@Austin Glenn

Discover new music from artists we think you'll like. Refreshed every Friday.

Whether it’s Monday morning or Friday night, get going with this personalized mix of upbeat music.

Songs to help you relax and unwind. Updated every Sunday.

Discover new music from artists we think you'll like. Refreshed every Friday.

Alan Jackson's neo-traditional pop-country has influenced just about everything that's followed, whether on the country side or the pop side. Tim McGraw's “Southern Girl,” representing the former, floats on a smooth, Jackson-esque groove before distinguishing itself with an unexpected vocoder line. Meanwhile, Miranda Lambert's "The House That Built Me" revisits childhood memories with a gentleness worthy of Jackson himself.

Sam Hunt has spent a lot of time at the vanguard of innovation in country-pop, and his enthusiasm for experimentation has frequently produced novel and hyper-catchy results. In his own songs, Hunt’s magic country combos—mixing elements of Top 40, hip-hop, and sometimes even mid-20th-century honky-tonk samples—focus on a strong beat and unforgettable choruses, a gift he’s generously shared with artists like Reba McEntire and Keith Urban.

Randy Travis was a harbinger of the late-century return to classic country sounds, when many of the genre's artists explored their roots. Alan Jackson is a kindred spirit, with his Southern lilt carrying the fiddle-touched “Livin' On Love,” and Joe Nichols puts Travis' honky-tonk twang into “Brokenheartsville.” Brad Paisley's quaint “Waitin' On a Woman” recalls the older songwriter's folksy romantic leanings.

Other artists before Florida Georgia Line mixed country with pop, hip-hop, and R&B influences, but never with as much unbridled success. From the stadium-sized pop hooks of Dan + Shay and Cole Swindell's groove-conscious, party-hearty approach to the electro-hoedowns of LOCASH, country never sounded the same after FGL arrived on the scene.