Hey there, friend. Pull up a stool and let’s talk about the decade that turned country music upside down and then right-side up again. The 1990s gave us hat acts, heartbreak ballads, line-dance fever, and some of the purest songwriting Nashville ever put on wax. I’ve spun thousands of records from this era, and certainly have my own preferences, but this list is based on science!
The most objective way folks measure an album's success boils down to cold, hard sales, tracked by the RIAA certifications and Billboard's charts. Total weeks on the Top Country Albums chart (especially at number one) tells you how long an album stayed hot, while RIAA platinum levels show how many copies actually went out the door. Cumulative singles performance is trickier to tally across every record, but the big sellers almost always had the monster hits to match.
I dug through the reliable sources—Billboard archives, RIAA numbers, and some trusted charts—and ranked the top 40 nineties country albums by a mix of U.S. shipments (RIAA) and chart longevity. Where sales are close, I leaned on weeks at number one or total chart run. These are all albums released between 1990 and 1999. No greatest-hits packages unless they were new releases that dominated the decade.
The Data-Driven Top 10 (the undisputed heavy hitters)
- Shania Twain – Come On Over (1997) 15× Platinum U.S., over 40 million worldwide, 50 weeks at #1 on Top Country Albums. The biggest country album ever by the numbers.
- Garth Brooks – No Fences (1990) 18× Platinum, 41 weeks at #1. Turned country into arena rock.
- Garth Brooks – Ropin' the Wind (1991) 14× Platinum, dozens of weeks atop the chart.
- Garth Brooks – The Hits (1994) 10× Platinum (Diamond), massive even as a compilation of new-era tracks.
- Dixie Chicks – Wide Open Spaces (1998) 13× Platinum, long chart run and crossover smash.
- Garth Brooks – Sevens (1997) 10× Platinum, steady #1 time.
- LeAnn Rimes – Blue (1996) 6× Platinum fast, plus her early hits package pushed huge numbers for a debut.
- Tim McGraw – Not a Moment Too Soon (1994) 12× Platinum equivalent with longevity.
- Garth Brooks – Fresh Horses (1995) 8× Platinum, strong chart dominance.
- Brooks & Dunn – Brand New Man (1991) 6× Platinum, kicked off the duo era with big sales and airplay.
The Rest of the Numbers-Backed 40
- Dixie Chicks – Fly (1999)
- Shania Twain – The Woman in Me (1995)
- Alan Jackson – Don't Rock the Jukebox (1991)
- George Strait – Pure Country soundtrack (1992)
- Faith Hill – Breathe (1999)
- Trisha Yearwood – (Songbook) A Collection of Hits (1997)
- Reba McEntire – Greatest Hits Volume Two (1993)
- Vince Gill – When Love Finds You (1994)
- Mary Chapin Carpenter – Come On Come On (1992)
- John Michael Montgomery – Kickin' It Up (1994)
- Alan Jackson – A Lot About Livin' (And a Little 'Bout Love) (1992)
- Brooks & Dunn – Hard Workin' Man (1993)
- Tim McGraw – Everywhere (1997)
- Martina McBride – Evolution (1997)
- Garth Brooks – In Pieces (1993)
- Clint Black – Killin' Time (1989/1990 carryover sales explosion)
- Billy Ray Cyrus – Some872 Gave All (1992)
- Travis Tritt – It's All About to Change (1991)
- Patty Loveless – Only What I Feel (1993)
- Dwight Yoakam – This Time (1993)
- Deana Carter – Did I Shave My Legs for This? (1996)
- Toby Keith – Boomtown (1994)
- Faith Hill – Take Me as I Am (1993)
- Jo Dee Messina – I'm Alright (1998)
- Kenny Chesney – No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems started the run, but Me and You (1996) built it
- Mark Wills – Wish You Were Here (1998)
- Lonestar – Lonely Grill (1999)
- Alabama – For the Record (1998 hits set with new tracks)
- George Strait – Carrying Your Love with Me (1997)
- Reba McEntire – Read My Mind (1994)
These numbers don't lie—the nineties were the decade country went diamond over and over. Garth and Shania alone account for sales most genres can only dream about. If you're building a collection by the data, start at the top and work down; you'll end up with the records that were on every truck radio and jukebox from Nashville to California.
Want to grab some of these monsters on vinyl or CD? We've got a bunch in the 1990s country section online right now: https://sargentsjukebox.com/collections/1990s-country
Keep it spinning, y’all