Taylor Swift Dominates Billboard’s 2011 Country Charts

As country music's reigning ACM and CMA Entertainer of the Year, as well the all-genre AMA Artist of the Year, there's really no surprise Taylor Swift is the No. 1 country artist of 2011. According to Billboard's year-end Top Country Artists chart, the 'Ours' singer, who landed at No. 8 on the all-genre artists countdown, dominated in every category of the country rankings, including album sales, radio airplay, download sales, tour revenue and ringtone sales. Rounding out the Top 10 (in order) are Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Zac Brown Band, Blake Shelton, the Band Perry, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley and Luke Bryan.

Taylor also took top honors on Billboard's year-end Country Albums and Country Albums Artist charts for her triple-platinum selling CD, 'Speak Now,' which has spawned four Top 5 singles, including her most recent No. 1, 'Sparks Fly.' The collection also landed at No. 2 on Billboard's year-end, all-genre Top 200 albums chart, placing just behind soul singer Adele's '21,' which has sold more than five million copies in the United States.

Blake Shelton asserted his CMA Male Vocalist of the Year superstar status with his first-place finish on the Country Songs Artists countdown, a comprehensive list based on country radio airplay. The singer charted two multi-week No. 1 singles with 'Honey Bee' and 'God Gave Me You,' which extended his consecutive chart-topping streak to five. Rounding out the Top 10 on the 2011 songs chart (in order) are Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Chris Young, Brad Paisley, Zac Brown Band and Luke Bryan.

The Eli Young Band had a breakout year with 'Crazy Girl,' which earned the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Country Singles chart. The tune landed in the top spot last month after spending more than eight months on the chart. The single has been certified platinum, signifying more than one million paid digital downloads.

Other notable country achievements are Thompson Square and Scotty McCreery's inclusion on the Top New Artists chart, coming in at No. 6 and No. 8, respectively. Alison Krauss and Union Station earned the No. 1 bluegrass album of 2011 with their critically-acclaimed collection, 'Paper Airplane.'



Click here to view the entire list of Billboard's year-end countdowns.