Newcomers, collaborations and traditional country music dominate this early list of the Top 20 Country Songs of 2024.
A mid-year evaluation of country music finds that songs that make us feel good are thriving. We’re going to call this the Jelly Roll effect, even if he only has one song on our list.
- As of July 19, only four songs have hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart.
- Beyonce’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” has spent the most weeks (10) at the top of that chart.
- There have been 16 different No. 1 songs on the country airplay chart, led by Nate Smith‘s “World on Fire,” which started 2024 by spending eight straight weeks at No. 1.
Related: The 50 Saddest Country Songs of All Time, Ranked
Having a viral dance trend also helps, but the No. 1 song is a weeper from a man who’s unlikely to ever dance, proving that all rules get tossed in favor of a great country song.
Remarkably, nine songs on this list of the year’s best are aiming to become (or have become) each artist’s first hit. Seven of them are debut singles, and one is the newest single from a guy nobody thought we’d ever hear from again.
It’s been that kind of crazy year in country music.
Sales and streaming data helped shape this annual list of the top country songs. In 2024, staff and reader opinion matter as much as ever, but notable live performances can also aide a singer in a charge to No. 1.
New songs — perhaps even better songs — are sure to come in 2024, so you can expect this Top 20 Country Songs of 2024 list to shift between now and December 31.
Top 20 Songs of 2024, Ranked (So Far)
Airplay charts, sales data and streaming numbers helped make this list of country music’s Top 20 Songs of 2024, but staff and Taste of Country reader opinion were most influential.
Songs included on previous Top Country Songs lists were not eligible. A song may have been released in 2023, but it had to have the majority of recorded airplay or impact this year to count.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
See the Most Played Country Song from the Year You Were Born
Who had the most played country song during the year you were born? This list is a fascinating time capsule of prevalent trends from every decade in American history. Scroll through to find your birth year and then click to listen. Some of these songs have been lost through the years, many of them for good reason!
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes