January 20 — Billboard magazine begins basing the Hot Country Singles chart entirely on radio airplay through Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems (BDS), which uses a computerized system to detect actual radio spins. The number of chart positions is reduced from 100 to 75. The new system has an immediate effect on how long the year's biggest songs stay at No. 1:February 3 — "Nobody's Home" by Clint Black becomes the first three-week No. 1 since Randy Travis' "Forever and Ever, Amen" in 1987.April 7 — Travis' "Hard Rock Bottom Of Your Heart" breaks the four-week barrier, the first since 1978's "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys" by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.July 7 — "Love Without End, Amen" by George Strait is Billboard's first five-week No. 1 song, matching 1977's "Here You Come Again" by Dolly Parton. Incidentally, "Love Without End, Amen" is Strait's first multi-week chart-topper, after his first 18 No. 1s had spent just one week on top.Just 23 songs would reach the chart's summit in 1990, 13 of them multi-weekers; this was fewer than half the number that reached the top of the chart a year earlier, and the fewest since 1972.
The Smithsonian Institution releases Classic Country Music: A Smithsonian Collection, a 100-track, four-volume set including the most important and notable songs in the genre's history, from 1924 to 1987. The set, which includes an 84-page booklet by historian Bill Malone, replaces the Smithsonian's eight-volume, 143-track set – titled The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Country Music – issued in 1981.The release of
Classic Country Music: A Smithsonian Collection continues a trend towards chronicling the genre's history via
compact disc during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Time-Life Music's
Country USA series continued to issue new albums, while
Columbia Records issues its five-volume
Country Classics series during the summer. Rhino Records also releases ten volumes of
Billboard Top Country Singles, each depicting the top 10 songs from the years 1959 through 1968.
Hee Haw (1969-1993, syndicated)March 30 — Thomas Rhett, singer-songwriter, son of singer-songwriter Rhett Akins.April 10 — Maren Morris, musician and singer-songwriter known for her 2016 hit "My Church".May 17 — Kree Harrison, singer and musician, who was the runner-up on the twelfth season of American Idol.May 27 — Brett Kissel, Canadian country singer of the 2010s.July 23 — Neil Perry, member of The Band Perry.July 27 — Cheyenne Kimball, member of Gloriana from 2008-2011.April 26 - Wesley Rose, 72, president of Acuff-Rose Music publishing.August 15 — Lew DeWitt, 52, tenor and founding member of the Statler Brothers (complications from Crohn's disease)October 31 — Carl Belew, 59, best known for writing the song "Am I That Easy to Forget" (cancer)Tennessee Ernie Ford (1919-1991)Gordie TappRon SparlingBest Female Country Vocal Performance — "Where've You Been," Kathy MatteaBest Male Country Vocal Performance — "When I Call Your Name," Vince GillBest Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — Pickin' on Nashville, The Kentucky HeadhuntersBest Country Collaboration with Vocals — "Poor Boy Blues," Chet Atkins and Mark KnopflerBest Country Instrumental Performance — "So Soft, Your Goodbye," Chet Atkins and Mark KnopflerBest Country Song — "Where've You Been," Don Henry and Jon VesnerBest Bluegrass Recording — "I've Got That Old Feeling," Alison KraussCountry Male Vocalist of the Year — George FoxCountry Female Vocalist of the Year — Rita MacNeilCountry Group or Duo of the Year — Prairie OysterEntertainer of the Year — Garth BrooksSong of the Year — "The Dance," Tony Arata (Performer: Garth Brooks)Single of the Year — "Friends in Low Places," Garth BrooksAlbum of the Year — No Fences, Garth BrooksTop Male Vocalist — Garth BrooksTop Female Vocalist — Reba McEntireTop Vocal Duo — The JuddsTop Vocal Group — ShenandoahTop New Male Vocalist — Alan JacksonTop New Female Vocalist — Shelby LynneTop New Vocal Duo or Group — Pirates of the MississippiVideo of the Year — "The Dance," Garth Brooks (Director: John Lloyd Miller)Bud Country Fans' Choice Award — k.d. langMale Artist of the Year — George FoxFemale Artist of the Year — Michelle WrightGroup of the Year — Prairie OysterSOCAN Song of the Year — "Pioneers," Barry BrownSingle of the Year — "Goodbye, So Long, Hello," Prairie OysterAlbum of the Year — Absolute Torch and Twang, k.d. langTop Selling Album — Rita, Rita MacNeilVideo of the Year — "Pioneers," Family BrownVista Rising Star Award — Patricia ConroyDuo of the Year — Gary Fjellgaard and Linda KidderEntertainer of the Year — George StraitSong of the Year — "Where've You Been," Don Henry and Jon Vezner (Performer: Kathy Mattea)Single of the Year — "When I Call Your Name," Vince GillAlbum of the Year — Pickin' on Nashville, The Kentucky HeadhuntersMale Vocalist of the Year — Clint BlackFemale Vocalist of the Year — Kathy MatteaVocal Duo of the Year — The JuddsVocal Group of the Year — The Kentucky HeadhuntersHorizon Award — Garth BrooksMusic Video of the Year — "The Dance," Garth Brooks (Director: John Lloyd Miller)Vocal Event of the Year — "'Til a Tear Becomes a Rose," Lorrie Morgan and Keith WhitleyMusician of the Year — Johnny GimbleCountry Music AssociationInductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame 