Steve Earle’s 20 best songs, from wicked to freakin’ awesome

By Steve Newton

Steve Earle is one of my all-time favourite American singer-songwriters, right up there with Johns Fogerty and Mellencamp. No wonder I’ve interviewed him six times.

20. “Someday” (Guitar Town, 1986)

19. “The Other Kind” (The Hard Way, 1990)

18. “Somewhere Out There” (El Corazón, 1997)

17. “You’re Still Standin’ There” (I Feel Alright, 1996)

16. “When I Fall” (Transcendental Blues, 2000)

15. “My Old Friend the Blues” (Guitar Town, 1986)

14. “Taneytown” (El Corazón, 1997)

13. “The Rain Came Down” (Exit 0, 1987)

12. “The Galway Girl” (Transcendental Blues, 2000)

11. “The Devil’s Right Hand” (Copperhead Road, 1988)

10. “Ellis Unit One” (Dead Man Walking Soundtrack, 1996)

9. “Billy Austin” (The Hard Way, 1990)

8. “John Walker’s Blues” (Jerusalem, 2002)

7. “Guitar Town” (Guitar Town, 1986)

6. “Jerusalem” (Jerusalem, 2002)

5. “More Than I Can Do” (I Feel Alright, 1996)

4. “Harlem River Blues” (J.T., 2021)

3. “Copperhead Road” (Copperhead Road, 1988)

2. “I Ain’t Ever Satisfied” (Exit 0, 1987)

1. “Hard-Core Troubadour” (I Feel Alright, 1996)

To hear the full audio of my interviews with Steve Earle from 1987, 1990, 1996, and 2012 subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on over 500 of my uncut, one-on-one conversations with stellar musicians since 1982.