The 35 Greatest Dolly Parton Songs of All Time

Country royalty, crossover smashes, and hidden gems spanning six decades of pure Dolly magic — from barn-burning bangers to tearjerkers that stop the room. Which one hits hardest for you?

1. 1
   I Will Always Love You

   A heartfelt farewell ballad Parton wrote for mentor Porter Wagoner, later made globally iconic by Whitney Houston's 1992 cover.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Jolene

   A 1974 ballad pleading with a red-haired woman not to steal her husband, now one of the most recognizable songs in country history.
   959pts
3. 3
   In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)

   Parton's 1969 look back at a childhood of hard farm work and poverty, told without any sentimental gloss.
   748pts
4. 4
   Applejack

   An upbeat 1977 tribute to an old banjo-playing neighbor from her childhood, released on the flip side of '(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher'.
   645pts
5. 5
   Down From Dover

   A 1970 story song about a pregnant girl waiting for a lover who never returns, later covered by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood and by Marianne Faithfull.
   645pts
6. 6
   My Blue Tears

   A short, plaintive mountain ballad from 1971's Coat of Many Colors, later recorded again with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt.
   599pts
7. 7
   The Bargain Store

   Her fifth solo country No. 1, from 1975, uses a secondhand shop as a metaphor for a heart that has been used before, and some stations banned it.
   599pts
8. 8
   Coat of Many Colors

   Parton's personal favorite song, a tender childhood memory about her mother sewing a coat from rags inspired by the biblical story of Joseph.
   599pts
9. 9
   The Last Thing on My Mind

   Tom Paxton's folk song gave Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton their first top-10 country hit as a duo in early 1968.
   548pts
10. 10
    Islands in the Stream

    A Bee Gees-penned duet with Kenny Rogers that topped both the country and pop charts in 1983.
    548pts
11. 11
    Love Is Like a Butterfly

    Her third straight country No. 1 in 1974 and, for a few years, her signature song, later used as the theme of her 1976 TV show Dolly!.
    490pts
12. 12
    Wildflowers

    Parton's song about a free spirit who leaves home to grow wild, cut for the 1987 Trio album she made with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.
    490pts
13. 13
    Eagle When She Flies

    Title track of her 1991 album, a portrait of a woman who is gentle at home and fierce when tested, which reached No. 33 on the country chart.
    490pts
14. 14
    My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy

    A mournful 1969 ballad, the title song of that year's album, about a woman who longs for the sweetheart she left behind in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
    490pts
15. 15
    To Daddy

    Parton wrote this quiet portrait of a neglected wife in the 1970s; Emmylou Harris took it to No. 3 country before Parton's own version appeared on Heartsongs.
    490pts
16. 16
    9 to 5

    A Grammy-winning working-class anthem with typewriter rhythms, written for the 1980 film, that topped both the country and pop charts in early 1981.
    425pts
17. 17
    Just Because I'm a Woman

    An early feminist anthem from 1968 challenging double standards around a woman's past in romantic relationships.
    425pts
18. 18
    The Grass Is Blue

    A haunting bluegrass heartbreak song and title track of her 1999 album, which won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album.
    425pts
19. 19
    All I Can Do

    Title track of her 1976 album, an upbeat song that topped the Canadian country chart and reached No. 3 in the US.
    425pts
20. 20
    Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You

    Written by Pebe Sebert and Hugh Moffatt, this ballad gave Parton a country No. 1 in 1980 from the album Dolly, Dolly, Dolly.
    425pts
21. 21
    My Tennessee Mountain Home

    The centerpiece of her 1973 concept album recalls porch swings and walks home from church in rural Tennessee, and reached No. 15 on the country chart.
    425pts
22. 22
    Mule Skinner Blues

    A bold yodeling cover of Jimmie Rodgers' classic that reached No. 3 on the country chart in 1970 and earned Parton a Grammy nomination.
    425pts
23. 23
    Appalachian Memories

    From 1983's Burlap & Satin, a gentle song about mountain families who moved north for factory work and kept missing the hills they came from.
    350pts
24. 24
    Little Sparrow

    Title track of her 2001 bluegrass album, a haunting lament that borrows its fragile bird from the Appalachian ballad 'Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies'.
    350pts
25. 25
    Do I Ever Cross Your Mind

    A tender farewell Parton sang in concert through the 1970s before cutting it solo on 1982's Heartbreak Express, where it shared a single with 'I Will Always Love You'.
    350pts
26. 26
    Dumb Blonde

    Her first chart hit, from 1967, was written by Curly Putman and pushed back at the very stereotype its title names.
    350pts
27. 27
    Two Doors Down

    A playful, uptempo honky-tonk hit from 1978 about forgetting heartbreak by joining a party next door.
    350pts
28. 28
    The Seeker

    Parton called this 1975 spiritual her 'talk with God', and it peaked at No. 2 on the country chart as the lead single from her album Dolly.
    264pts
29. 29
    Heartbreaker

    Carole Bayer Sager and David Wolfert wrote this smooth 1978 ballad, which became the title track of her album and a country No. 1.
    264pts
30. 30
    Joshua

    Her first solo No. 1 country hit in 1971, a charming song about a shy mountain man who wins a woman's heart.
    264pts
31. 31
    Light of a Clear Blue Morning

    An uplifting 1977 song from New Harvest... First Gathering, written as Parton set out on her own after leaving Porter Wagoner's show.
    264pts
32. 32
    Why'd You Come in Here Lookin' Like That

    A sassy, uptempo country hit from 1989 that reached No. 1 on the Billboard country charts.
    264pts
33. 33
    Here You Come Again

    Her first major pop crossover hit in 1977 and first Grammy win, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100.
    264pts
34. 34
    Touch Your Woman

    A slow 1972 ballad that reached No. 6 on the country chart even though some stations refused to play it as too suggestive.
    264pts
35. 35
    Travelin' Thru

    An Academy Award-nominated ballad written for the 2005 film Transamerica, showcasing her songwriting and emotional depth.
    0pts

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