Kacey Musgraves may be country music’s best and most important modern singer-songwriter. Her top songs show a rare ability to match poetic lyrics with pop-friendly arrangements.
To say it a better way: Musgraves’ songs are really good and usually a ton of fun.
She’s also inspiration for any artist grinding away with an insistence on doing things his or her way. Musgraves is authentic to a fault. She’s never been a mainstream country music darling but that’s hardly stopped her from becoming a star. Hit songs, sold out arena tours, Grammys … check, check and check.
People often say everything played on country radio sounds the same but these 10 songs serve as counterexamples.
This Top 10 Kacey Musgraves Songs list is one of 25 straight Top 10 lists meant to celebrate country music’s most important modern hitmakers. Starting June 13th, we began to release a ranking of the Top 25 with a list of his, her or their best songs.
Who is Kacey Musgraves?
Kacey Musgraves is a singer and songwriter from Golden, Texas who first came to fame in 2007 when she finished seventh on the USA Network’s Nashville Star. Five years later she’d signed a national recording contract and in 2013 she dropped “Merry Go ‘Round” as her debut single.
All that song did was earn her a Grammy Award. There are three songs from the Same Trailer Different Park album (2013) on this list of her Top 10 songs, including her most famous song “Follow Your Arrow.”
Read More: Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert Feud Explained
However another album is responsible for No. 1.
Over the last decade, Musgraves has consistently relied on the ups and downs in her personal life to inspire her best songs, but rarely did it feel like we were reading her diary. The lyrics and storytelling are remarkably relatable. Her greatest gift is turning small, everyday emotions and struggles into songs of empowerment, heartbreak or wonder.
Kacey Musgraves’ Best Songs
The best Kacey Musgraves’ songs present these emotions in an easily accessible way. Her melodies are every bit as remarkable as her charm, wisdom and wit. These 10 songs are earworms that you don’t mind singing on repeat for a day or two or seven.
Criteria: This list of the 25 Most Important Modern Country Artists was curated by Taste of Country staff, who considered hard data (charts, streaming numbers, ticket sales etc …), perceived influence, awards and recognition and (most important) recent releases. We zoomed in on who is shaping country music with popular releases today.
Artists who’ve not released an album or notched a hit song on airplay or streaming charts in the last three years need to show their influence in other ways. An example is Carrie Underwood, who’s not released a new album in four years but is the most influential voice on America’s most popular singing reality show.
No: 25 Riley Green’s Top Songs | No. 24 Kelsea Ballerini’s Top Songs | No. 23 Tim McGraw’s Top Songs | No. 22 Blake Shelton’s Top Songs | No. 21 Eric Church’s Top Songs | No. 20 Jason Isbell’s Top Songs | No. 19 Kenny Chesney’s Top Songs | No. 18 Keith Urban’s Top Songs | No. 17 Dan + Shay Songs | No. 16 Jason Aldean’s Top Songs | No. 15 Megan Moroney’s Top Songs | No. 14 Tyler Childer’s Top Songs | No. 13 Carrie Underwood’s Top Songs | No. 12 Zach Top’s Top Songs | No. 11 Miranda Lambert’s Top Songs | No. 10 Kacey Musgraves’ Top Songs| No. 9 June 29 | No. 8 June 30 | No. 7 July 1 | No. 6 July 2 | No. 5 July 3 | No. 4 July 4 | No. 3 July 5 | No. 2 July 6 | No. 1 July 7
Top 10 Kacey Musgraves Songs: Hits and Deep Cuts That Every Country Fan Should Know
Hits from four of her six non-holiday albums are featured on this list of Musgraves best songs. Most were released as singles but few were “hits” in the traditional sense. They’ll all live on for generations however.
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