25 best Tim McGraw songs ever made (so far)

Last year marked the 20th anniversary of Tim McGraw's first trip to No. 1 on Billboard's country chart with a heartbreaking ballad called "Don't Take the Girl." And he was back at No. 1 last year with "Shotgun Rider," one of four hit singles from his latest album, "Sundown Heaven Town."

With McGraw on his way to the Valley for a Thursday performance at Ak-Chin Pavilion, here's a playlist of his 25 best singles, from "Don't Take the Girl" and "It's Your Love" to "Diamond Rings and Old Barstools," his current hit.

25. "Felt Good on My Lips" (2010)

The atmospheric opening has a moody U2 quality. Then, the drums kick in and the song settles into a countrified power-pop groove as McGraw spins a yarn about a Spanish girl who "tipped the DJ to play her favorite song / A Spanish little number that was a-rockin' on strong." He doesn't understand a word but he finds himself singing along by the second chorus. "I don't know what it meant," he admits. "But it felt good on my lips." The stadium-rocking chorus lays it on a little thick, but the scrappy guitar solo more than makes up for it. He recorded the song for inclusion on "Number One Hits," which is kind of a risky move. But it ended up topping the charts and staying there for three weeks, so at least he got away with it.

24. "The Cowboy in Me" (2001)

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This understated country ballad eases you in with a finger-picked acoustic and some haunting pedal-steel and fiddle before McGraw admits, "I don't know why I act the way I do / Like I ain't got a single thing to lose / Sometimes I'm my own worst enemy / I guess that's just the cowboy in me." He spends most of the lyrics regretting the cowboy in him ("The things I've done for foolish pride," for instance, or the far more damning, "the face that's in the mirror when I don't like what I see"). But he ends it on a note of triumph ("We ride and never worry about the fall / I guess that's just the cowboy in us all"). This single replaced "Bring on the Rain," a McGraw duet with Jo Dee Messina, at No. 1 on Billboard's country chart.

23. "Back When" (2004)

Nostalgia for the way life used to be has been a common country them since long before the times McGraw proclaims nostalgia for in "Back When." But he gets the tone right – more bittersweet man out of time reading "Street Slang For Dummies" than raging cantankerous coot. And the honky-tonk flavor of the music definitely suits that tone. He just happens to miss the old, outdated way of life, "back when a hoe was a hoe / Coke was a coke / And crack's what you were doing / When you were cracking jokes / Back when a screw was a screw / The wind was all that blew / And when you said I'm down with that / Well it meant you had the flu." This one topped the country charts.

22. "My Little Girl" (2006)

This richly orchestrated soft-rock ballad sounds like it was written to be played at weddings while the father of the bride is dancing with his little girl. And it's more sweet than clingy, setting the tone with "Gotta hold on easy as I let you go / Gonna tell you how much I love you though you think you already know / I remember I thought you looked like an angel wrapped in pink so soft and warm / You've had me wrapped around your finger since the day you were born." It's a tear-jerker, naturally – probably more so for actual fathers of actual daughters. This one peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's country chart.

21. Meanwhile Back at Mama's (2014)

The latest in a long, successful line of duets he's recorded with his wife, Faith Hill. It begins with McGraw in a truck he can't afford, setting up "I'm runnin' out of credit and find a little Cash on the radio," which is clever enough. And with that, the stage is set for another song about the longing for the way it was back when at mama's, where the porch light's on and supper's on the stove. "Funny the things you thought you'd never miss," he sings, "in a world gone crazy as this." This one peaked at No. 7 on the country charts.

20. "Unbroken" (2002)

The production finds McGraw straying into alternative-rock territory and the chorus is straight-up pop-rock. But it topped the country charts regardless. It's a love song, effectively setting the tone with the sort of superlatives that have been making significant others swoon since sweet talk was invented. "If I lived and breathed before you loved me, I don't recall," he begins. "If I walked around at all, it was in bits and pieces of a jagged heart / You kissed me and every piece went back in place, every pain got erased / You held me up to the light." And now, he's magically unbroken.

19. "If You're Reading This" (2007)

The devastating premise for this song is laid out in the first line: "If you're reading this, my mama's sittin' there / Looks like I only got a one-way ticket over here / I sure wish I could give you one more kiss / And war was just a game we played when we were kids." It's a delicate balance, especially for a country performer, to show your support for the troops and the sacrifice required of those troops while slipping in a subtle anti-war theme. Musically, this orchestrated power ballad is closer to Bon Jovi territory than McGraw would tend to stray, but he handles it well with a poignant delivery. This one peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's country chart.

18. "Everywhere" (1997)

This wistful ballad is sent out to a former flame who didn't share his wanderlust and chose the only world she'd ever known over living the life of adventure/escape he so desperately craved. And now? He sees her everywhere, from "Albuquerque, waitin' out a blizzard" to "Arizona, dancin' 'cross the desert." This one spent two weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's country chart.

17. "One of Those Nights" (2012)

This is one of the poppier-sounding country songs he's done. And it suits the lyrical premise, a lightweight ode to making memories of the girl-in-cutoff-shorts variety. As he sings going into the chorus, "Sun sets, now you're halfway to heaven / She picks a song, you turn it up to 11 / You say, 'Do you wanna?' And she says, 'Hell yeah.' / So you hit the party, all your buddies are jealous." This one topped the country airplay charts.

16. "My Next Thirty Years" (2000)

A cowboy looks at 30 and decides it may be time to develop some healthier lifestyle choices, from learning to laugh and let things go to paying more attention to his health. "My next thirty years, I'm gonna watch my weight," he sings. "Eat a few more salads and not stay up so late / Drink a little lemonade and not so many beers / Maybe I'll remember my next thirty years." The sound is upbeat country soul with slinky funk guitar and Hammond B-3 organ, which suits to upbeat nature of the lyrics. It sounds like the sort of thing Solomon Burke might have covered in his later years. The fifth and final single released from "A Place in the Sun," it topped the country charts.

15. "My Best Friend" (1999)

McGraw draws you into this mid-tempo country-rock ballad with an aching delivery of a verse about how sad he was before he met that best friend. And by best friend, naturally, he means a woman he can love forever. "I never had no one I could count on," he sings in that opening verse. "I've been let down so many times / I was tired of hurtin' / So tired of searchin' / 'Til you walked into my life." But life with her makes perfect sense. It sounds like it was meant to be the sort of song a newly married couple chooses for their first dance. In a good way. It was one of three consecutive singles released from "A Place in the Sun" to top the country charts.

14. "It's Your Love," featuring Faith Hill (1997)

This soaring duet with his wife remains his highest-charting Hot 100 entry. He's "Better than I was / More than I am / And all of this happened / By takin' your hand." Hill's aching harmony supports him on the chorus, where he sings, "It's your love / It just does somethin' to me / It sends a shock right through me / I can't get enough." This one peaked at No. 7 on the Hot 100, spending six weeks in the top spot on the country chart. It also won vocal event of the year at CMA and ACM Awards (where it also won video, single and song of the year).

13. "Better Than I Used To Be" (2011)

This sounds like it was written for the soundtrack to a film about somebody joining a 12-step-program. And the opening line is brilliant: "I know how to hold a grudge / I can send a bridge up in smoke." McGraw's delivery really sells the pathos and the hope of the narrator's story, sighing "You ain't gotta dig too deep if you want to find some dirt on me / But I'm learning who you've been ain't who you've gotta be." And the understated orchestration does the rest. It's kind of perfect, really, for this sort of song, from the introduction of an aching pedal-steel line on the chorus to way he pulls out of that chorus with "I ain't as good as I'm gonna get but I'm better than I used to be." This one peaked at No. 5 on Billboard's country chart.

12. "Shotgun Rider" (2014)

Into each life some sun must shine. As great as he is at the heartbreaking ballads, McGraw has done his share of upbeat love songs. And apparently people like him happy, too. This song became his latest hit to top the country charts and it's easy to hear what people liked about it. As pledges of eternal love go, few have done a better job of capturing the sweet without degenerating into saccharine. Consider the singalong chorus: "I don't ever want to wake up / Lookin' into someone else's eyes / Another voice callin' me "Baby" on the other end of the phone / A new girl puttin' on her makeup before dinner on a Friday night / No I don't ever wanna know no other shotgun rider beside me singin' to the radio."

11. "Grown Men Don't Cry" (2001)

McGraw has a way with a tear-jerking ballad, and this orchestrated soft-rock gem is no exception. After setting the tone with an opening verse about regretting not stopping to help a little boy and his mother who live in a car, the second verse starts with him holding his old man's hand as a 10-year-old. "But it was just a dream," he says. "He was a slave to his job and he couldn't be around / So many things I wanna say to him / But I just place a rose on his grave, and I talk to the wind." It spent one week at No. 1 on Billboard's country chart.

10. "Not a Moment Too Soon" (1994)

This wistful ballad was his second song to top the country chart. And as the title would suggest, it's a song about finding the love of his life "not a moment too soon, without a minute to spare." In other words, this is nothing that hasn't been covered to death in several hundred country and/or soft-rock songs. But McGraw puts it out there with heart and conviction. And those backing vocals on the chorus do the rest. It spent two weeks at country No. 1.

9. "Please Remember Me" (1999)

This soaring, emotional ballad originally charted for critic's darling Rodney Crowell, who wrote it with Will Jennings. But where Crowell's version peaked at No. 69 on Billboard's country chart, McGraw spent five weeks in the top spot, also hitting No. 10 on Billboard's Hot 100. That makes this his highest-charting Hot 100 entry not to also feature wife Faith Hill. As the title suggests, it's a breakup song with an anthemic chorus hook that finds him singing, "You'll find better love / Strong as it ever was / Deep as the river runs / Warm as the morning sun / Please remember me."

8. "Angry All the Time" (2001)

He doesn't waste any time getting into the pathos here. "Here we are," he begins, "what is left of a husband and a wife / With four good kids who have a way of getting' on with their lives / And I'm not old but I'm gettin' a whole lot older every day / It's too late to keep from goin' crazy / I've got to get away." It's a devastating portrait of coming to terms with the thought that the person you've chosen to spend your life with is bringing you down. "You ain't the only one who feels like this world's left you far behind," he tells her on the chorus, with his own wife, Faith Hill adding harmonies. "I don't know why you gotta be angry all the time." This was the second consecutive heartbreaking ballad from "Set This Circus Down" to top the country charts.

7. "She Never Lets it Go to Her Heart" (1996)

The appeal of this mid-tempo country-rock ballad begins with the title, continuing country's longstanding tradition of clever wordplay in the title. And the lyrics follow suit, as McGraw sings the praises of a faithful love who "can turn every head but she never lets it go to her heart." It spent two weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's country chart.

6. "Something Like That" (1999)

This feel-good track is all about the groove, which takes the swagger of an old Tom Petty song and sticks it in a honky-tonk, with just enough blues in the piano fills and a whimsical delivery from McGraw. He sets the scene with "It was Labor Day weekend / I was 17 / I bought a Coke and some gasoline / And I drove out to the county fair / When I saw her for the first time / She was standing there in the ticket line / And it all started right then and there." This upbeat single spent five weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's country chart in 1999 and went on to be the top-played radio single in any genre in the 2000s.

5. "I Like It, I Love It" (1995)

Playful is a word that rarely comes to mind when thinking back on McGraw's biggest hits. But "I Like It, I Love It" is a spirited exception, a raucous good time in which he sings the praises of a woman so special, he's holding umbrellas and opening doors. You can almost hear him smile on the opening line: "Spent forty-eight dollars last night at the county fair / I throwed out my shoulder but I won her that teddy bear." Yes, he "throwed out" his shoulder. The guitar riff comes on like a cross between the Faces and the Georgia Satellites. And the fact that I can't figure out for sure if he recorded this one live or added people cheering for effect is probably a good thing. The first single out of the gate from "All I Want," McGraw's third album, this one spent five weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's country chart and was certified gold.

4. "Diamond Rings and Old Barstools" (2015)

The latest single from his latest album, "Sundown Heaven Town," is the sort of pathos-laden ballad at which McGraw has long excelled, with a rustic arrangement that places it closer to the Band than mainstream country with aching harmonies from cousin Catherine Dunn on the chorus. It's a faded-love song in which he sets the tone with "Diamond rings and old barstools / One's for queens and one's for fools / One's the future and one's the past / One's forever and one won't last." He really gets you on the chorus, though, with "I guess some things just don't mix like you hoped / Like me and you / And diamond rings and old barstools." And there's a chilling pregnant pause after he sings "Like me and you" that makes it that much more effective.

3. "Highway Don't Care," featuring Taylor Swift and Keith Urban (2013)

McGraw lined up some marquee names to join him on this cinematic highlight of "Two Lanes of Freedom." And you'd be hard pressed to fault the casting. Swift pleads, "I can't live without you" with all the heartache and vulnerability the part requires while Urban's guitar solo soars with a real sense of drama, like Neal Schon of Journey gone country. The single peaked at No. 4 on Billboard's country chart along the way to going double platinum.

2. "Just to See You Smile" (1997)

The instrumentation (fiddle, banjo, pedal steel guitar) should satisfy the most dogmatic country purist, but the homespun charm here is actually closer in spirit to '70s soft-rock. And yet, it never comes off sounding like the Eagles. McGraw's delivery nails the essence of this aching love song sent out to the one that got away, especially the scene in which she walks up with a new guy ("So I told you that I was happy for you / And given the chance, I'd lie again"). This one spent six weeks at the top on ofBillboard's country chart while enjoying the longest run of any 1990s single on that chart.

1. "Don't Take the Girl" (1994)

McGraw's first country No. 1 is a tear-jerking classic that eases the listener into the heartache with a verse about an eight-year-old McGraw being bummed when his dad invites a little girl to join them on their fishing trip. "Take any boy in the world," he pleads. But "Daddy please don't take the girl." Of course, they fall in love. And in the second verse, when they're held up at gunpoint in front of the picture show, McGraw tells the mugger to take his wallet, the watch his grandpa gave him, the keys to his car.... "but please don't take the girl." So far, no tears. But that's how these songs get you. Third verse, they're having a baby and "Doctor says the baby's fine but you'll have to leave 'cause his mama's fading fast." This one only spent two weeks at No. 1 but went on to be certified double-platinum.