Country music is officially one of music’s biggest money-makers. Combing the revenue of tours and album sales from 2000-2009, the LA Times compiled a list of the top ten ‘Ultimate Performers’ of the decade, with three of country’s biggest stars making the grade.

Kenny Chesney comes in at the No.2 slot, directly behind powerhouse vocalist Celine Dion. With an estimated revenue of $742 million, there was just under $8 million separating the country superstar from Celine, who spent five years as the star of one of the highest-grossing Las Vegas shows ever, helping her reach a combined income of $747.9 million. Following Kenny, the Dave Matthews band came in at $737.4 million, with the Beatles at $627.3 million (thanks to tours by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr) and U2 at $609.7 million.

Country music showed up again with Toby Keith at No.6 amassing almost $592 million. Bruce Springsteen is right behind him with $588.3 million, followed by the Rolling Stones at $569.6 million. Tim McGraw came in at No. 9 with $550.2 million, thanks to two succesful ‘Soul2Soul’ tours with his wife, Faith Hill, as well as a few solo treks during the decade. Rounding out the top ten is Britney Spears at $494.3 million.

In the list of ‘Ultimate Performers’ for 2009, country music again proved its worth, with Taylor Swift in the No.7 slot, with just over $83 million made in one year, followed by Kenny at No. 8 with $81 million. The year’s top honor went to U2, with an impressive $137 million in revenue for 2009.

Kenny Chesney, who along with Toby had record-breaking tours this past decade, has decided to take time off the road this year, while he works on a new album. Tim is hitting the road for his ‘Southern Voice’ tour, with opening acts Lady Antebellum, Lost Trailers and Love and Theft. Toby, in addition to having a No. 1 album with ‘American Ride’ is also hard at work heading the newly formed Show Dog-Universal South label.

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