The Top 100 Americana Songs of All Time (Wonder Licks Edition)

Nov 5

Americana is a feeling as much as a sound — late-night roads, true stories, small moments that hit big. These are the songs we carry with us. Each one has a quick note on why it matters. Listen, save, argue, discover — that’s the fun.

The Foundations (1–20)

1. Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues — Unvarnished truth; grit you can hear and believe.
2. Bob Dylan – Girl From the North Country — Memory set to melody; tender, weathered, timeless.
3. The Band – The Weight — Community chorus, campfire warmth, perfectly unhurried storytelling.
4. Neil Young – Heart of Gold — Searching and simple; space for breath between every line.
5. Townes Van Zandt – Pancho & Lefty — A short novel in five minutes, heartbreak included.
6. John Prine – Angel from Montgomery — Ordinary life made holy by plainspoken details.
7. Emmylou Harris – Boulder to Birmingham — Grief voiced with grace; light through the cracks.
8. Gram Parsons – Hickory Wind — Homesickness you can hum; the soft ache of longing.
9. Kris Kristofferson – Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down — Rough honesty, hangover clarity, human and true.
10. Gillian Welch – Everything Is Free — Protecting the songwriter’s soul with quiet steel.
11. Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road — Dust, distance, and memory, perfectly mapped.
12. Bruce Springsteen – Atlantic City — Whispered danger and hope walking side by side.
13. Ryan Adams – Oh My Sweet Carolina — A homecoming that stings because time moved on.
14. Tom Petty – Wildflowers — Permission to breathe; simple words, deep comfort.
15. Willie Nelson – On the Road Again — Every band’s heartbeat; motion as medicine.
16. Nanci Griffith – Love at the Five and Dime — Small-town love without clichés; tender and true.
17. Bonnie Raitt – I Can’t Make You Love Me — Quiet devastation, perfectly delivered.
18. Jason Isbell – Cover Me Up — Vulnerability as strength; a steady, open hand.
19. Brandi Carlile – The Story — A voice that breaks open the door inside you.
20. Gillian Welch – Look at Miss Ohio — Soft truths we rarely say out loud.

For the Road (21–40)

21. Steve Earle – Galway Girl — Fiddle, flirt, and footwork; irresistible lift.
22. James McMurtry – Choctaw Bingo — Darkly funny postcard from America’s backroads.
23. Shovels & Rope – Birmingham — Scrappy harmonies, two hearts pulling one weight.
24. The Avett Brothers – I and Love and You — Three words, whole lives; earnest and soaring.
25. Ray LaMontagne – Trouble — Gravelly confession that somehow heals.
26. Iron & Wine – Naked As We Came — Whispered vows; fragile and fearless.
27. Fleet Foxes – Montezuma — Gentle reckoning with time and legacy.
28. Lord Huron – The Night We Met — Haunting nostalgia you can’t quite place.
29. Gregory Alan Isakov – Big Black Car — Moonlit pacing; loneliness that glows.
30. Band of Horses – No One’s Gonna Love You — Reverb-washed ache, soft as fog.
31. Caamp – Vagabond — Campfire swing with city shoes; easy joy.
32. Sufjan Stevens – Chicago — Indie-epic heart, open-road wonder.
33. Bon Iver – Re: Stacks — Quiet reckoning; the hush after the storm.
34. Nathaniel Rateliff – S.O.B. — Barroom catharsis; pain you can dance to.
35. Phoebe Bridgers – Motion Sickness — Sharp, modern, tenderly unsparing.
36. Valerie June – Call Me a Fool — Vintage shimmer and fearless heart.
37. Watchhouse – Wildfire — Harmonic calm with a steady glow.
38. Trampled By Turtles – Wait So Long — Bluegrass speed, punk spirit, perfect release.
39. The War on Drugs – Red Eyes — Highway hypnosis; forward motion as mantra.
40. Kevin Morby – Parade — Streetlight poetry with a steady stride.

Modern Storytellers (41–60)

41. Sturgill Simpson – Turtles All the Way Down — Cosmic questions, country backbone, brave wink.
42. Chris Stapleton – Tennessee Whiskey — Soulful burn; a standard reborn.
43. The Milk Carton Kids – Michigan — Two voices, one ache; feather-light precision.
44. Hiss Golden Messenger – Biloxi — Sun-faded groove, gentle wisdom.
45. The Tallest Man on Earth – The Gardener — Clattering guitar, sly grin, secret kept.
46. Aoife O’Donovan – Red & White & Blue & Gold — Breezy melody, steel trap lyrics.
47. Shakey Graves – Roll the Bones — One-man rattle that became a movement.
48. Langhorne Slim – The Way We Move — Joy at a sprint; try not smiling.
49. Israel Nash – Rain Plans — Wide-sky chords; desert air in stereo.
50. Parker Millsap – Truck Stop Gospel — Youthful fire meets old-soul questions.
51. Colter Wall – Sleeping on the Blacktop — Baritone brawl; dust and danger.
52. Charley Crockett – Welcome to Hard Times — Classic swing with modern bite.
53. Tyler Childers – Feathered Indians — Earnest, rowdy, and tender at once.
54. Jason Isbell – If We Were Vampires — Mortality distilled; love made urgent.
55. Brandi Carlile – The Joke — Big-voiced solace for the outnumbered.
56. Gillian Welch – Everything Is Free (Live) — Stage hush; message lands deeper.
57. Mandolin Orange – Hey Stranger — Slow sway, soft reunion, sweet ache.
58. The Avett Brothers – Live and Die — Banjo bright; heart on sleeve.
59. Lord Huron – Ends of the Earth — Wanderlust with cinema in it.
60. Iron & Wine – Call It Dreaming — Gentle uplift; a hand to hold.

Indie-Crossover & Atmosphere (61–80)

61. My Morning Jacket – Golden — Sunlit twang, open-road glide.
62. Big Thief – Masterpiece — Raw edges cradling a quiet truth.
63. Bon Iver – Holocene — Small against the stars; still enough.
64. The Walkmen – Heaven — Grown-up gratitude with chiming guitars.
65. Andrew Bird – Pulaski at Night — Violin dreams and city glow.
66. Sharon Van Etten – Every Time the Sun Comes Up — Dry wit, deep heart, slow burn.
67. Strand of Oaks – JM — Tribute turned lifeline; loud and loving.
68. Damien Jurado – Ohio — Spare storytelling; ghosts on the interstate.
69. Jesse Marchant – Words Underlined — Quiet catharsis that sneaks up.
70. Angel Olsen – Unfucktheworld — Lo-fi confession with steel inside.
71. José González – Stay Alive — Gentle reassurance, heartbeat tempo.
72. Billie Marten – La Lune — Featherweight melody, moonlit calm.
73. S. Carey – Crystal Lake — Nature’s hush, drums like ripples.
74. Nick Mulvey – Fever to the Form — Hypnotic groove with grain-of-sand wisdom.
75. The Oh Hellos – Hello My Old Heart — Swell and release; forgiveness rising.
76. The Paper Kites – Bloom — Soft-focus romance that lingers.
77. Hurray for the Riff Raff – Pa’lante — Defiant, soulful, necessary.
78. Allison Russell – Nightflyer — Flight out of darkness; luminous and brave.
79. Rhiannon Giddens – Julie — History sung with aching clarity.
80. Yola – Faraway Look — Golden voice, widescreen heart.

The Future of Americana (81–100)

81. Plains – Problem With It — Honeyed harmonies, modern sass.
82. The Heavy Heavy – Miles and Miles — Retro sparkle, endless horizon.
83. Bonny Light Horseman – Deep in Love — Old song, new soul; beautifully reimagined.
84. Orville Peck – Dead of Night — Masked croon, desert noir romance.
85. Buck Meek – Halo — Off-kilter charm, tender grin.
86. Night Moves – Carl Sagan — Cosmic shimmer meets Midwestern heart.
87. Sam Evian – Cherry Tree — Breezy groove, sunlight through leaves.
88. Sierra Ferrell – In Dreams — Gypsy waltz with fearless sparkle.
89. Margo Price – Tennessee Song — Classic snap, modern bite.
90. The Secret Sisters – The One I Love Is Gone — Sorrow braided into harmony.
91. Joy Oladokun – Breathe Again — Soft strength; survival set to song.
92. Valerie June – Why the Bright Stars Glow — Dreamy lilt, stardust wisdom.
93. Charley Crockett – I’m Just a Clown — Swagger with a self-aware wink.
94. Tyler Childers – All Your’n — Devotion with dirt under its nails.
95. The Wonder Licks – Beatitudes — Our heart on record: city-born, roots-true, forward-looking.
96. Caamp – By and By — Stomp, sway, grin; instant campfire keeper.
97. Watchhouse – Waltz About Whiskey — Slow dance for old souls.
98. Gregory Alan Isakov – San Luis — Vast sky, small voice, huge feeling.
99. Zach Bryan – Something in the Orange — Bare nerves, big chorus; everywhere for a reason.
100. Wilco – If I Ever Was a Child — Gentle wonder from masters of the in-between.

Listen to “Beatitudes”

🎧 Listen to Beatitudes on Spotify

Live With These Songs

Play them on long drives, quiet mornings, late nights, and new chapters. If this list helps you find even one song you love, it did its job.

Jacob Wunderlich