Cody's Country Group Mania! (COMPLETE!)

[LBTrocks]

THAT’S ALRIGHT

I’M OKAY

IT AIN’T NOTHIN’ BUT ANOTHER DAY

❤️

[Cody Wants Out...]

Dixie Chicks



Yup, I'm the last one in my family still rooting for the DCX!

These ladies have made some of the most fantastic music I've ever heard when I got their albums at the very beginning of this decade.

I won't comment on the fiasco that brought them down because (1) it was very unfortunate for everyone involved and (2) I hate politics, plain and simple!

I see that a DCX rankdown was already done..."Cowboy Take Me Away" should've won! "Goodbye Earl" is okay, but not one of their best imo.

This is also the point where I insert another album track for this rankdown. Out of a total of three that I found absolutely stunning both musically and lyrically, I ended up siding with "Once You've Loved Somebody" from their wildly popular debut Wide Open Spaces. "Easy Silence" from Taking the Long Way and "A Home" from the more bluegrass-influenced Home could've also fit here alongside CTMA.



castleoblivion26 tim

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged for each reveal!

[Cody Wants Out...]

Some of y'all may be wondering...WHEN AM I EVER GONNA OPEN THIS THING?!?!?!?!?!?

Well, I can tell you that I will admit to trying to play catch-up with me slacking off the last couple of days. However, that's not the main point I had in mind.
Instead, I wanted to say that there are a baker's dozen left for me to reveal (i.e. 13) and it'll still be a pretty mixed bag as far as what decades they came from.

I'm currently aiming to have the rankdown open by the end of next week. We'll get to more intricate details as I reveal the last of my groups. Stay tuned! Got a bunch of 90s and 00s jams left to unwrap!

[tim]

Lonestar - “No News” was probably the most logical choice for them here, but I also agree that “You Walked In” is a guilty pleasure! They had a string of hits but after “Mr. Mom” they kind of lost their cool factor it seems.

Shenandoah - Their music can always bring back that 90’s nostalgia for me and really had some good songs in the early part of their career…and “Two Dozen Roses” is easily one of their all time greats.

Midland - I was more than skeptical of these guys when they first debuted (especially since I live in Austin and still hadn’t heard of them), but after seeing them a couple times already I’m more of a fan than I was before. I still find the lead singers southern drawl somewhat fake, but overall their debut album is solid and good music is good music. I do think “Drinkin’ Problem” is going to be one of those songs that 5 to 15 years from now will still be played on country radio and very much overplayed lol.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - I’ve been a fan of them since I was given their compilation album More Great Dirt as a Christmas gift one year and I remember “I’ve Been Lookin’” was one of my favorites from it. I mentioned this above but I saw these guys on tour in the mid 90s when Sawyer Brown and Confederate Railroad opened for them.

Montgomery Gentry - “My Town” will always be a jam, but my favorite song probably has always been “Speed.” These guys were very solid and likely would’ve been able to tour for the foreseeable future if not for the tragic accident that took Troy’s life.

Dixie Chicks - Not sure why country music and country radio took a dump on them, but they’ll forever be one of my favorite country groups. I first saw them live in 1999 when they were touring on George Strait’s Country Music Festival tour and again twice here in Austin with the most recent time for their MMXVI World Tour which they SLAYED!

[castleoblivion26]

Jun 17, 2018 10:31:40 GMT -5 tim said:

Montgomery Gentry - “My Town” will always be a jam, but my favorite song probably has always been “Speed.” These guys were very solid and likely would’ve been able to tour for the foreseeable future if not for the tragic accident that took Troy’s life.

whenever I get around to hosting my Favorite Country Groups I will be choosing "Speed" most likely as that is easily my favorite song from them as well. They have so many great songs!

[bboat11]

Jun 17, 2018 15:27:51 GMT -5 castleoblivion26 said:

Jun 17, 2018 10:31:40 GMT -5 tim said:

Montgomery Gentry - “My Town” will always be a jam, but my favorite song probably has always been “Speed.” These guys were very solid and likely would’ve been able to tour for the foreseeable future if not for the tragic accident that took Troy’s life.

whenever I get around to hosting my Favorite Country Groups I will be choosing "Speed" most likely as that is easily my favorite song from them as well. They have so many great songs!

Okay, if this is any indication of how "Speed" is going to do in the Montgomery Gentry rankdown, I am HERE for it! Will any other song be able to beat 3 #1 rankings? I hope both of you are going to participate in that one!

[Cody Wants Out...]

Sugarland



I've always adored Sugarland for as long as I can remember...okay, it's been roughly a decade.

Despite me not having listened to their most recent album Bigger yet, I've always considered their material to be fairly consistent...for the most part. I'm willing to treat The Incredible Machine as a hiccup on their part and I think they've taken enough time out of the limelight to get themselves back together and create some more magic for us.

Choosing a song for this rankdown was a little tough when it came to using a past hit of theirs versus an album track. Y'all may already know that I submitted "One Blue Sky" from Enjoy the Ride as part of zaclord 🌈's Missed Opportunity Country Singles rankdown; speaking of which, does anyone know the status of it? :kii:

I initially considered OBS along with "(Just Might) Make Me Believe" and "It Happens", but I ultimately chose my runner-up from the '06 Country RD, "Want To". That probably has to be my favorite song of theirs ever. I love the soft-spoken production during the verses along with the build-ups to each chorus, which is one of the catchiest and least-repetitive melodies I've heard from the past decade. I understand how overplay can kill one's joy for a song or two, but this one I don't really mind being overplayed.



castleoblivion26 tim

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged for each reveal!

[Cody Wants Out...]

Love and Theft



Should've told you that there'd be a common link between these two current duos: both originally started out as trios!

I've always rooted for these guys ever since their debut album World Wide Open came out. I was sad to hear about them losing Brian Bandas not too long after they broke out a bit in 2009, and although they got their first and only #1 hit a couple of years later (fun fact: it actually blocked the aforementioned Gloriana song "(Kissed You) Goodnight" from #1 in August of 2012!), that magic that came from the three-part harmony was missing when they became a duo. They've had some decent material ever since, but nothing too ground-breaking imo.

To reminisce from their trio times, I've chosen the title track from their nearly-flawless debut album for this rankdown.



castleoblivion26 tim

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged for each reveal!

[Cody Wants Out...]

Ooh ooh ooh! I forgot another 90s group!

BlackHawk



Making their splashy debut in late '93, they've spun out a total of ten top 20 hits, where nine of them were consecutive and eight of the ten were also top 15 hits (two of those eight almost hit the top 10 with the remaining actual top 10-ers). Their self-titled debut went 2x-Platinum in mid-'96, containing their near chart-topper "Every Once in a While" and other top 10s like "I Sure Can Smell the Rain", "That's Just About Right", "Down in Flames", and their near top-10 debut single "Goodbye Says It All". Their success continued onto their 1995 sophomore album Strong Enough for the most part, scoring two more top three hits out of "I'm Not Strong Enough to Say No" and "Like There Ain't No Yesterday", including a near top-10 with "Almost a Memory Now" and an additional top 20 out of "Big Guitar". Before the 90s were over, they scores their final top 5 hit from their last album of the 90s The Sky's the Limit called "There You Have It".

I will admit that Henry Paul's vocals are somewhat an acquired taste, but the harmonies alongside Van Stephenson (RIP) and Dave Robbins are very top-notch imo. Their top three hits I've mentioned are fantastic and the powerful recurrent play of "Goodbye Says It All" has me convinced enough to include it in my '94 Country RD coming around Labor Day! (Psst, I have the perfect clue for that one btw :kii: )

For this rankdown though, I chose the song that was written by Shania's former spouse, Robert "Mutt" Lange, called "I'm Not Strong Enough to Say No". That song fits me to a tee I swear!



castleoblivion26 tim

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged for each reveal!

[Cody Wants Out...]

Guess it's time to crash this party!

lol :kii:

Rascal Flatts



There was a time where I used to like these guys...and I mean REALLY like them! In fact, I found their first five albums really cohesive and amongst the best of the decade imo, especially Feels Like Today and Me and My Gang. However, in more recent years, I've found a huge majority of their Big Machine material (plus their very last album with Lyric Street Unstoppable) ranging from very underwhelming to borderline horrendous. In fact, I could've probably made my missed opportunity country singles list consist of only RF songs because there were so many that would've helped them continue to stand out as artists. For instance, the fact that "Sunday Afternoon" was left as a measly album track on Nothing Like This left me shaking my head so much that I nearly pulled a muscle in my neck! I heavily considered that for zaclord 🌈's RD alongside this one just so people can hear it! Maybe I can do a part II of this?

This'll more than likely be the last album track I showcase/choose for this rankdown as it ultimately came down to either "Ellsworth" from Me and My Gang and "Holes" from Feels Like Today. I stuck with the latter; no, it probably wouldn't have been a good single choice, but I like this track quite a bit.



castleoblivion26 tim

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged for each reveal!

[castleoblivion26]

Blackhawk is a great band! Love the song choice too!

I agree with you about Rascal Flatts first 5 albums. Kinda wish you chose "Ellsworth" because I love that song but "Holes" is a good one.

[Cody Wants Out...]

Jun 20, 2018 18:42:13 GMT -5 castleoblivion26 said:

Blackhawk is a great band! Love the song choice too!

I agree with you about Rascal Flatts first 5 albums. Kinda wish you chose "Ellsworth" because I love that song but "Holes" is a good one.

Similar to Sawyer Brown, my selection for RF was a last-minute switch. I'm really considering doing a part two for this later on, so I may end up using "Ellsworth" for that instead!

I also remember seeing "Ellsworth" getting some unsolicited airplay some years back when Me and My Gang got released so that may be why I switched it at the last minute.

[Cody Wants Out...]

Didn't these ladies get eliminated way too early not too long ago?

Sweethearts of the Rodeo



This duo was also another fairly recent discovery for me. I was thoroughly impressed with "Satisfy You" from the 80s Ladies RD and their first two albums were pretty solid as well. I see myself really liking them in the long run. Since "Satisfy You" was already represented in a rankdown with "Midnight Girl/Sunset Town" already highlighted as a encore in the same one, I chose their remaining top 10 (or was it top 5?) hit "Since I Found You".



castleoblivion26 tim

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged for each reveal!

[tim]

Glad to see Sweethearts of the Rodeo included in another rankdown! I really would’ve been interested to see where “Midnight Girl/Sunset Town” would’ve placed for sure though, but “Since I Found You” is great too.

[Cody Wants Out...]

Oh crap! I gotta hurry up and finish these!

Maybe I'll start doing two groups in one post?

[Cody Wants Out...]

The Band Perry



Man I miss the sound from their first two albums! I think they easily could've kept seeing success in country music if they wanted to imo. I was hoping that Pioneer would've broke them through even further in regards to album sales, but oh well.

I chose their final single from their self-titled debut album, "Postcard from Paris", for this rankdown.



castleoblivion26 tim

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged for each reveal!

[Cody Wants Out...]

And this group wrote a bunch of TBP's songs...

The Henningsens



I will admit that their output did pale in comparison to what they wrote with and for The Band Perry, but I really enjoyed their sole top 20 single "American Beautiful".



castleoblivion26 tim

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged for each reveal!

[Cody Wants Out...]

McBride and the Ride



Okay. These guys have started to grow on me a little bit ever since I made my playlist for the '92 RD this past winter. I'm a little disappointed that they didn't see more success than they did, but at least they had their time to shine.

FUN FACT: These guys were the first to do "Amarillo Sky" before Jason Aldean got his hands on it!

There has been mixed reception to their two songs in the '92 Country RD and their pair in the '93 RD is yet to be determined. I chose "Just One Night", the final single from their breakthrough album Sacred Ground.



castleoblivion26 tim

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged for each reveal!

[Cody Wants Out...]

Five more reveals remain before I open this up for submissions!

Two more from the 90s, one more from the 80s, one more from the 00s, and one more current group will be coming up some time this weekend!

[Cody Wants Out...]

Weeeeelllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll......................................

The Kentucky Headhunters



Honestly not too familiar with these guys since they were more prominent when I was a baby lol.

However, I do know them well enough to know that I enjoy the three songs they hit it big with: "Dumas Walker", "Oh Lonesome Me", and "Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine". I think the first one is considered their signature song to the best of my knowledge so I chose it for this rankdown.

"Can someone pass me some Tums for all this Ski I drank?!?"



castleoblivion26 tim

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged for each reveal!

[Cody Wants Out...]

Y'all thought I forgot about this now didn't you?

The Judds



This mother-daughter duo packed one humongous punch in the 80s country music scene! In fact, I find them as essential as Alabama was back then!

Choosing a song from their catalog was a pretty tall order; so tall, in fact, that I'm struggling to choose between two songs: "Have Mercy" and "I Know Where I'm Going". I decided to go with the former.



castleoblivion26 tim

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged for each reveal!

[Cody Wants Out...]

However, I am fairly certain about one thing...

Sons of the Desert



These guys only had one top 10 hit towards the end of the 90s called "Whatever Comes First". As infectious as that is, I chose one of their follow-up singles from the same album called "Hand of Fate" for this rankdown. I highly recommend their first two albums by the way!



castleoblivion26 tim

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged for each reveal!

[tim]

The Kentucky Headhunters - I somewhat remember seeing them on the CMA or ACM Awards back when they were the hottest band in country music at the time and they seemed to be everywhere. I believe it was this band that ushered in a new wave of other country Southern rock bands including Pirates of the Mississippi, Confederate Railroad, Gibson/Miller Band and Little Texas; and although not specifically Southern rock itself the lead singer of Blackhawk Henry Paul was originally with a Southern rock band prior to the band forming.

The Judds - It’s really hard to narrow down songs for them as their entire discography is superb and I almost chose “Have Mercy” for 80’s Ladies, so both songs you’ve chosen are great!

Sons of the Desert - Never been the biggest fan of theirs, but “Whatever Comes First” is for sure a classic song (and on a side note this time period always makes me think of the band Big House’s song “Cold Outside"); the lead singer Drew Womack resides in Austin and I’ve actually run into him around town a couple of times…he no longer has the long hair and looks much different these days lol.

[castleoblivion26]

Jun 27, 2018 20:20:00 GMT -5 tim said:

The Kentucky Headhunters - I somewhat remember seeing them on the CMA or ACM Awards back when they were the hottest band in country music at the time and they seemed to be everywhere. I believe it was this band that ushered in a new wave of other country Southern rock bands including Pirates of the Mississippi, Confederate Railroad, Gibson/Miller Band and Little Texas; and although not specifically Southern rock itself the lead singer of Blackhawk Henry Paul was originally with a Southern rock band prior to the band forming.

The Judds - It’s really hard to narrow down songs for them as their entire discography is superb and I almost chose “Have Mercy” for 80’s Ladies, so both songs you’ve chosen are great!

Sons of the Desert - Never been the biggest fan of theirs, but “Whatever Comes First” is for sure a classic song (and on a side note this time period always makes me think of the band Big House’s song “Cold Outside"); the lead singer Drew Womack resides in Austin and I’ve actually run into him around town a couple of times…he no longer has the long hair and looks much different these days lol.

I really like "Cold Outside" and will probably include that in my group rd when I do it. Such a great song!

[Cody Wants Out...]

OMG! Where has the time gone?!?!?

I'll reveal the last two songs this evening in one post and open this up for submissions!

'Bout time am I right?

[Cody Wants Out...]

As a warning, these last two songs will probably be a smidgen underwhelming for some of you...

[Cody Wants Out...]

Emerson Drive



Sorry tim! :kii:

I'm not too familiar with these guys, but I do remember some of the hits they had last decade. I chose "I Should Be Sleeping" here.

---

Brothers Osborne



I remember these guys getting a bunch of praise around the time their debut album was about to come out. I may not be as fond of them as the rest I've seen of Pulse does, but I will agree that they're pretty talented and I liked most of the singles they've put out so far. I chose their most recent hit "It Ain't My Fault", which fell shy of the top 10 in the 2017 Pulse Country Rankdown!



castleoblivion26 tim

[castleoblivion26]

I love both of those songs and artist so I am glad to see them both included!!!

[Cody Wants Out...]

Aaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnndd....

to quote BlackHawk's final top 10 hit...

There You Have It!

SONGLIST:

Little Big Town - "That's Where I'll Be"
Highway 101 - "Who's Lonely Now"
Dan + Shay - "How Not To"
Boy Howdy - "They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore"
Maddie & Tae - "Downside of Growing Up"
Alabama - "Mountain Music"
Restless Heart - "THe Bluest Eyes in Texas"
Yankee Grey - "All Things Considered"
The Forester Sisters - "Just in Case"
Old Dominion - "Nowhere Fast"
The Wilkinsons - "26 Cents"
Little Texas - "Amy's Back in Austin"
Diamond Rio - "Walkin' Away"
Zac Brown Band - "Highway 20 Ride"
Gloriana - "Kissed You (Goodnight)"
Brooks & Dunn - "She's Not the Cheatin' Kind"
SHeDAISY - "Man Goin' Down"
Thompson Square - "Let's Fight"
Confederate Railroad - "Jesus and Mama"
Eli Young Band - "Skeletons"
The Wreckers - "Leave the Pieces"
Sawyer Brown - "The Walk"
Lady Antebellum - "Nothin' Like the First Time" (NOT available on Spotify)
Smithfield - "Hey Whiskey"
Trick Pony - "Pour Me"
The Oak Ridge Boys - "American Made"
Lonestar - "No News"
The Lost Trailers - "How 'Bout You Don't"
Shenandoah - "Two Dozen Roses"
Midland - "Drinkin' Problem"
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - "I've Been Lookin'"
Montgomery Gentry - "If You Ever Stop Loving Me"
Dixie Chicks - "Once You've Loved Somebody"
Sugarland - "Want To"
Love and Theft - "World Wide Open"
BlackHawk - "I'm Not Strong Enough to Say No"
Rascal Flatts - "Holes"
Sweethearts of the Rodeo - "Since I Found You"
The Band Perry - "Postcard from Paris"
The Henningsens - "American Beautiful"
McBride and the Ride - "Just One Night"
The Kentucky Headhunters - "Dumas Walker"
The Judds - "Have Mercy"
Sons of the Desert - "Hand of Fate"
Emerson Drive - "I Should Be Sleeping"
Brothers Osborne - "It Ain't My Fault"

PLAYLISTS:
Use THIS one for this rankdown:




THIS one is for your listening pleasure and not meant to be ranked.

---

I'll go ahead and update the OP with these playlists plus YouTube embeds and put my rankings in my spreadsheet tonight.
In the meantime, I'm gonna set the deadline for this to be on AUGUST 12. Happy ranking!

zaclord 🌈 bboat11 .indulgecountry countrymusicjunkie Kanenrá:ke sabre14 bigfan101 d3vin44 james rgreen0625 someguy Sambalada dm2081 Todd zjames CoJoFan LBTrocks Andy Kentucky25 rgreen0625 @jamesflame 🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾 @adam1995 fearlessarrow aerodynamite cerulean George Strait Junkie austin castleoblivion26 dub BackwoodsBarbie Troublemaker Juanca kansasmeetsmo jhomes87 Glove Slap myeverything phil1996 carriekins carriefan15 14887fan mamasaid

[Deleted]

Tag me, I really want to try this. Rankdowns might be the easiest way for me to get into more country music, and this one looks lit.