A hit is a hit, regardless of when it is released. For some country artists, it’s a few songs that define an entire record. We found four country albums from the 2000s, which all produced massive and timeless hits.
Videos by American Songwriter
‘Revolution’ by Miranda Lambert
Out in 2009, Miranda Lambert’s Revolution in many ways elevated her to superstar status. The record includes “The House That Built Me“, a song that became her first No. 1 hit. It also includes “White Liar”, “Only Prettier”, and “Heart Like Mine”.
Lambert has gone on to have plenty more hit singles. But a lot of her success can likely be pointed back to “The House That Built Me”. “The House That Built Me” gave Lambert her first Grammy Award, for Female Country Vocal Performance. Revolution also gave Lambert her first CMA Award, for Album of the Year.
‘Greatest Hits Volume II’ by Alan Jackson
It’s not often that a Greatest Hits record becomes a pivotal point in an artist’s career. But then again, Alan Jackson isn’t most artists. In 2003, Jackson released Greatest Hits Volume II…And Some Other Stuff. In addition to including some of his signature songs, like “Right On The Money” and “Who’s Cheatin’ Who”, the record also features two of Jackson’s biggest hits.
On Greatest Hits Volume II…And Some Other Stuff, Jackson has both his “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” duet with Jimmy Buffett, along with his autobiographical “Remember When” song. The video for “Remember When” features his wife, Denise. Of his many records, both singles from Greatest Hits Volume II…And Some Other Stuff remain among the best-selling of his career.
‘Some Hearts’ by Carrie Underwood
Some Hearts is Carrie Underwood’s debut album. Out in 2006, one year after Underwood won American Idol, some of her most beloved songs appear on her freshman project, songs she still performs today.
On Some Hearts is “Jesus, Take The Wheel”, Underwood’s first single and her first No. 1 hit. It also includes “Before He Cheats“, which is, unquestionably, one of her biggest hits. Some Hearts also has “Wasted” and “Don’t Forget to Remember Me”.
‘Unleashed’ by Toby Keith
By the time Toby Keith released Unleashed in 2002, he had already released seven previous projects, which all had some of his hit singles. But with Unleashed, Keith set the bar even higher for himself.
“Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)”, “Who’sYour Daddy”, and “Beer For My Horses”, the latter a duet with Willie Nelson, all hit No. 1. The only other single from the record, “Rock You Baby”, still became a Top 20 single for Keith.
Unleashed comes between Keith’s 2001 Pull My Chain and his 2003 Shock’n Y’all. The three records together are part of Keith’s longest stretch of consecutive hit singles at radio.
Photo by Tony R. Phipps/FilmMagic











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