Despite a varied catalog featuring quite a few twangy odes to the past, some old souls dismiss Garth Brooks as a pop act. To shut down such limiting notions about Brooks, look no further than his debut album.
The now-32-year-old Garth Brooks album — released on April 12, 1989 — honors tradition while pushing ‘80s country’s nostalgic bent into a new, fiscally successful decade. There’s the tale of small-town eccentric “Cowboy Bill,” the legend-launching single “If Tomorrow Never Comes” and a number of other old-school country gems.
The 10-song collection is without a single dud, which makes picking its best songs a difficult task. Read on to see The Boot’s ranking of Garth Brooks‘ tracks, then let us know how you rate the tracks on one of country music’s most important debut albums: