Zach Top is, without a doubt, changing the country music landscape for the better. The Washington state native is turning back the clock and transporting listeners back to the thick of the '90s, bringing back the sound of artists like Keith Whitley, Alan Jackson, and George Strait. While the internet took inspiration from his sound too far, creating a conspiracy theory that he is Alan Jackson's son, there's no denying that the two mustached men share many similarities sound-wise. While some say that Top's sound is a dead ringer for Jackson, Top has always said that he never wanted to be a '90 gimmick, but his sound was heavily influenced by what he grew up listening to. https://www.instagram.com/p/DElEBU2yOTp/ In a recent Billboard interview, Top noted that he is honored to be compared to the legends of the past and is happy to spearhead the movement back to that sound. "Obviously, I've got sonically, a reminiscent sort of thing going on from the '90s stuff. But I kind of...I feel like I cut my teeth on the same kind of stuff the '90s guys cut theirs on. For one thing, I'm honored that people see me as sort of a spearhead or a leader back towards traditional country music or country music the way that I feel in love with it and, you know, still love. It's a fun spot to be in, and I think it's a lot of just the right place at the right time sort of thing."  Similar to Ashley McBryde's statement about moving away from the touchstones of country music and how if we move too far away from them, the genre is in trouble, Zach Top feels the genre has a natural tendency to continually return to those roots or touchstones. Zach Top agrees that when a "new and a little edgy" sound comes along, people get excited and embrace it for a while. However, the craving for traditional country grows as time passes, and the genre returns to its classic sound. "We've got our bread and butter, the roots, the traditions where we came from, and then something new and a little edgy comes along, and everybody gets excited about that, for good reason. And (they) kind of run with that for a little while until people are like, 'Yeah, but this is where we came from. Let's get back to it a little bit.' So I think I came along at the right time for that."  I think Zach Top would be a hit no matter what his breakout timing was, but his rapid launch into stardom was a part of the timing. Many country music listeners were getting tired of hearing the same pop country songs, and as we moved out of bro country, soulful artists like Chris Stapleton were taking off. Still, no one with that neo-traditional twang, a true '90s throwback, was in the mainstream limelight... until Zach Top was discovered. Zach Top appeals to multiple generations, which is heavily in his favor. He will keep getting bigger, and I am here for it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut_k2_xdjUc