Listen to Waylon and Willie sing one of their biggest hits.

With country music very much a pop confection, a ragtag collective of artists took the outsider spirit of rock n roll and turned it into a vast movement.  The Outlaw movement was coined after country music's first million-selling album "Meet The Outlaws." Aside from the "outlaws" profiled below, new artists such as Charley Pride ("Kiss an Angel Good Morning") and Conway Twitty ("Hello Darlin' ") emerged to break the mold of the Nashville Sound. Southern Country Rockers such as The Outlaws, The Marshall Tucker Band, David Allan Coe, The Charlie Daniels Band, and others took country to a new, higher level. Without a doubt, though, it was the outlaws who defined this era in country music.

Fiercely independent, Jamey Johnson recorded much of "That Lonesome Song" on his own prior to licensing it to Mercury Nashville in early 2008. It's a complete song cycle that chronicles a dark period in Johnson's life. Like all great songwriters, he's channeled that darkness into a stark collection of timeless songs.

For the last 40 days we've counted down the top 40 songs so that we'd end right here, on January 1, 2009, with our Top Country single of 2008.  If you've followed along you probably figured out this one'd be our favorite.  Now you can read what makes this song the best.

Jason Boland & The Stragglers have been making records for about a decade now and, like any band, they've endured many highs and just about as many lows.  Completely sober for the first time, Boland chronicles some of those highs and lows on his latest release, with the help of expert producer Lloyd Maines.