The Surprising #1 Albums That Trumped Toby Keith in 2015
18,700
This is the number of albums Toby Keith sold upon the debut of his new record 35 MPH Town, and it got me to thinking, which artists and bands have beat that number in a year of unprecedented ascent in independent country music? 2015 is the year it became common to see one of your favorite independent acts and aging legends compete at the top of the album charts, and not completely fall off the radar the very next week. It started at the beginning of the year with Blackberry Smoke, and hasn’t stopped since. And virtually all the albums were also responsible for #1 debuts.
Of course it’s a different day in music, and passive consumers are streaming their music instead of buying records more and more. But meanwhile, independent country fans are holding form, supporting the artists they love with unwavering loyalty, as the ranks of independent fans continue to swell.
No offense to Toby Keith necessarily; he just makes a good case study of a once highly successful country artist who no longer sells records in the new paradigm. Meanwhile the list of indie country artists who’ve beat him unfurls like the candidates for Album of the Year.
Blackberry Smoke – “Holding All The Roses” – 19,200
A little Southern rock band from Georgia will forever have the distinction of being the first band signed to an independent label to come in at #1 on the country charts. Though 19,200 may not look impressive, it was better than anyone else that week, and better than what Toby Keith could muster.
Aaron Watson – “The Underdog” – 26,300
“My name is Aaron Watson. I’m not played on country radio. And I have the #1 record in country music this week. I do exist.”
This was the quote from Aaron Watson after he crested Billboard’s Country Albums chart for the first time upon the release of the aptly named The Underdog. By using his popularity in the rodeo world and strong grassroots in the Texas scene, he made Nashville major label executive Gary Overton eat his words about how “If you’re not on radio, you don’t exist.”
Dwight Yoakam – “Second Hand Heart” – 21,400
There’s just a cool factor about Dwight that appears will never wear off, regardless if the hips don’t shake and the knees don’t knock as much as they used to, or even if he’s the perfect specimen for male pattern baldness under the low brim of that cowboy hat. He’s still Dwight, and that caramel voice and cutting yodel will never be deprecated.
Dwight’s return to his cowpunk days was well-received.
Chris Stapleton – “Traveller” – 27,100
Appreciate that officially this was the debut record from Chris Stapleton, even though he’s been known previously for his work as a songwriter and with the SteelDrivers. This album and its impressive debut must have caught the attention of somebody, because Traveller has now been nominated for the CMA for Album of the Year, and Stapleton has been nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year.
It helps that he’s on a major label, but there’s an independent and traditional spirit to this record.
Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard – “Django and Jimmie” – 30,000
Who said that nobody wants to listen to grandpa’s music anymore? Well apparently more people want to listen to it than Toby Keith.
Willie Nelson continues to account for strong sales despite his advanced age, and when you pair him up with his old running buddy Merle Haggard, it was enough to hit #1 yet again.
Kacey Musgraves – “Pageant Material” – 55,000
June 23rd, 2015
Okay, this may be the one record we would expect to beat Toby Keith, but it’s no less impressive, and no less important. Kacey remains a polarizing figure in country music, but it’s not from being ubiquitous on the radio, or not respecting her roots. Even if some of her singles annoy you, this record is worth a deeper listen.
Pageant Material also sold 28,500 album on its second week, beating Toby Keith again. And almost beat 35 MPH Town its third week with sales of 18,300.
Jason Isbell – “Something More Than Free” – 45,800
Arguably the most impressive of them all, a completely independent artist on Thirty Tigers sold two-and-a-half times the amount of records as Toby Keith did, and in the process, also just barely eeked out a #1 over a country legend in Alan Jackson. This shows the serious economic power an independent artist can have in the marketplace these days. It’s also the second record to hit #1 in 2015 produced by Dave Cobb.
If Isbell came in with 46K, what will Sturgill Simpson’s next release do?
Alan Jackson – “Angels & Alcohol” – 45,500
Alan was denied his #1 on the debut week of this record by Jason Isbell, but he got the #1 on week two, and it was well-deserved. Though Alan Jackson’s career is growing long in the tooth after 25 years, he’s still going strong, and still cresting the charts.
As long as Alan Jackson is around and relevant and releasing records, then country music still has a fighting chance.
Turnpike Troubadours – “Turnpike Troubadours” – 19,400
To behold the steady rise of the Turnpike Troubadours from a bar band from Oklahoma to the top of the country music charts without ever having to reshape their sound or sign their life away to a major label is an incredible feat that should be celebrated by the band and their dedicated fans, and by country music fans hoping for a greater turnaround for the genre.
Their self-titled album did not hit #1 like the others, but it still bested their fellow Oklahoman by a few hundred albums.
Dave
October 20, 2015 @ 6:36 pm
“As long as Alan Jackson is around and relevant and releasing records, then country music still has a fighting chance.”
Truer words have never been said.
Janice Brooks
October 20, 2015 @ 6:40 pm
I’m programing all except Blackberry Smoke. Guess Toby’s slipping..
Chris
October 20, 2015 @ 6:50 pm
Any idea who made the most money of all those artists this year? Including Toby?
Trigger
October 20, 2015 @ 7:11 pm
No question it’s Toby. Any time an album or song on Big Machine Records gets sold, including from Taylor Swift, Toby Keith makes money. Even as his own albums tank, he’s still the highest-paid perfomer in all of country music.
I apologize if your question was rhetorical.
ElectricOutcast
October 20, 2015 @ 7:40 pm
Yet Garth whoops Toby’s ass in the Forbes list…I’m sorry but that is just fucking hilarious.
Trigger
October 20, 2015 @ 8:19 pm
Garth will this year, but Toby has been the perennial front runner for half a decade, even beating Taylor Swift during her heyday.
Chris
October 21, 2015 @ 1:49 pm
But Toby’s numbers should not count cause your putting in his restaurant sales. It should be based only from his music sales.
Trigger
October 21, 2015 @ 2:03 pm
Toby Keith has absolutely no ownership in the restaurant chain that bears his name, and even if he did, they’re not making any money, they’re losing millions and have become the biggest joke in American restaurant chains. He likely sold them naming rights years ago, and if he gets a token for each new restaurant opened, since they’re closing restaurants instead of opening them, he’s not making any money there either. With or without the restaurants, he’s still smoking the competition in regards to overall revenue, and it’s not even close.
Bryan
October 26, 2015 @ 8:13 pm
Toby has little or no ownership in the restaraunts that bare his name. But he gets 100% of all merchandise sold at each one-which has turned out to be quite lucrative. This info was shared with me from a regional manager of a few of his restaraunts.
Chris
October 28, 2015 @ 8:28 am
So how is he making money?
Trigger
October 28, 2015 @ 9:26 am
See Bryan’s response, I guess.
Dallas bowlin
October 20, 2015 @ 6:50 pm
Being a huge Toby fan, I have to say some of his newer material is lacking that “Toby sound.” I thought he had turned the corner with his “drinks after work.” Cd, that was very enjoyable, but again he’s put out a lackluster album. I miss the Toby that did “little too late.” And “pull my chain.” Those two songs were my favorites growing up (I’m 18.)
Nadia Lockheart
October 20, 2015 @ 7:01 pm
Age is certsinly an (unfortunate) factor, but Toby Keith also painted himself into a corner with the content he churned out following his rise to superstardom in the early 00s.
His formula just got predictable rather quickly. Once a year (usually in the autumn) you’d expect him to release an album réplete with some braggadocious up-tempos, drinking songs, several ballads and a pair of off-kilter novelty-esque ditties. From album to album, the only thing that would change is the allocation of such content. Sometimes you’d get more ballads instead of boasting barnstormers. Sometimes more drinking songs (and there’s been a LOT of those lately from him).
At least with Strait and Jackson, there’s a warmth to their personality and sound that makes it always feel like home to listeners. Keith lacks that trait, and so his music hasn’t held up as well over time (I predict the same will remain true with Jason Aldean ultimately despite consistent million-sellers to date). In contrast, Kenny Chesney is still holding up remarkably well because regardless of your opinion of him, there’s a warmth to his personality that will all but certainly sinew his place in contemporary country as an elder statesman with lasting appeal.
CountryKnight
October 20, 2015 @ 7:35 pm
You have to admit, whenever you heard a Toby Keith song, you could tell it was a Toby Keith song. This is a contrarian opinion here, but I like Keith’s newer work.
luckyoldsun
October 20, 2015 @ 10:37 pm
I think that Toby’s being something of a prick and a mean sonuvabitch actually helps his music stand up.
Jackson’s bland, don’t-rock-the-boat persona makes a lot of his late-career songs tedious.
Nadia Lockheart
October 21, 2015 @ 1:18 am
I get why Toby Keith has appeal similar to how I get why Blake Shelton has it as well (even if Shelton’s music is almost always safe). Both have colorful personalities and have been able to manage their careers beyond music itself: thus enjoying broader name recognition.
That said, sales don’t lie. Alan Jackson emerged onto the mainstream scene several years prior to Toby Keith and, though both have receded to trace amounts of airplay, Jackson is selling roughly two-and-a-half times more records than Keith. As far as legacies are concerned, Jackson is evidently achieving a better job than Keith late in their careers.
And I say this as someone who enjoys my share of Toby Keith tracks. I’ve never been enthused with him like I generally am with Jackson, but he has penned his share of solid songs. “Beautiful Stranger”. “As Good As I Once Was”, “Grain of Salt”, “White Rose” (one he didn’t write, I recall), “Ballad of Balad”, “Clancy’s Tavern”…………………that’s just a handful right there. And he is rarely short of charisma to sell plenty of his silly, novelty-esque fare as well. I especially enjoy it when he collaborates with Bobby Pinson, like they did on “Pump Jack” for instance. That was a damn enjoyable track. Finally, I respect that he does try to spice many of his albums up with forays into zydeco, or Tex-Mex roadhouse, and even Celtic-esque waltzes. “That Don’t Make Me A Bad Guy” is honestly my favorite overall album of his because I think it is his most stylistically diverse record and the individual songs hold up really well overall.
But here’s part of where I think Keith has declined notably faster than other major hitmakers of his generation. He plays it absolutely safe with his setlists/live shows. He has been one of the most prolific names of the past decade, yet you wouldn’t know it if you only attended his live show. They have been nearly identical over these past five years, and the tracks often highly in the same chronological order as well. I get that signature songs should always have a place in one’s setlist, but when you go beyond that and make the vast majority of your set a standard set with only two to three slots set aside for deeper cuts and a cover or two, you’re already painting yourself into a corner as a heritage act who is resting on one’s laurels as opposed to an already extraordinarily successful entertainer who has the hunger of trying to prove more.
That may explain why I’ve warmed up to Eric Church more, recently. I’ve observed that he enjoys mixing up his sets from show to show much like, say, Pearl Jam do. He also isn’t afraid to test new material well before he even prepares to test-run it in a studio. He keeps me guessing enough, and I’m drawn more to entertainers like that.
CountryKnight
October 21, 2015 @ 7:07 am
+2 for mentioning “Ballad of Balad” and “Pump Jack” in your list.
Mike W.
October 21, 2015 @ 7:54 am
I’ll give Toby credit for covering Fred Eaglesmith. “White Rose” is a damn good song. I agree with you list for the most part, though I would note that while that list is solid, it become slightly less solid when you consider Toby pumps out a new album every year. His insistence on doing that has led to a lot of his albums have one or two standout songs and a crapton of filler songs that probably wouldn’t make the final cut of an album if Toby would just take his time writing and recording new music.
I can’t speak of his set list since I have never (and never likely will) drop money down to go see Toby live, but in my humble opinion Toby deciding to flood the market with a new Toby Keith album every year hurt him a lot in the eyes of his fan base. Sure we all love to hear new music from our favorite artists, but you also can only keep selling new albums for $10 every year to those fans when the quality of the material is so mediocre.
Six String Richie
October 21, 2015 @ 8:04 am
Good point, Mike W. I hadn’t considered that he’s released 18 studio albums. That means he’s probably recorded close to 250 tracks. There’s maybe two dozen that I really enjoy. Not a great success rate.
luckyoldsun
October 21, 2015 @ 6:26 pm
“But here”™s part of where I think Keith has declined notably faster than other major hitmakers of his generation.”
Keith, in the first five years of his career, was a level below Jackson–and Garth (of course) and Clint Black and Travis Tritt and Reba and Strait and Brooks & Dunn and McGraw–Toby was competing with artists like Chesnutt and Diffie and Kershaw and Doug Stone and Tracy Lawrence.
Keith is one of the half-dozen-or-so stars of his era who became enduring parts of the American culture. Ask Clint Black–and Travis Tritt–and Ronnie Dunn–what they think of Toby’s “notably fast” decline.
Matt B.
October 20, 2015 @ 8:01 pm
But the Turnpike Troubadours didn’t hit #1 on the country chart. The headline is misleading by saying that they did. They did well but not #1.
Trigger
October 20, 2015 @ 8:15 pm
Oh chill out. I mentioned that in the part about the Troubadours album before ditching it for a blurb from the album review. I also alluded that not all the albums hit #1 in the introduction. I added them at the last minute because it didn’t feel right to leave them out just because they didn’t hit #1.
Brandon
October 20, 2015 @ 8:15 pm
It was #1 on itunes, possibly got that mixed up
Six String Richie
October 20, 2015 @ 8:04 pm
Throughout the 2000s, I was never much of a fan of Toby Keith. Most of his big songs got on my nerve because they were very personality driven, and I largely didn’t care for his personality. I also remember his videos being played on GAC all the time and thinking they were never nearly as funny as he thought they were.
But lately I’ve been warming up to Toby. His newer albums have been rock solid in my opinion. He went overboard with drinking song singles in the past 5 years but his newer albums were pretty good. I also just started digging into his ’90s material (thanks to the My Kind of Country blog) and found a lot of good ’90s-style country.
Overall, I think his best output has been when he isn’t a superstar.
Tom
October 21, 2015 @ 4:25 am
How does one find out how many copies of an album have been moved?
Trigger
October 21, 2015 @ 9:07 am
SoundScan and MediaBase are the two companies that track albums sales and single downloads and report those findings to publishers like Billboard. To get a full list you have to subscribe to those services, but for the top albums in a given week, the numbers are usually published by Billboard and others.
FunKyChick
October 21, 2015 @ 6:34 am
I just love Dwight Yoakam. I have been a fan of his since Guitars, Cadillacs, etc. etc. And what can I say about Willie and Merle? I’ve heard some Jason Isbell and of course Alan Jackson. I really need to give Kacey Musgraves a listen. I don’t listen to commercial radio at all. We have a great public AAA station in my city and that is where I mainly get my music suggestions from. I then either check out the CDs from the library or buy them and load the songs on my mp3 player.
Mike W.
October 21, 2015 @ 7:48 am
Toby’s lack of attention to his music is what has led to his decline. Say what you will about age, but as evidenced by Alan Jackson and Dwight Yoakam, they were able to retain their core fan base because those same fans felt like they were legitimate artists who cared about the quality of their material.
Toby has never done that, instead he has focused solely on being a big radio star while his albums were often inconsistent or filled with album filler. Now that radio has abandoned Toby Keith, we see that a large core of his fan base has also left him.
I don’t dislike Toby, but the dude has needed a creative makeover for over a decade now.
Shastacatfish
October 21, 2015 @ 8:25 am
I am definitely no fan of Toby Keith (count me in the Road Goes On And On camp) but this post really feels like kicking the guy when he is down.
Trigger
October 21, 2015 @ 8:59 am
It was just a stupid way to promote some cool albums in a way people would actually pay attention to. If Toby Keith is butt hurt about it, perhaps he can buy himself another mansion to help him feel better.
Lori Folse
October 21, 2015 @ 8:51 am
Talking about saving country music and new album. Have you heard Jason James self debuted album? If not you have too. Best new real deal true country album I have heard in a long long time.. Awesome young new artist I think he’s associated with New West Records.
Trigger
October 21, 2015 @ 8:58 am
Jason James is great. Here’s a review I did for his album back in August:
https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/jason-james-brings-the-voices-of-the-old-greats-back-alive-in-debut-album
Dwight Walters
October 21, 2015 @ 1:10 pm
When I think of Toby Keith, I think of beer. That seemingly is his intention. I am not a fan.
Andrew
October 21, 2015 @ 2:45 pm
For the record, Toby’s new album is the best he’s released in a few years. I feel like that needs to be mentioned since a lot of this site’s readers aren’t going to give it a chance.
Nadia Lockheart
October 22, 2015 @ 11:12 pm
I gave it a fair shake.
It was better than “Drinks After Work”, but I wasn’t impressed overall. “Beautiful Stranger” was definitely a standout that I can confidently say is among his recent best, and “What She Left Behind” was solid as well. I also thought “10 Foot Pole” was fun to listen to.
Other than that, I was left feeling underwhelmed. Too many songs gravitated around the theme of the highs and lows of indulgence in libations, and weren’t distinctive at all to me. And I also thought the production ranked among the bottom half of Keith records overall.
Still a competent release, but nothing that will contribute much to his career or legacy in any meaningful way.
luckyoldsun
October 27, 2015 @ 4:58 pm
I bought the CD and have listened to it while driving several times. I think it’s one of Toby’s better ones, definitely his best since “Clancy’s Tavern.” “Haggard, Hank and Her,” sounds great and has some clever lyrics–even if the theme is somewhat overplayed (especially, coming right on the heels of A.J.’s “Jim and Jack and Hank.”) And I think “Rum Is the Reason” has a great groove and will go down as one of Toby’s all-time classic songs–if one can avoid taking offense at the flippant references to “Old Stalin” and “Old Hitler.” The Buffet duet and “Beautiful Stranger” are also nice.
Hey, for a guy who’s never been thought of as a great artist, he’s having a helluva career.
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Cheryl
October 20, 2021 @ 9:57 pm
The reason there is a division between “old country” and “new country” is because people that don’t know jack, like yourselves, create a division that doesn’t need to be there. Its ALL country music. For that matter it’s all music. Those that came before lay the groundwork for the current. Anybody ever hear of starving artists? Well that is exactly where all of the younger folks of any kind of music would be without those that came before. So if the only way critics can make themselves relevant is to shoot their mouths off about Highly respected and reputable artists with creative catalogues of work that make the Encyclopedia Britanica look abbreviated, I would try taking up pantomime instead. And unless you, the ubiquitous you, are as accomplished as ANYONE on this list. I suggest you keep your critiques to yourself. What will you call the next “new country” 20 years into the future? Millenial garbage country music? And there will certainly be a plethora of someone’s, waiting in line to dismiss their accomplishments too.