years when Billboard’s timeframe closed.
The Top 50 country albums of the 21st century are as follows:
- Traveller – Chris Stapleton
- This One’s For You – Luke Combs
- Dangerous: The Double Album – Morgan Wallen
- If I Know Me – Morgan Wallen
- What You See Is What You Get – Luke Combs
- Montevallo – Sam Hunt
- Taylor Swift – Taylor Swift
- Here’s To The Good Times – Florida Georgia Line
- Fearless – Taylor Swift
- Crash My Party – Luke Bryan
- Some Hearts – Carrie Underwood
- Kane Brown – Kane Brown
- O Brother, Where Art Thou? – Various Artists
- One Thing At A Time – Morgan Wallen
- My Kinda Party – Jason Aldean
- Greatest Hits So Far… – Zac Brown Band
- American Heartbreak – Zach Bryan
- Tailgates & Tanlines – Luke Bryan
- The Foundation – Zac Brown Band
- Red – Taylor Swift
- Red (Taylor’s Version) – Taylor Swift
- 50 Number Ones – George Strait
- Feels Like Today – Rascal Flatts
- Speak Now – Taylor Swift
- Fly – Dixie Chicks
- No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems – Kenny Chesney
- Unleashed – Toby Keith
- Tangled Up – Thomas Rhett
- Need You Now – Lady Antebellum
- Dan + Shay – Dan + Shay
- Me and My Gang – Rascal Flatts
- California Sunrise – Jon Pardi
- Ripcord – Keith Urban
- Brett Young – Brett Young
- Here for the Party – Gretchen Wilson
- Starting Over – Chris Stapleton
- Coyote Ugly Soundtrack – Various Artists
- Chief – Eric Church
- When the Sun Goes Down – Kenny Chesney
- The Outsiders – Eric Church
- Up! – Shania Twain
- Kill the Lights – Luke Bryan
- Based On a True Story… – Blake Shelton
- Reloaded: 20 Number Ones Hits – Blake Shelton
- Be Here – Keith Urban
- Enjoy the Ride – Sugarland
- Carnival Ride – Carrie Underwood
- Breathe – Faith Hill
- Life Changes – Thomas Rhett
- Rearview Town – Jason Aldean