BETTER MAN - CLINT BLACK

Co-written by the artist, this is the song that in 1989 broke Black into country music's big time - seemingly overnight. The chart-buster earned him the Academy of Country Music's Best Single and Best Male Vocalist that year, then catapulted him to winner of the coveted Horizon Award in his first year as a country artist.

ALWAYS ON MY MIND - WILLIE NELSON

This Gold and Platinum favorite from Johnny Christopher, Mark James, and Wayne Carson won Song of the Year at the 1982 Grammys and CMA Awards. In the years since, it's become a staple all across country radio stations and at country concerts.

ALMOST PERSUADED - DAVID HOUSTON

Judged by many as the best of Houston's seven Number One hits, this Sherrill-Sutton classic composition about love's tests, temptations, and triumphs walked away with the 1966 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Song, Best Recording, and Best Male Performance.

Thousands of incredible and unforgettable Original American Country songs have been released since the airwaves first began broadcasting our favorite country music early in the twentieth century. So it's admittedly foolish, if not downright impossible, to choose the thirty best. But we felt it was worth a try. Over the next few months, we'll be releasing the All Time Top 30 list with a song each week in alphabetical order.

These songs have been selected by OAC editors after countless rounds of debate, discussion, and threats to each other's personal safety. In the end we chose songs that in our judgement stand the test of time for all timeless art - and which also have made a lasting impact on the country music industry, a legendary artist's career, or both.

First song will be released right here on June 1, 2010. Enjoy.