Country Music's 10 Best Hits 2000-2009

Here is a look at my choice for the 10 greatest country songs from the years 2000-2009.

10. Believe by Brooks & Dunn (songwriters Ronnie Dunn & Craig Wiseman) This powerful 2005 hit skyrocketed Brooks & Dunn to the top of the charts, again , partly due to the message, and partly due to Ronnie Dunn's stunning vocals. At a time when America needed something to believe in, this song brought listeners to tears with its lyrics, "They tell me that there's more to life/ Than Just what I can see/ I believe."

9. I Hope You Dance by LeeAnn Womack (songwriters Mark D. Sanders & Tia Sillers) Released in 2000, this song features another powerful message- get the most out of everyday. This song hit #1, and features background vocals by the Sons of the Desert. "I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean/ Whenever one door closes/ I hope one more opens/ Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance/ And when you get the chance to sit it out or dance...Dance"

8. Just Got Started Lovin' You by James Otto (songwriters James Otto, Jim Femino, D. Vincent Williams) It's unusal for a new artist to have such a superhit right out of the gate, but James Otto did just that in 2007. With his deep, rich voice and sultry lyrics, this was a surefire hit for the Muzik Mafia member. Otto has been compared to Conway Twitty in voice and style," What can I say, I've never felt this way/ Girl you're like a dream come true/ After all the love we've made/ It sure would be a shame/ To let this moment end too soon."

7. Lost in this Moment by Big & Rich (songwriters John Rich, Keith Anderson, Rodney Clawson) This 2007 hit has been featured at thousands of weddings, but even more surprising is that the artists are the usually rowdy Big & Rich. Still, this song has beautiful lyrics and music, and was bound to be a hit from the "Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace" CD release for this popular duo. "Sealing our love with a kiss/ Waited my whole life for this/ Watching all my dreams come true/ Lost in this moment with you."

6. Raining on Sunday by Keith Urban (songwriters Darrell Brown and Radney Foster) Keith Urban has had a string of hits, both lively and ballads, and this 2002 release from "Golden Road" really showed the world that the Aussie guitarist is full of emotion. This single hit #3 and really helped solidify Urban's talents as a singer. "I pray that it's raining on Sunday/ Stormin' like crazy/ We'll hide under the sheets all afternoon/ Baby whatever comes Monday/ Can take care of itself cause/ We've got better things that we can do/ When it's raining on Sunday."

5. There Goes My Life by Kenny Chesney ( songwriters Neil Thrasher & Wendell Mobley) This 2003 hit stayed at the #1 position for 7 weeks straight and went Gold for Kenny Chesney. The song also peaked at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's the story of how what seemed to be a mistake with a teenage pregnancy, ended up being the most important gift in the storyteller's life, "All he could think about was/ I'm too young for this/ Got my whole life ahead/ Hell I'm just a kid myself/ How am I gonna raise one?"

4. My List by Toby Keith (songwriters Tim James & Rand Bishop) Country music was flooded with patriotic songs soon after 9-11, but this Toby Keith classic was truly one of the few humble songs that really drove home the importance, again, of doing things we might regret putting off, or worse, things we might never get to. This song stayed at #1 for 5 weeks in 2002. "Stay up late then oversleep/ Show her what she means to me/ Catch up on all the things I've always missed/ Just start livin' , that's the next thing on my list."

3. Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) by Alan Jackson (songwriter Alan Jackson) After dealing with the flood of emotions from 9-11, Alan Jackson sat down and wrote this song to commemorate how he felt after watching the Twin Towers fall on that September morning. Out of his account, came the fastest rising country song in years, staying at #1 for five weeks, and crossing over to the Billboard Hot 100, as well. Very few personal accounts of any other events are as poignant as this one, "Did you lay down at night/ And think of tomorrow/ Go out and buy you a gun/ Did you turn off that violent old movie you're watchin'/ And turn on I Love Lucy reruns."

2. Live Like You Were Dying by Tim McGraw (songwriters Tim Nichols & Craig Wiseman) This 2004 release by Tim McGraw is probably his best work. It has a familiar theme (live life to the fullest) but this time, it takes a terminal medical diagnosis to get the subject to finally understand that we only have one life, and need to live it like we were dying. Songwriter Craig Wiseman also wrote "Believe" by Brooks & Dunn and has had many mega-hits in country music, but this possibly could be his biggest. "I went sky divin'/ I went Rocky Mountain climbin'/ I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu Manchu/ And I loved deeper/ And I spoke sweeter/ And I gave forgiveness I'd been denyin'/ And he said someday I hope you get the chance/ To live like you were dyin.'"

1. Red Dirt Road by Brooks & Dunn (songwriter Kix Brooks, Ronnie Dunn, & Mark Wright) Knwon best for their honky tonking, rockin' songs, this was one of the fastest charting releases from super duo Brooks & Dunn. It's another "looking back" story of what youth teaches us, but more than that, the music and the lyrics were catchy and pensive. RDR hit the #1 position in August, 2003, and crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, hitting #25. "It's where I drank my first beer/ It's where I found Jesus/ It's where I wrecked my first car/ I tore it all to pieces/ I learned the path to Heaven/ Is full of sinners and believers/ Learned that happiness on Earth/ Ain't just for high achievers/ I learned, I've come to know/ There's life at both ends/ of that red dirt road."