The Best Country Singles of 2009: 5-1

Well folks, here we are.  The last day of 2009 brings us the last day of the Top 40 singles of 2009 countdown.  While some of these songs were bigger hits than others, we fully believe that these singles selected represent the best of 'mainstream' country music for 2009.

Well folks, here we are.  The last day of 2009 brings us the last day of the Top 40 singles of 2009 countdown.  These five songs represent various parts of the country radio landscape and while some were bigger hits than others, we fully believe that these singles selected represent the best of 'mainstream' country music for 2009. 

5. Angels Like Her – Trent Tomlinson

 “The sunbeam hit the Jim Beam and ricocheted off a bottle of coke and cut through the still smoldering secondhand night before smoke, the whiskey’s half-empty, half in me, my enemy and my friend, the last night drowned my sorrow but today is tomorrow again.” That’s the first verse as Trent Tomlinson describes in clearly visual terms how ‘Angels like her that send guys like me straight to hell.’  Now with lyrics like this, and a melody clearly backing up the song in explicit country music voice and melody, with wailing steel guitars, this song was destined to be overlooked by many at radio who may have liked the song but felt it didn’t fit within their ‘soccer mom’ image.  This is terrible because if it were coming from George Strait, it’d likely have been a hit.  Now it looks as if will be Trent Tomlinson’s final single for Lyric Street Records. What a shame.   – Matt Bjorke

You can support Trent Tomlinson by purchasing this single at Amazon | iTunes.

4. Why – Rascal Flatts

Rascal Flatts already scored one of our worst singles of the year in the single that preceeded this one at radio and while “Why” seemingly was both too long and too sad for radio, particularly during the holiday season, it still is the best single the group has released in years.   Gary Levox reigns his penchant for melisma here until the final stages of the song where all the emotion has been built up and this allows the lyrics of the song to breathe.  This song may have not scored a Top 10 or Top 5 hit for the group but I have a feeling it will have a far greater impact on people who hear it long after other Top 5 singles have come and gone.  –Matt Bjorke

Click here watch a music video of the song.

You can support Rascal Flatts by purchasing this single at Amazon | iTunes.

3. I Run To You – Lady Antebellum

To say that things are looking up for Lady Antebellum is an understatement. "I Run to You" was declared the #1 country song of 2009, which is already quite a feat for any single off a debut album, much less the last single. And for good reason. Not only is it a tightly-written song with an easy-going groove, it instantly makes its presence known with the effective contrast of Hillary Scott's clear alto and Charles Kelley's soulful falsetto — indeed, the song lyrics are well suited for a dialogue, making the traded vocals a natural fit. Between this song's success and the even greater success of followup "Need You Now," Lady A certainly (and deservedly!) looks to be in it for the long haul. – Bobby Peacock.

Click here watch a music video of the song.

You can support Lady Antebellum by purchasing this single at Amazon | iTunes.

2. Toes – Zac Brown Band

In 2008 they gave us the sing-a-long summer song of the year in “Chicken Fried” and they somehow gave us two more this year with “Whatever It Is” and this song “Toes.”  With simple acoustic guitar strums from Zac leading the way, the song instantly spoke to fans of all ages as it ticked our fancies to want to escape our ‘prison bars’ for even just a few minutes.  This song became an oasis for us during the work day or work week and that ultimately gave us a song worth listening to over and over again.  –Matt Bjorke

Click here watch a music video of the song.

You can support the Zac Brown Band by purchasing this single at Amazon | iTunes.

1. Welcome To The Future – Brad Paisley

Shame on you, Arista Nashville, for letting this single flounder just shy of  a #1. What were you thinking? Out of all the songs to break Brad's impressive streak of chart-toppers, why did it have to be one of his best? This song that proves, once and for all, why Brad has been so successful for so long — its clear-eyed lyrics boldly and optimistically looking back into his youth, and just as clearly looking forward to the years to come; its sharp observation of societal, cultural and even technological advances; its overall positive feel in both sound and lyric — why, out of the already huge stack of Brad's fine hits, did this one have to miss? Arista, you have no idea how badly that stung. Oh well, at least it's at #1 on our list, where it deserves absolutely no lower. – Bobby Peacock.

Click here watch a music video of the song.

You can support Brad Paisley by purchasing this single at Amazon | iTunes.

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You can check out the whole coundtown by clicking the sections below:

The Best 40 Singles of 2009: 40-31

The Best 40 Singles of 2009: 30-21

The Best 40 Singles of 2009: 20-16

The Best 40 Singles of 2009: 15-11

The Best 40 Singles of 2009: 10-6

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