Miranda Lambert remains one of the most impactful voices in modern country music. Put simply, she's a legend in her own time, and we're all just along for the ride. If you ever wondered what it's like to watch somebody like Loretta Lynn or Johnny Cash in their heyday, well, it'd look a lot like watching Lambert do her thing right now.
The fiery blonde from a small Texas town has always done things her way. Her first trip to Nashville brought her to tears, but she returned with a vengeance and made the music she wanted to make. A brief stint on "Nashville Star" gave her a minor platform, but Lambert built everything on the back of interesting and thoughtful songs with out-of-the-box production. She's one of country music's true rock stars.
From her breakout hit "Me and Charlie Talking," the fierce "White Liar" or the cutting "Baggage Claim," she's never shied away from being real. Whether she's living like a hippie ("Highway Vagabond"), rocking some cheap "Pink Sunglasses" or plotting "Somethin' Bad" with Carrie Underwood, her fans are always taking the journey right alongside her.
With nine major-label albums under her belt (not counting her output with the Pistol Annies or a self-titled and self-released CD from 2001), she's got a wealth of material to choose from. Picking the best country songs from one of the best country singers and writers of our day ain't easy. Here are the 20 best songs Lambert's released to date.
John Shearer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy By 2022, Lambert was a bucket list co-writer and duet partner for some of the top Nashville stars to follow her lead. Luke Combs lived both dreams with this country rocker that pairs together two generational voices. Rich Fury/ACMA2019/Getty Images for ACM A very Texas song, it's easy to imagine "Tequila Does" sparking a singalong in one of those late '70s outlaw country songwriting sessions, like the famous one in the film "Heartworn Highways" featuring Rodney Crowell and friends. John Shearer/WireImage One of Lambert's best albums begins with this hard country stunner that's the type of story-song that nowadays could've spawned an Ashley McBryde concept album. Bonus points for the '90s country-style backup vocals. Rick Diamond/Getty Images Lambert played her own role in paving the way for country to be cool again with songs like "Baggage Claim," which is bold yet catchy enough to be an ideal song for a Lainey Wilson duet if Lambert ever brings her onstage as a surprise. Charley Gallay/WireImage Lambert's got a few songs about being a free spirit, riding across America in an RV or tour bus as opposed to drifting across the Old West on a horse. This one's less obvious of an example than, say, "Highway Vagabond," but it's still among Lambert's best. Tony R. Phipps/FilmMagic When she's not shining as a country-rocker at heart, Lambert soars just as high with mellower, story-driven songs. This example of the latter stands the test of time as one of Lambert's finest vocal performances. Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy Lambert co-wrote this fun song from Wildcard with Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna and Liz Rose. Inspired by something her mom and grandmother used to say, essentially "it will come out in the wash," the end result is this cheeky and lighthearted country tune that earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Song. Ethan Miller/Getty Images This collaboration with King was one of the best country songs to come from 2021. It was the first time a female duet topped the charts in decades, literally since Reba McEntire's Linda Davis collaboration "Does He Love You" was released in 1993. King co-wrote the song with Martin Johnson, and she and Lambert memorably performed it together at the 2021 ACM Awards. John Shearer/Getty Images for Miranda Lambert This western-inspired track from Lambert's latest album Palomino is reminiscent of Beyoncé's hit song "If I Were a Boy." But in the best country way. It's one of the standout songs from the album and has one heck of a music video. Terry Wyatt/ACMA2020/Getty Images for ACM Another standout track from Wildcard, "Bluebird" was nominated for pretty much every award under the sun after its release, earning the CMA Award for Video of the Year. Lambert co-wrote this song just days after she married her current husband, Brendan McLoughlin. Also inspired by the Charles Bukowski poem, the song is full of hope, fitting as Lambert embarked on a new chapter in her personal life. Kevin Winter/ACM2009/Getty Images for ACM Off her 2009 studio album Revolution, "Only Prettier" sums up Miranda Lambert's fiery side to a T. Indeed, if there were only one song to summarize her snarky side, this would be it. The Natalie Hemby co-write perfectly captures the backhanded Southern politeness many grew up knowing all too well. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic "Gunpowder & Lead" became Lambert's highest-charting single to that point in 2008 and the first top 10 of her career. Considering it's the album opener on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, it certainly suits the title. Over a decade later, "Gunpowder & Lead" remains a huge fan favorite and one of country's best "stand up for yourself" songs. Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic for Country Music Association The title track off her debut album, "Kerosene" was a "co-write" with Steve Earle. Well, not really. But Lambert gave him credit for unconsciously inspiring her in the melody and structure. Which is really quite unconventional, especially for a young artist on her debut record. The song certainly sparked a bit of the "fire starter" persona around a then 20-year-old Lambert. Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times A co-write with Lambert's then-spouse Blake Shelton, "Over You" sounds like it would've been no less at home years earlier at Lilith Fair than it's been at CMA Fest and other contemporary country showcases. It's framed as a love song, but a closer listen leaves you with the impression that it's not a romantic love song. In the last verse, Lambert mentions seeing it "set in stone," which is the most on-the-nose she gets about this being the loss of a loved one. It's just one of the many little nuances that make this song so great. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images This tune comes courtesy of Audra Mae, who wrote and recorded "Little Red Wagon" for her own project in 2012. After Lambert heard the song, she struck up a friendship with Mae, even writing with her several times. Eventually, she asked Mae if she could record it herself and brought her in to sing background vocals, too. The song became a surprise fan favorite and a Top 10 single. Kevin Winter/WireImage Lambert wrote "Bathroom Sink" by herself and never released it as a single, but she still chose to perform it at the 2015 CMA Awards. Every good writer strives to take something commonplace and make it a greater metaphor for life, and on this tune, Lambert proves to be the master of such a difficult task. It also hits hard when one of the biggest stars in country music sing lines like, "It's amazing the amount of rejection that I see in my reflection." David Becker/Getty Images for ACM Written alongside Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, "Vice" was Lambert's first new song since her divorce from Shelton and the first song released from her career-defining album The Weight Of These Wings. The music video features a shell-shocked Lambert crawling out of a car accident to a small town in Texas. The video is full of all kinds of symbolism, just like the song, and again perfectly toys with expectations of what the country world "expects" from the singer. The track is standout on an album filled with gems like "Smoking Jacket," "Ugly Lights" and "Pink Sunglasses." Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images When Lambert performed "Tin Man" at the ACM Awards with nothing but a guitar, she brought the entire crowd to its knees— before ultimately bringing them to their feet. It's among the best moments in country award show history. She wrote the song with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall, which probably felt like a bit of a full-circle moment for Lambert, who originally connected with producer Frank Liddell thanks to his work on Ingram's album Electric. Rick Diamond/Getty Images for BMI "Mama's Broken Heart" went to country radio in 2013 and, for a while, felt like the only interesting or unique song on all of mainstream radio (that was the height of the bro-country era, after all). Amazingly, the song never hit No. 1, but it became a defining song for a long while and also helped drastically raise the profile of Kacey Musgraves and Brandy Clark, who wrote it alongside Shane McAnally. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images Apparently, the way Lambert heard the song is embellished a bit, but Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin's "The House That Built Me" is one of the best songs in 21st century country music, period. And the way Lambert captured it and made it her own (they wrote it with a man singing it in mind) just goes to show the magic she can add to something. The song eventually earned her a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and, on her third record, cemented Lambert as country's new queen."Outrunnin' Your Memory" (With Luke Combs) (Growin' Up, 2022)
"Tequila Does" (Wildcard, 2019)
"Over You" (Four the Record, 2011)
"Baggage Claim" (Four the Record, 2011)
"Airstream Song" (Revolution, 2009)
"Makin' Plans" (Revolution, 2009)
"It All Comes Out in the Wash" (Wildcard, 2019)
"Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)" with Elle King (King's Come Get Your Wife, 2021)
"If I Was a Cowboy" (Palomino, 2022)
"Bluebird" (Wildcard, 2019)
"Only Prettier" (Revolution, 2009)
"Gunpowder & Lead" (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, 2007)
"Kerosene" (Kerosene, 2005)
"Over You" (Four the Record, 2011)
"Little Red Wagon" (Platinum, 2014)
"Bathroom Sink" (Platinum, 2014)
"Vice" (The Weight of These Wings, 2016)
"Tin Man" (The Weight of These Wings, 2016)
"Mama's Broken Heart" (Four the Record, 2011)
"The House That Built Me" (Revolution, 2009)
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This article from 2018 previously ran on Aug. 1, 2022 and was updated on March 7, 2024.
