Chris Stapleton Beats Out Bro-Country Titles for Album of the Decade
As we near not just the end of 2019, but the end of a decade in country music, it gives us a good opportunity to reflect back on what happened in country during the 2010’s, and how it will be regarded by future generations. No doubt when the history books look back upon the past decade in country, Bro-Country will be the dominating force. And though it may be nauseating to think that when the Hall of Fame enshrines its installations covering this era in country it will be a healthy dose of Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, and Sam Hunt, there will be a fly in the Bro-Country ointment, and one name that rises above the rest, at least when it comes to the albums released in the last 10 years.
Last week Billboard released its Top Country Albums charts for the last decade, and right on top was Chris Stapleton and his landmark album Traveller. Beating out blockbusters such as Sam Hunt’s Montevallo, Florida Georgia Line’s Here’s To The Good Times, and Luke Bryan’s Crash My Party, it puts an exclamation point behind the historic run this record has enjoyed, and how it saved country music from the Bro-Country era that dominated earlier in the decade.
Compiling both sales and streaming data over the last ten years, Traveller not only comes out on top, it does so even though its closest competitors had a head start. Traveller wasn’t released until halfway into the decade on May 5th, 2015, and unlike its Bro-Country counterparts, received only sporadic radio play. And yet even though the title is now some 4 1/2 years old, it still remains a perennial at the top of Billboard’s weekly Top Country Albums chart, including last week where it sat at #9, and was ahead of many mainstream albums released in the last year.
Of course on Billboard’s decade-ending version of the Hot Country Songs chart, it’s a different story, with Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line’s collaboration “Meant To Be” coming in at #1, and “Body Like a Back Road” by Sam Hunt coming in at #2. But this is skewed math compared to the album equations. Along with the dominance of Bro-Country in the decade, another critical event that will forever color the era in country will be Billboard’s decision to allow spins at pop radio to play into the calculations on the Hot Country Songs chart, giving songs like “Meant To Be” featuring a purely pop star an unfair advantage over artists who don’t pursue or achieve crossover airplay. That is how and why Bebe Rexha now holds the record for the longest-running #1 song in country music history, not because country fans and radio supported the song more than anyone else’s.
The Billboard’s end-of-decade album list also allows us to peek into the future. After Sam Hunt, Florida Georgia Line, and Luke Bryan, it’s Luke Combs and his breakout album This One’s For You that comes in at #5 on the decade. Released in 2017, it has been pulling a Chris Stapleton over the last couple of years, dominating the country albums charts unless another big title came around to knock it off its perch during the initial release week. A few weeks ago This One’s For You tied Shania Twain’s Come On Over as the only other record in country history to spend 50 total weeks at #1. Unfortunately Combs won’t get a chance to break that record because his latest album What You See Is What You get will likely dominate the chart for the coming months, if not years. There’s a good chance when we reflect back 10 years from now, it will be Luke Combs we’re talking about as the most dominant album artist of the decade.
Despite the contrast Chris Stapleton sets against Bro-Country, some country traditionalists and purists still see him as second rate, and nothing to get excited about. Some even accuse him of being not much better than Bro-Country, or indistinguishable from it. After all, he did once write a song for Luke Bryan. Like so many mainstream artists, Stapleton suffers from being uncool for being popular and successful. But this is missing the bigger picture about what kind of positive impact his career has made on country music, dotting the period at the end of Bro-Country’s dominance, and opening up the music to artists who write their own songs and produce their records live and without concerns for radio. Chris Stapleton has also opened the minds of many listeners to a world of music beyond what the radio serves them.
It was Chris Stapleton’s big wins at the 2015 CMA Awards (including Album of the Year for Traveller) that allowed country to move on from the Bro-Country era. We had a feeling at the time those wins could be historic, and mark a defining moment for country music. Four years later, and with the ability to reflect back on the decade, it’s easy to conclude they definitely were.
The 2010’s will go down in the country music history books as a Bro-Country black eye colored by bad songs full of cliches about beer, girls, tailgates, and backroads, often with lines that are rapped and beats that are electronic, while women were virtually excluded from participating. But above that steaming pile with be Chris Stapleton and Traveller, showing country music the way out of that creative malaise, and hopefully shepherding in an era where country music returned to its roots and substance, and rekindled its proud spot in popular music where songwriting and instrumentation still matter.
Billboard’s Top 10 Albums of the 2010’s
- Chris Stapleton – Traveller
- Sam Hunt – Montevallo
- Florida Georgia Line – Here’s To The Good Times
- Luke Bryan – Crash My Party
- Luke Combs – This One’s For You
- Jason Aldean – My Kinda Party
- Luke Bryan – Tailgates and Tanlines
- Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
- Kane Brown – Self-Titled
- Eric Church – Chief
albert
November 24, 2019 @ 12:10 pm
informative and undeniable breakdown , trigger . its interesting that we even need to acknowledge this with numbers and stats when anyone with ears already knows that this is as it SHOULD be .
CS leaves the all-acoustic rootsy environs of STEELDRIVERS , ‘goes electric’ taking that same voice and passion for the basics and lands on the country charts …..a completely natural progression of things for his sound and God-given gifts . his niche is as authentic lyrically and musically as anyone has ever been no matter the genre….no lyrical pandering , no studio trickery , no ‘electronic musicians ‘ , no autotune , no band to hide behind and no concessions to trend or fashion when it comes to selling his sound . its arguably as stripped down and as authentic as hank sr. in those respects.
add to that his work ethic and his all-demographic appeal ( for the right reasons -performance with heart and soul- …not cuz he’s hip to like ) and this is as real a deal as country music has seen since randy travis .
personally speaking I think he has yet to make a CS album that rivals the STEELDRIVERS catalogue writing-wise …but if you’re a COUNTRY music fan and you can’t dig at least 90 % of what he’s released solo ……..YOU may be the issue …not CS.
for me , a show featuring CS and , say ,holly williams would be just about the ultimate COUNTRY MUSIC statement . saying that ….I love morganne stapleton’s voice and musicality …..here and chris with an acoustic guitar would still be more country than pretty-much anything going right now .
Charles
November 24, 2019 @ 12:11 pm
Meant to Be is such a bland and forgettable song. In spite of its record I don’t feel like anyone’s gonna really remember this one 5 years from now.
Trigger
November 24, 2019 @ 1:26 pm
When I first heard “Cruise,” I knew it was going to be a monster, and a game changer. It’s diabolically infectious. “Meant To Be” is nothing. It means nothing. It symbolized nothing. The only reason it holds the chart record is because they were spinning it on pop radio, and they were paying to have it placed on top playlists. When a disgruntled employee of Red Music releases their records one day, “Meant To Be” will be the first song with an asterisk placed beside it.
Blackh4t
November 24, 2019 @ 4:27 pm
Cruise was only the cultural follow up to ‘Save a Horse’
I still consider Big and Rich the true origins of Bro Country.
Back then Gretchen Wilson was the female answer, and could also solve the BF country issue.
The female country song to take listeners away from the bf country would be something like
“For f%%ks sake, just shut up and take me to bed, pretty boy. I ain’t a princess, I just dressed like one to get laid tonight”
Ashley McBride could totally do it.
I mean, have you actually listened to the lyrics of Dori’s Bright Lights? Or Holly Williams ‘Three days in bed with a Stranger’
Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be a good direction to go culturally.
Saul V. Ambulando
November 24, 2019 @ 7:55 pm
You just described Charlie Marie’s EP. Check it out.
Melissa W
November 24, 2019 @ 8:46 pm
She’s my favorite discovery this year.
Chris
November 25, 2019 @ 1:02 pm
Bebe Rexha’s 15 minutes of fame have already run out. She hasn’t had a hit since “Meant to Be.” Which makes the title of her latest single – “You Can’t Stop the Girl” – ironically hilarious.
Therefore, watch for her first so-called “country” album in a year or two.
Blackh4t
November 24, 2019 @ 12:18 pm
I wouldn’t have thought Need you now would be there, but the title track sold a lot of albums. Including to me. Unfortunately it was kind of the only good song on the album.
I still listen to Chief, it has good moments.
Tailgates and tanlines wasn’t all bad, but its when Luke went from ‘check out this hilarious song’ to ‘this guys a bit of a douche’
I totally regret buying my kind party, still struggling to listen to Combs, and going back to traveller just sounds like too much Dave Cobb although i loved it at the time.
Strange how albums age.
Hey Arnold
November 24, 2019 @ 12:19 pm
Makes no sense that Brett Young is at #20 yet California Sunrise is at #35 …. I thought based on streaming that Pardi was right around Brett Young… And based on physical sales he did higher than Brett Young…
Say what you will, but Jon Pardi is the only traditional country thing on that Top 50 albums of the Decade list!!! A huge win for us. A great for Stapleton too!!! Also, some decent Zac Brown older stuff made the list, which is good news I guess too.
Gabe
November 25, 2019 @ 11:44 am
Pardi’s numbers have always been poor compared to Brett Young. Don’t forget young had that monster (forgettable) song called “In Case You Didn’t Know”
Benjamin
November 24, 2019 @ 12:37 pm
Hey Trigger,
Is there any insight you could let us know about how many copies those top 10 albums have sold? I’m not sure where to find that information.
Thank you!
Hey Arnold
November 24, 2019 @ 12:44 pm
Roughstock website or Wikipedia are good sources
Trigger
November 24, 2019 @ 1:22 pm
The Wikipedia pages of the respective records would be my recommendation. They’re updated pretty regularly.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
November 24, 2019 @ 12:42 pm
And I’m just going to come out and say it
In another thirty or forty years, people who like “Country Music” will still be listening to Goerge Jones, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash, basically the same as they are right now.
Maybe one or two artists every decade since the eighties has been able to join the exclusive ranks of artists who are long-term enjoyed by Country Music enthusiasts.
Randy Travis in the nineties and Josh Turner in the oughts.
and Chris Stapleton and Maybe Combs for the tens.
But Country Music died in 79 and there has only been one
and I mean only one
Real Country record since that time that WASN’T a late career release of an established act
Joshua Hedley’s Mr. Jukebox.
That’s the only artist since 79 to release a new Country record.
Marty Stuart was already working in 79, so I consider his records as being pre-Fall.
tt-31
November 24, 2019 @ 5:20 pm
How are you seriously able to say that there hasn’t been a real country record made since 79?
That might be the biggest joke I’ve ever heard. You don’t follow country music at all do you? and for your information, you have to look for good country music, it will not show up at the top of the album charts.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
November 26, 2019 @ 7:27 am
I happen to be an expert on Country Music in all its forms, have a music degree, work at both music schools and music festivals, write songs and a published book. I think I know a lot about Country Music.
After 79, the “Country” records of the day, even the ones I personally enjoy from George Strait, Randy Travis and Garth Brooks are decidedly removed from prior stylings of Boxcar Willie and Bill Anderson.
They are “modern” Country.
But there have been few honest Country records that were not either modernized or pop-influenced
Tt-31
November 26, 2019 @ 1:06 pm
Hey man, if you’re not lying about your credentials, you are obviously qualified to talk about country music and tons of respect. In many people’s opinions, however, modernizing country music doesn’t turn it into shit. It is the influence of pop/rock that turns it into shit. But I get it, as a fan of Bill Anderson, as well as other sounds before the 80s, they just sound classic, which is where modern artists (that aren’t pop) fall short.
JG
November 24, 2019 @ 9:26 pm
So according to you, George Strait isn’t country?!? Didn’t he start his career in 1981? That’s so ridiculous, I’m not sure I should even finish typing this reply.
Trainwreck92
November 24, 2019 @ 9:30 pm
Fuzzy, my man, this is a truly bonkers take. No real country record from a previously unestablished artist since ’79? If you were anyone else, I’d assume this was a bad attempt at trolling, but reading your comments over the past few years hasn’t led me to believe that you’re anything but genuine in your beliefs, for better or worse.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
November 26, 2019 @ 7:29 am
Let’s play a game
Go get a Bill Anderson record, a Boxcar Willie record, a Joe Carson record, and a Vernon Oxford record.
Then get “Mr. Jukebox” and any George Strait record
After listening to the first four, listen to the last two and tell me which one of them sounds the most like the others.
Steel&Antlers
November 24, 2019 @ 11:09 pm
Thus comment is beyond idiotic for a spell of reasons. You preach like the biggest country purists I’ve ever seen but, in that regard, you’re a total hypocrite. I love Waylon, he’s my favorite singer/tele player of all time, but you would have to be drop dead dumb to consider him a real traditionalist country artist. His songs were extremely rock influenced with a prominence of electric guitars, pounding drums, electric bass, and absolutely zero fiddle. There’s a reason Nashville wasn’t stoked on him. Waylon is the perfect example of country music taking influence from others genres in a positive way, not because it would sell better or be less harsh, but because it actually sounds good, better even. Point is, if you consider Waylon real country, but not modern artists who are creating similarly influenced country music like Tyler Childers, Colter Wall, Hank3, Cody Jinks etc…, your a blazing hypocrite with his head stuck up his ass.
CJ
November 25, 2019 @ 12:28 pm
I love 70s country but there’s been so many good songs that were very country from the 80s and 90s and even some today that makes this statement false.
John R Baker
November 24, 2019 @ 1:33 pm
It’s particularly ironic given that ACM just gave Luke Bryan that award and Stapleton wrote a big number one song from it as well.
He’s really been all over the place driving all ends of the country spectrum from bluegrass to bro country and back for the last decade.
Melissa W
November 24, 2019 @ 4:57 pm
Traveler is a great record. My favorite of Stapleton’s. Numbers 2-10 are terrible choices. I’m not on the Combs bandwagon & Church isn’t country. The rest are as far away from country as they can possibly be.
JG
November 24, 2019 @ 9:30 pm
I’m with you–don’t get the Luke Combs hype. But Chris Stapleton is awesome and Traveler is a great album (and though it seems to be an unpopular opinion, I liked his From A Room records, too).
dukeroberts
November 26, 2019 @ 11:29 am
Comparative to the majority of what’s playing on country radio these days, Luke Combs is pretty good. He would have been an also-ran in the 90s though.
Fast Hand
November 24, 2019 @ 6:18 pm
The ’10s also gave us Cody Jinks & Tyler Childers Worth all the Bro Country ever made.
Jz
November 24, 2019 @ 6:28 pm
Stop calling it Bro-Country and call it what it is. Hick-hop. This isn’t even remotely country music. It’s a tragic attempt at crossing over to pop to appeal to the masses. I blame the start of this whole thing on Billy Ray and his Achy Breaky Heart crap.
hoptowntiger94
November 24, 2019 @ 7:10 pm
I think this was asked, but I can’t find the answer… will there be a SCM album of the decade article posted?
Trigger
November 24, 2019 @ 7:56 pm
Yes, I am going to do Albums of the Decade and Songs of the Decade at the beginning of next year. Want to first resolve the best of this year so those projects have been properly vetted.
Hey Arnold
November 24, 2019 @ 8:01 pm
Please consider doing the “best of the mainstream ” for the Decade !!! Would love to see your favorite albums and songs from corporate Nashville for the Decade (might be a small list…)
Sam Cody
November 24, 2019 @ 7:15 pm
I’d trade in all those assholes to get Merle back.
JonnyBoy23
November 24, 2019 @ 8:16 pm
Speaking of Stapleton, does anyone know what the hell the new album on his Spotify is?! It’s called Rumble & Speed and is just instrumental Electronic music. I can’t find any information on it. Is somebody just playing a joke?
ToddxOlsen
November 24, 2019 @ 9:35 pm
Where are all the jokers that say Stapleton isn’t country music. Waiting for them to show up.
Benjamin
November 24, 2019 @ 9:50 pm
Trigger,
Someone else mentioned it above, but what the heck is up with “Rumble & Speed” by Chris Stapleton?? It’s an album on his Spotify with no lyrics or vocals at all… it’s just electronic dance music…
I’m so confused…
Trigger
November 24, 2019 @ 9:56 pm
I saw that the other day and just took it as a metadata snafu. Clearly that is not THIS Chris Stapleton. This happens upon occasion when proper names don’t get disambugated and one artist gets listed on another artist’s Spotify home page. What’s crazy is that it’s still up. Usually these mislistings get cleared up pretty quickly, especially when you have a big artist like Stapleton.
Blackh4t
November 25, 2019 @ 3:33 am
I thought it was someone taking the piss out of Sound and Fury
Joe K
November 24, 2019 @ 11:37 pm
Very happy for Chris. Traveller was an extremely influential album for me as an amateur songwriter
Blockman
November 24, 2019 @ 11:49 pm
Luke Bryan having two of the top 10 (or 7) albums of the decade kinda says it all. Are there any artists from this decade you can see having a solid 10-15 year run
Christopher Burrell
November 25, 2019 @ 12:47 am
I will say that I am one of the ones who see Stapleton as second rate compared to the greats. Yet in this barren landscape that is mainstream country music in 2019, beggars can’t be choosy, he is one of the best out there right now.
thebugman10
November 25, 2019 @ 6:04 am
There’s definitely some recency bias in the list I think. But I have no problems with Stapleton being #1. That album definitely deserves it.
Becky
November 25, 2019 @ 8:47 am
So this is what Kacey meant when she sang about being Happy and Sad at the same time.
Benny Lee
November 25, 2019 @ 9:04 am
Stapleton’s Traveler is the only album in the list that’s ever been on my playlist. Very good album. I hope he puts out something with energy for his next project, as the From A Room combo was disappointingly lifeless. If he does, I’m sure I’ll love it. His work with the Steeldrivers was amazing, and his 80s-style rock project Jompson Brothers was good too.
Traveler would not make my Album of the Decade top 10, however, and that speaks to the wealth of great music outside the mainstream, most of which I found by reading SCM. Here’s my top 10 of the decade (*subject to further review; sorted by year and first name):
Turnpike Troubadours – Diamonds & Gasoline (2010)
Corb Lund – Cabin Fever (2012)
Sturgill Simpson – Hightop Mountain (2013)
Sturgill Simpson – Metamodern Sounds in Country Music (2014)
Sunny Sweeney – Provoked (2014)
Cody Jinks – Adobe Sessions (2015)
Turnpike Troubadours – Turnpike Troubadours (2015)
Whitey Morgan & the 78s – Sonic Ranch (2015)
Margo Price – Midwest Farmer’s Daughter (2016)
Tyler Childers – Live on Red Barn Radio I & II (2018)
Other albums I considered:
Brenn Hill- Equine (2010)
Hayes Carll – KMAG Yoyo (2011)
Town Mountain – Leave the Bottle (2012)
First Aid Kit – Stay Gold (2014)
Jamie Lin Wilson – Holidays & Wedding Rings (2015)
Nikki Lane – All or Nothin’ (2015)
Sarah Shook & the Disarmers – Sidelong (2015)
Aubrie Sellers – New City Blues (2016)
Cody Jinks – I’m Not the Devil (2016)
Jaime Wyatt – Felony Blues (2017)
Nikki Lane – Highway Queen (2017)
Tyler Childers – Purgatory (2017)
Colter Wall – Songs of the Plains (2018)
Weldon Henson – Texas Made Honky Tonk (2018)
Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis – Beautiful Lie (2019)
Chris Knight – Almost Daylight (2019)
Emily Scott Robinson – Traveling Mercies (2019)
Mike and the Moonpies – Cheap Silver and Solid Country Gold (2019)
Song of the Decade is obviously Cows Around by Corb Lund.
Songwriter of the Decade is Ray Wylie Hubbard.
Artist of the Decade is probably Sturgill for HT & MM.
Music Journalist of the Decade is Trigger.
Jon
November 25, 2019 @ 2:24 pm
I recently saw Chris Stapleton after only being a country fan for about a year. I really enjoyed his music. I didn’t know much about recent country music history and had never heard of Bebe Rexha until my daughter saw her open for a boy band in town and she told me that she was the worst singer/musician she had ever seen. So I was shocked to see her name on Saving country music, I had heard that awful song of hers and never thought it would come up in a country conversation. It’s almost funny that country is such a broad category, pop, rap, folk, hip-hop and rock are all country these days, it keeps people who would enjoy country from listening to it. I didn’t listen to country for 39 years because I thought Shania Twain, Billy Ray Cyrus and that crap was all there was. Thank God I heard a Waylon Jennings song on the radio and gave it another chance.
Brett Dale
November 25, 2019 @ 11:17 pm
Did Garth, ever release his Ghost Tune numbers for sales of Man against machine and GunSlinger, did he release the amazon numbers?
Daniele
November 26, 2019 @ 1:48 am
Traveller will surely go down in history as one of the most influencial country albums of the century together with metamodern sounds..
Ells
November 27, 2019 @ 2:38 pm
Now that he’s proven to be such a force in the kind of country we all prefer, I wish I could remember the first time I heard Chris Stapleton. I know I heard the first album when it came out and immediately latched onto it just because it was music i liked. I kept an eye on his releases after that, just wish i could remember the first time…