Meanwhile, he continued to write songs for other artists, with Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Trace Adkins, and Montgomery Gentry all recording songs he had co-written. Steele earned his first Number One song with Tim McGraw's "The Cowboy in Me" in 2002. In addition, Rascal Flatts reached Number One on the country charts in late 2002 with "These Days", their first Number One single. Steele also continued to record studio albums even while writing hits for other artists; his albums "Gold, Platinum, Chrome and Steele" and "You Gotta Start Somewhere" were both released in 2003, the same year that he was named Songwriter of the Year by both BMI and the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI). 2004 saw the release of his fourth studio album, "Outlaw", on the Lofton Creek Records label. By 2005, more than sixty of his songs had become chart hits for other artists; that same year, he received a second Songwriter of the Year award from the NSAI.