Top 10 Country Songs of 2010

2010 was a big year for Country music artists and their fans. There were several break-thru artists, who just a year ago couldn't fill a room with 10 people and are now opening for big name acts. The Country music world also had its share of success stories this year, top selling albums, #1 songs and a possible Oscar mention for Tim McGraw and his new movie Country Strong.

The following songs, in no particular order, were given a lot of consideration, but the ones I picked seemed to embody the spirit of Country music for 2010 and brought Nashville back to where it started from. I have included links to the videos for the songs.

10. The Band Perry - If I Die Young

Consisting of the three Perry siblings, Kimberly, Reid and Neil, the Perry's had moderate success with their debut single Hip to My Heart in early 2010. But it was the sleeper hit If I Die Young that brought the band their first number one hit. The song deals with one woman's thoughts of how she would want to be remembered after she died. It also deals with the fact most people won't listen to you until after you're gone with the line, 'Funny when you die how people start listening.'

9. Miranda Lambert - The House That Built Me

2010 was a big year for Miranda Lambert also. From a number one album and several top 5 singles, a proposal from longtime boyfriend Blake Shelton, several CMA awards and a top selling tour through 2011, the year was a good one for Lambert. Written by Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin the song focuses on Shamblin's feelings after returning to the home he grew up in in Texas. With Lambert's down to earth rendition, the song is an emotional longing for a woman to return to her childhood home one last time to look around.

8. Zac Brown Band - Highway 20 Ride

The Zac Brown Band also had a big year in 2010. After the breakout success of "Toes" the band managed to score five more hits, including a duet with Alan Jackson on As She's Walking Away. But it was Highway 20 Ride, a song about a father lamenting about the time he spends with his son after breaking up with the child's mother that gave The Zac Brown Band one of their biggest hits of the year. With the critical success of the bands newest album You Get What You Give 2011 is already looking like another big year for the band.

7. Billy Currington - Let Me Down Easy

Billy Currington went into 2009 with the success of his song People Are Crazy from his Little Bit of Everything album, and continued the success with several top 10 hits in 2010. But the smooth and easy sleeper hit Let Me Down Easy was not only a favorite among fans, but with the critics also. The song describes a man who wants to make sure he can trust the woman he's with, with the chorus of If I fall, can you let me down easy? If I leave my heart with you tonight Will you promise me that you're gonna treat it right? Let Me Down Easy follows the hit Pretty Good at Drinking Beer from Currington's Enjoy Yourself album.

6. Joe Nichols - Gimme That Girl

This fun song from Joe Nichols became a quick hit when it was released in mid 2010. The song shows the singer doesn't need a girl who puts too much effort in her looks or clothes, he just needs a simple girl who doesn't make an effort. 2011 will have Joe Nichols following up with a new album, on top of his top 20 hits, including Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off and The Impossible.

5. Jerrod Niemann - Lover, Lover

In 2010 Jerrod Niemann released his newest album in six years Judge Jerrod, and the Hung Jury and the second single Lover, Lover which was a remake of the Sonia Dada song You Don't Treat Me No Good. Lover, Lover is another fun song with a great beat. The single went on to become a number one hit on the Country music charts and was followed up with What Do You Want.

4. Brad Paisley - Anything Like Me

This single from Paisley's American Saturday Night album has a humorous edge to it as a man reflects on his childhood as he and his wife discover they will be having a son. The singer wonders if his son will climb a tree too tall, end up in a cast or try to melt a Tonka truck. The single received positive reviews and became another top 20 hit for Paisley. There are two versions of the song, one with Paisley singing the final note to the song and in the other a child, Paisley's son saying the final line.

3. Sunny Sweeney - From A Table Away

This was personally one of my favorite Country music songs to come out in 2010. Sung from the jilted lover's view, except in a reversed role of the woman the man cheated with catching him with his wife again. The song was Sweeney's first charted hit and first single since she released her debut album in 2007. Sweeney is another artist to watch in 2011.

2. Craig Morgan - This Ain't Nothin'

Craig Morgan likes to make party songs, like his hits International Harvester and Bonfire. But in 2010 he released This Ain't Nothin', a down home song about a man who has just lost his home in a tornado. After a reporter asks the old man how he will deal with losing his home the man proceeds to tell him his life story of those he has lost, including his hand, and how losing his house is not that bad in comparison.

1. Dierks Bentley - Draw Me A Map

I'll be honest, while Draw Me A Map may not have made a big impact on the charts in 2010, I thought it was one of the better songs of the year. From Bentley's Up on the Ridge album Draw Me A Map tells the story of a man who wants to get back to the life he had before with his lost love, but the emotion conveys the singers doubt she will come back. The song manages hosts several talented bluegrass musicians and backing vocals from Alison Krauss. The song really speaks to the listener, whether about a relationship, lost love or life in general, Draw Me A Map tells a story as each song on Up on the Ridge manages to do.