Women have been a part of country music from day one, however, today's women in country are having tremendous success, spending more time in the Top 10, and even having some of the highest grossing tours.

In 1998, country's female singers held the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Hot Country Singles charts an astonishing 23 weeks. That's 44% of the year! Compare that to 1995 when female singers were at the top 15% of the time. You can definitely see that it's great to be a woman in country music these days.

Women's success is not only limited to the charts. Shania had the third best-selling tour last year. Reba had the fourth and LeAnn Rimes had the sixth. It's easy to see that women have proved without a doubt that they can compete with men in all areas.

Todays females sing about social issues as well. Take for example, "Independence Day", by Martina McBride, which speaks about spousal abuse, and "Black Eyes, Blue Tears," by Shania Twain, also speaking of abuse, and "Stand Beside Me," by Jo Dee Messina, about being equal partners, and "Everytime I Cry" by Terri Clark about abuse of all kinds. These songs speak to our hearts.

It's not only the country charts that todays female country artists are topping. Martina McBride had a Top 5 pop hit with her song "Valentine," and LeAnn Rimes had a chart topper in 1997 with "How Do I Live." Last year, Shania Twain had her biggest-selling crossover hit with "You're Still The One," and Faith Hill had a Top 5 pop hit with the infectous This Kiss.

On the Internet, there are many sites dedicated to todays women in country. One of the most popular sites would have to be Women of Country, which contains news, reviews, featured monthly artists, and more, all about the women of country music. If you're looking for a site that covers all female artists, this is the one that I recommend visiting.

There is no way that I can include all women of country in this feature, however you can find links below to many popular female country stars below.

Note: Since this feature originally came out in 1999 there have been several new females on the country scene, I've added them to the list.