3 Female Country Artists Who Hit No. 1 on the Top 200 in the 90s

It’s rare that a country artist ever goes No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200. Often country music is relegated to the country charts. It’s also rare for a female act to earn the accolade. But in the 1990s, it happened on three separate occasions.

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Here below, we wanted to examine each of those moments—a trio of times when one of the country’s best was able to transcend the music industry and hit the top spot on the charts. Indeed, these are three female country artists who hit No. 1 on the Top 200 in the 90s.

LeAnn Rimes

In the 1990s, LeAnn Rimes garnered two No. 1 albums on the Billboard Top 200. Those are You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs in 1997 and Unchained Melody: The Early Years, which was a reissue of her 1994 sophomore album that also dropped in 1997. Indeed, the year was an excellent one for the big-voiced country star. She’s been a mainstay in our stereos ever since.

The Chicks

Just before the end of the 1990s, country music fans elevated another group to the top. Indeed, then-known as The Dixie Chicks (now just The Chicks), the Dallas, Texas-born group earned a No. 1 album on the Billboard Top 200 thanks to the release of their LP, Fly. It was the country band’s fifth studio release—they released their debut in 1990, Thank Heavens For Dale Evans. The Chicks released their latest LP in 2020, Gaslighter. But to this day they’ve not quite earned the same success that they had in that fateful year of 1999.

Faith Hill

Those who grew up in the 1990s heard the refrain often—just breathe. As Faith Hill sang over an acoustic guitar, her vocals built and built toward the chorus. She was reflective, emotional, pensive. And then the words crashed like a wave over your ears like golden waters. Indeed, Hill’s song and the album of the same name were everywhere in the 1990s (as was the song’s flirtatious music video). No wonder she topped the charts with the massive release.

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