Top 37 Country Bands of All Time

Country music is the sound of American life — its heartaches, its highways, its wide-open spaces. From the Carter Family's foundational harmonies to Alabama's crossover domination and the Eagles' sun-soaked anthems, these bands shaped a genre and a culture. Which country band do you believe left the most enduring legacy?

1. 1
   Alabama

   Country band that dominated the charts in the 1980s with a rock-influenced sound
   1000pts
2. 2
   The Carter Family

   The first family of country music, pioneers of the country sound
   771pts
3. 3
   Exile

   Kentucky band that topped the pop charts with Kiss You All Over in 1978, then reinvented itself with a string of country number ones in the 1980s.
   721pts
4. 4
   Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers

   Texas sibling trio led by Larry Gatlin, famed for tight harmonies and the 1979 number one All the Gold in California.
   606pts
5. 5
   The Highwaymen

   Country supergroup featuring Cash, Nelson, Kristofferson, and Jennings
   569pts
6. 6
   The Eagles

   Country rock band known for "Hotel California" and "Take It Easy"
   529pts
7. 7
   Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

   Country rock band known for "Will the Circle Be Unbroken"
   529pts
8. 8
   Lady A

   Country trio formerly known as Lady Antebellum, known for smooth country pop
   483pts
9. 9
   Buck Owens and His Buckaroos

   The band that defined the twangy Bakersfield sound in the 1960s, scoring a long run of country number ones led by Buck Owens and Don Rich.
   483pts
10. 10
    Montgomery Gentry

    Kentucky duo Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry, CMA vocal duo of the year in 2000, known for rowdy anthems like Something to Be Proud Of.
    483pts
11. 11
    Pure Prairie League

    Ohio country rock band best known for the 1975 hit Amie, and the group where a young Vince Gill first sang lead.
    483pts
12. 12
    Brooks & Dunn

    Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, the best-selling duo in country history, who ruled the 1990s with Boot Scootin' Boogie and a long run of CMA duo awards.
    483pts
13. 13
    Sugarland

    Atlanta duo of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush whose 2007 ballad Stay won two Grammys and capped a run of multi-platinum albums.
    483pts
14. 14
    Old Crow Medicine Show

    String band known for "Wagon Wheel" and old-time Americana music
    433pts
15. 15
    Midland

    Texas country band known for their retro 80s country sound
    433pts
16. 16
    Big & Rich

    Big Kenny and John Rich, whose 2004 party anthem Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) made them one of country's most colourful duos.
    433pts
17. 17
    Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys

    The kings of Western swing, whose San Antonio Rose and big-band fiddle sound reshaped country music in the 1930s and 1940s.
    432pts
18. 18
    Zac Brown Band

    Contemporary country band known for blending country with rock and jam band elements
    375pts
19. 19
    Little Big Town

    Harmony-driven country quartet known for "Girl Crush"
    375pts
20. 20
    Shenandoah

    Country band from Alabama known for "The Church on Cumberland Road"
    375pts
21. 21
    The Mavericks

    Miami band fronted by Raul Malo since 1989, blending country with Latin rhythms on hits like Dance the Night Away and winning a Grammy in 1996.
    375pts
22. 22
    Confederate Railroad

    Southern country band known for "Trashy Women"
    309pts
23. 23
    Ernest Tubb & His Texas Troubadours

    Honky-tonk pioneers led by Ernest Tubb, whose 1941 hit Walking the Floor Over You helped bring the electric guitar into country music.
    309pts
24. 24
    Florida Georgia Line

    Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard, whose 2012 hit Cruise became a record-setting country number one and diamond-certified single, launching a decade of stadium-sized hits.
    309pts
25. 25
    The Band

    Canadian-American rock group rooted in country and Americana music
    309pts
26. 26
    Dan + Shay

    Nashville duo of Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney who won the Grammy for best country duo or group performance three years running from 2019.
    309pts
27. 27
    Rascal Flatts

    Country trio known for their harmony-heavy pop-country sound
    309pts
28. 28
    The Flying Burrito Brothers

    Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman's band whose 1969 debut The Gilded Palace of Sin laid the foundations of country rock.
    309pts
29. 29
    The Band Perry

    Sibling trio Kimberly, Reid and Neil Perry, who broke through with the 2010 ballad If I Die Young and won the CMA new artist award.
    233pts
30. 30
    The Chicks

    Formerly the Dixie Chicks, country trio known for their outspoken views
    233pts
31. 31
    The Bellamy Brothers

    Florida brothers Howard and David Bellamy, whose 1976 hit Let Your Love Flow went worldwide before a long run of country number ones.
    233pts
32. 32
    The Everly Brothers

    Don and Phil Everly, whose close harmonies on Bye Bye Love and Wake Up Little Susie bridged country and rock; Country Music Hall of Fame members.
    233pts
33. 33
    Old Dominion

    Nashville band led by Matthew Ramsey, a repeated CMA and ACM group of the year winner with hits like Break Up with Him and One Man Band.
    144pts
34. 34
    Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys

    Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs' bluegrass band behind Foggy Mountain Breakdown and The Ballad of Jed Clampett, inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985.
    144pts
35. 35
    Diamond Rio

    Tennessee group that became the first band to top the country chart with a debut single, Meet in the Middle, in 1991.
    144pts
36. 36
    The Oak Ridge Boys

    Gospel quartet turned country hitmakers whose four-part harmonies powered the 1981 crossover smash Elvira; inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015.
    0pts
37. 37
    The Judds

    Mother-and-daughter duo Naomi and Wynonna Judd, winners of five Grammys with more than a dozen country number ones in the 1980s and early 1990s.
    0pts

Comments