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Genre
outlaw country
Parent Genre: country

Outlaw country is a subgenre of country music that emerged in the 1960s and 70s. It is characterized by a rebellious attitude and a rejection of the polished, mainstream sound of Nashville. Outlaw country artists often incorporate elements of rock and roll, blues, and folk into their music, and their lyrics often deal with themes of hard living, heartbreak, and social commentary. The genre has experienced a resurgence in recent years with the rise of artists who continue to push the boundaries of traditional country music.


Top artists of outlaw country genre

Chris Stapleton
Tyler Childers
Johnny Cash
Willie Nelson
Waylon Jennings
Colter Wall
Sturgill Simpson
Hank Williams, Jr.
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outlaw country music timeline

Explore outlaw country history by listening to songs from every decade. Click on the decade to view songs.

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s

Similar Genres to outlaw country

Discover more related genres to outlaw country genre. This list is ordered by similarity from left to right.

country rock texas country roots rock alternative country folk new americana traditional folk country roots americana red dirt indie folk country road folk rock singer-songwriter classic country pop contemporary country heartland rock nashville sound mellow gold modern country rock
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outlaw country playlist created by Chosic

Enjoy this playlist of popular outlaw country music. We made this playlist using an algorithm created by our team.

Play on spotify

List of outlaw country artists

Here is a list of outlaw country artists on Spotify, ranked based on popularity, who exemplifies the outlaw country genre. You can find out what outlaw country genre sounds like where you can preview artists or sort them the way you want, just click the headers to sort.

#namePopularity instrumentalnessdanceabilityenergyacousticnessHappinesstempofollowers
1
Chris Stapleton
78 7 55 51 28 45 121 5680188
2
Tyler Childers
77 4 50 43 64 54 129 1757206
3
Johnny Cash
74 2 60 43 69 63 112 5874916
4
Willie Nelson
71 3 56 37 65 45 112 1948490
5
Waylon Jennings
68 7 62 48 51 67 115 1307211
6
Colter Wall
68 8 58 31 73 47 119 896762
7
Sturgill Simpson
67 6 52 58 38 54 118 729993
8
Hank Williams, Jr.
66 0 62 55 27 62 112 1474312
9
Cody Jinks
65 3 55 64 9 49 119 856760
10
Travis Tritt
64 0 56 64 27 56 121 1278048
11
Kris Kristofferson
64 0 53 33 58 53 107 531035
12
Jamey Johnson
62 2 54 48 35 36 119 665753
13
Merle Haggard
61 3 64 38 50 58 114 1209165
14
Steve Earle
61 6 51 59 30 63 136 264737
15
The Highwaymen
61 2 62 53 55 54 99 610674
16
Aaron Lewis
60 0 60 59 40 41 127 792756
17
Ryan Bingham
59 2 50 64 30 44 133 428889
18
David Allan Coe
57 0 57 52 40 63 117 830673
19
Wheeler Walker Jr.
56 0 60 74 13 62 121 324358
20
Tanya Tucker
55 0 58 43 54 60 115 608130
21
Bobby Bare
55 0 57 47 60 65 118 167333
22
Lyle Lovett
55 0 54 33 53 43 118 191787
23
Townes Van Zandt
54 0 54 29 73 50 113 306372
24
Margo Price
54 1 61 64 26 61 132 122920
25
Tom T. Hall
53 0 59 44 58 77 114 241607
26
Randy Rogers Band
53 1 54 69 11 49 127 281618
27
Lucinda Williams
52 1 54 46 38 45 114 226395
28
Johnny Paycheck
51 1 66 46 44 66 119 343265
29
Hank Williams III
50 7 59 77 18 75 133 258556
30
Neko Case
49 0 43 55 46 34 126 209646
31
Cross Canadian Ragweed
49 0 48 75 18 53 127 214101
32
Whitey Morgan and the 78's
49 11 56 69 9 58 107 127713
33
Blaze Foley
49 10 54 23 84 46 119 81265
34
Rodney Crowell
49 1 62 54 42 61 127 89295
35
Robert Earl Keen
48 0 60 44 48 59 121 173596
36
Nikki Lane
48 5 54 68 15 53 130 66008
37
Charlie Daniels
48 0 64 72 27 78 105 409750
38
Angaleena Presley
48 0 0 0 0 0 0 16516
39
Wade Bowen
47 0 54 61 17 40 120 152578
40
Hayes Carll
47 0 53 52 49 49 120 119884
41
Leon Russell
47 0 53 47 42 62 117 245346
42
The Soggy Bottom Boys
47 0 0 0 0 0 0 46342
43
Shooter Jennings
47 1 44 69 12 51 123 181976
44
Guy Clark
46 0 60 31 69 46 111 124829
45
Buddy Miller
46 0 49 44 39 51 127 30032
46
Gary Stewart
45 0 65 49 45 70 120 50009
47
Stoney LaRue
45 0 56 57 32 42 114 173011
48
Billy Joe Shaver
45 3 63 51 39 76 120 110399
49
James McMurtry
44 4 57 60 34 54 127 79434
50
Ray Wylie Hubbard
44 0 60 60 40 67 122 110820
51
Michael Martin Murphey
43 0 59 38 42 53 114 36948
52
Jerry Jeff Walker
43 7 50 43 41 65 136 123104
53
Chris Shiflett
42 0 51 82 0 61 103 14246
54
Sammi Smith
41 11 49 28 75 42 105 25644
55
Roger Alan Wade
41 0 55 42 75 59 132 35191
56
Jessi Colter
41 1 62 30 52 49 109 44245
57
Jason Boland & The Stragglers
41 0 58 66 19 61 117 119320
58
Johnny Rodriguez
40 1 60 35 69 57 111 51366
59
Kevin Fowler
39 0 57 75 22 71 126 107701
60
Cory Morrow
38 0 54 81 17 60 124 74996
61
Scott H. Biram
38 16 51 62 60 61 112 44624
62
Gary P. Nunn
37 0 60 64 26 72 131 25526
63
Roger Creager
36 0 61 61 34 61 124 89275
64
Eleven Hundred Springs
35 0 65 66 25 71 119 22851
65
Ray Scott
34 2 68 66 26 62 115 15914
66
Ed Bruce
34 0 58 44 56 66 105 13447
67
Mel Tillis
34 1 66 50 61 90 123 116394
68
Tift Merritt
34 1 57 45 46 42 103 35219
69
Wayne Hancock
34 0 66 57 47 78 123 29495
70
Elizabeth Cook
34 0 55 73 15 65 132 17824
71
Dale Watson
34 15 60 68 28 78 127 33353
72
Joe Ely
33 0 55 55 17 51 123 32518
73
The Flatlanders
32 0 58 43 36 60 131 17049
74
Lindi Ortega
32 0 51 71 24 44 130 26465
75
Doug Sahm
30 2 53 54 28 71 120 18340
76
Jim Lauderdale
29 0 60 63 26 65 109 9745
77
Jimmie Dale Gilmore
26 0 56 47 29 54 121 12520
78
Mickey Newbury
25 0 46 21 73 39 107 10065
79
Steve Young
25 0 53 36 52 44 98 9535
80
Kinky Friedman
25 0 51 43 48 60 112 13951
81
Larry Jon Wilson
24 1 62 46 50 54 93 3714
82
Donnie Fritts
19 0 75 43 62 63 120 2804
83
Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash
18 5 57 70 10 73 144 6915
84
The Knitters
17 0 55 29 71 65 121 4375
85
Butch Hancock
14 0 61 64 30 56 108 964
86
Unknown Hinson
7 0 51 52 69 77 67 5709
87
Tompall Glaser
6 0 0 0 0 0 0 565
88
Don Bowman
4 0 0 0 0 0 0 293