20. Jason Aldean (with Kelly Clarkson)- Don't You Wanna Stay
19. Zac Brown Band- Knee Deep
18. Dierks Bentley- Home
17. Reba- If I Were A Boy
16. Billy Currington- Love Done Gone
15. George Strait- Here For A Good Time
14. Sara Evans- A Little Bit Stronger
13. Jake Owen- Barefoot Blue Jean Night
12. Kenny Chesney- Somewhere With You
11. Ronnie Dunn- Bleed Red
10. Eli Young Band- Crazy Girl
09. Tim McGraw- Better Than I Used To Be
08. Keith Urban- Long Hot Summer
07. Martina McBride- I'm Gonna Love You Through It
06. The Band Perry- All Your Life
05 Hunter Hayes Storm Warning
"I’m gonna wish I had a storm warning, I’m gonna wish I had a sign"
Storm Warning is the debut single of 20 year old Hunter Hayes. With a voice similar to that of Rascal Flatts’ lead singer, a musical style similar to Keith Urban and more talent than pretty much every other guy on country radio, Hunter has great potential. Keith Urban and Taylor Swift have both given Hunter their support, and he’s seen moderate success on country radio thus far.
04 Faith Hill Come Home
"Hello world, hope you’re listening; forgive me if I’m young or speaking out of term"
Faith Hill’s comeback single, a cover of OneRepublic’s Come Home, is a beautiful and welcome addition to her discography. The song is slowly climbing the country charts, and should peak prior to the album release within the first few months of 2012.
03 Lady Antebellum We Owned The Night
"Tell me have you ever wanted someone so much it hurts?"
We Owned The Night is an excellent song from Lady Antebellum’s most recent album, Own The Night. The song is about a short and sweet romance, and it’s sung primarily by the male lead in the band, Charles Kelley. This song has already peaked at #1 on country charts, and it’s almost certain to have the crossover success of previous single Just A Kiss.
02 Shania Twain Today Is Your Day
"Don’t expect more or less, just go out and give it your best"
A buzz single that got poor airplay and mostly poor response from critics, Today Is Your Day is one of my most-played songs of 2011. Despite the generally negative response, I love everything about this song except for how short it is. After testing the waters with this, Shania’s impending return is closer than ever before.
01 Taylor Swift Mean
"You have pointed out my flaws again as if I don’t already see them"
If you didn't see this coming, you're blind. Oops, sorry, that was rather Mean of me. This song was written about a critic who said that Taylor's career was over following her Grammys performance, and it has become a huge anti-meanness anthem for her fans.
Critics of this song love to point out the hypocrisy of it; Taylor sings that she can't be led to participate in the endless cycle of being mean to other people, and then she proceeds to call this person "a liar and pathetic and alone in life." While this is hypocritical, it's also (unintentionally?) insightful into human behavior; people say all the time that they won't bully or pick on others, and then they do (just look at the monsters )
Furthermore, the two biggest criticisms of Taylor are that she can't sing well and that she isn't country; this song addresses both of those issues. The song's bridge is a snarky rebuke of people who say she can't sing, and the song itself has been widely hailed as "the most country song" of Taylor's career. In fact, Mean's country-ness is initially puzzling; on the heavily pop influenced Speak Now album, Mean sticks out like a sore thumb. The explanation is simple; rather than sing about how she's a country artist, Taylor proved that she's country. Taylor is the biggest victim of the "isn't country" criticism, and she wrote a brilliant, subtle, fun, sing-alongable, cocky, in-your-face song that ended up being one of the most country songs released to radio this year.
Good news: I'm done with finals, and school is over until January. The next list will be my top 30 non-country singles of 2011.
Bad news: my list for the top 30 non-country singles of 2011 still requires an hour or two of work. Even worse, I'm going home in a few hours, and I don't typically use the computer as much at home as I do at school.