Music genres

We love talking about all music genres and their evolution. Seeing how they are born, who their precursors are, which bands take them to greater heights in terms of quality, the artists who join the winning team when they are already successful, and the wear and tear inherent in any music style derived from the passage of time. In many cases, it’s not just the artists who jump on the bandwagon (though they do too), but also the record labels taking advantage of the success and paying more attention to groups that can represent a widely accepted and demanded musical form in the market.

In this category, besides defining what a music genre is, we will also delve into what defines a music genre, what makes it such, and what differentiates it from other perhaps similar ones to the ear. After all, music is not only different because of the type or style each band cultivates, but also because of the different origins of these collectives. This affects both traditional rock music and the concept we have of pop music worldwide, which is not the same in French music as it is in English, for example. Many genres have a rich history or very unique geographic significance, musical roots that go far beyond the 20th century, or a very limited longevity.

So, in this section, we have prepared a series of articles dedicated to both music styles and specific periods within a single genre (which allows us to cover many more songs than to recommend). Here are some examples of what you will find at the end of this page:

• Nu Metal
• K-Pop
• Reggae
• Rap

What is a music genre? What defines and differentiates each one

Under any circumstances, it is best to start with a definition as clear as possible: a music genre is a category that identifies musical pieces as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions more or less accepted by a vast majority of music experts. In theory, we should distinguish it from musical form and musical style, although in practice, these terms are sometimes used interchangeably. We’re guilty of it too.
If you’ve ever wondered why there is a need to classify music by genres, the main reason is to accurately perceive the things we hear and describe them to others. The terms used to define a music genre are always an approximation and therefore relative, which means there are no “correct” or definitive categorizations. On the other hand, many bands have blended different musical forms with astonishing naturalness, especially when it comes to mixing regional styles with more global ones.

How many types of music genres are there?

According to the website Music Genre List, there are 41 indisputable music genres, and within those categories, there are 337 music subgenres. So, there you have it. We make so many lists that we’ve crossed the line a long time ago.
That said, we have selected 20 music genres because we believe these are the ones that still hold some interest among the current audience and media. To begin with, because according to the website we linked before, alternative music is itself a musical form, and its subgenres are also of other styles. It’s like a labyrinth that we will try to summarize and simplify, focusing on what really matters.

Despite what was mentioned in the previous paragraph about the main music genres we will show, we will base the list of subgenres within them on what the aforementioned website displays since it serves as a reference for all music enthusiasts (experts or not). None of this is set in stone, and a visit to the list of genres on AllMusic is enough to realize that. And if you want even more, then it’s best to visit RYM, the most comprehensive catalog to get to know the most relevant bands of each music genre. This categorization has been developed with the help of the three linked pages.

Avant-Garde

Avant-Garde music is characterized by its special attention to innovation within its field. It often criticizes existing aesthetic conventions, rejects the status quo in favor of unique or original elements, and deliberately seeks to be challenging or alienating to listeners. Avant-Garde music can be distinguished from experimental music by the way it takes an extreme position within a certain tradition, while experimental music lies outside any tradition.
In a way, this music genre is a subgenre of many others but is relevant for its role within all of them. Therefore, most of its forms can be found in the following styles.

Blues

The term “blues” is used to refer to something sad, depressed, or troubled. It’s natural that blues music evokes such feelings, but this harmonious genre is also emotional in a myriad of other ways. In fact, no matter what comes to mind when you think of blues, it’s likely to be meaningful, and there’s a good reason for that. Blues, as a genre, has a deep and uncompromising past that touches people at all stages of life.
Blues lyrics tend to address adversity and intimately personal situations. It’s more than just self-pity or memories. It’s music that speaks about overcoming bad luck, telling people how you feel, and even includes relaxing and having fun.

Moreover, blues is ubiquitous in jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll (which was defined as blues made by whites back in the ’50s). It is characterized by the call-and-response pattern (a succession of two different musical phrases, usually performed by different musicians, with the second phrase being a direct comment, or response, to the first phrase), the blues scale, and specific chord progressions, of which the 12-bar blues is the most common.

Subgenres of Blues

• Acoustic Blues
• African Blues
• Blues Rock
• Blues Shouter
• British Blues
• Canadian Blues
• Chicago Blues
• Classic Blues
• Classic Female Blues
• Contemporary Blues
• Contemporary R&B
• Country Blues
• Delta Blues
• Detroit Blues
• Electric Blues
• Folk Blues
• Gospel Blues
• Harmonica Blues
• Hill Country Blues
• Hokum Blues
• Jazz Blues
• Jump Blues
• Kansas City Blues
• Louisiana Blues
• Memphis Blues
• Modern Blues
• New Orlean Blues
• NY Blues
• Piano Blues
• Piedmont Blues
• Punk Blues
• Ragtime Blues
• Rhythm Blues
• Soul Blues
• St. Louis Blues
• Soul Blues
• Swamp Blues
• Texas Blues
• Urban Blues
• Vandeville
• West Coast Blues
• Zydeco

Classical

Classical music is difficult to define in specific terms, but it is generally understood as music rooted in the traditions of Western Europe and performed by musicians trained in formal settings such as concert halls, opera theaters, and churches. Its key emphasis is on faithful interpretation of the scores written by composers.

The roots of classical music can be traced back to the melodies of medieval religious chants. Its contemporary incarnation encompasses everything from opera and symphony orchestras to chamber ensembles, solo works, choral music, songs, film music, and avant-garde compositions. Works from the intermediate centuries constitute the majority of recorded repertoire and reflect the artistic and architectural trends of the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras in their sound worlds and conceptions.

The dichotomy between classical and popular music is a relatively recent cultural development. In fact, much of what is considered classical music today emerged, was influenced, or directly originated from the popular music of its time.

Subgenres of Classical Music

• Avant-Garde
• Ballet
• Baroque
• Cantata
• Chamber Music
  • String Quartet
• Chant
• Choral
• Classical Crossover
• Concerto
• Concerto Grosso
• Contemporary Classical
• Early Music
• Expressionist
• High Classical
• Impressionist
• Mass Requiem
• Medieval
• Minimalism
• Modern Composition
• Modern Classical
• Opera
• Oratorio
• Orchestral
• Organum
• Renaissance
• Romantic (early period)
• Romantic (later period)
• Sonata
• Symphonic
• Wedding Music

Comedy

Comedy covers a variety of styles, both musical and non-musical, but it always aims to make the listener laugh through a variety of humor types that cater to all tastes. Musical comedy uses traditional styles alongside funny lyrics, usually sung or rapped instead of spoken, although the Spoken genre is often included here as well. Non-musical comedy includes styles like Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy, and Prank Calls. In Spain, several singer-songwriters like Manolo Kabezabolo, El Chivi, or those who were part of the Spanish basketball team around the 2000s/2010s are well known. Currently, the early works of Sons of Aguirre seemed to be heading in that direction, something satirical and critical.

Subgenres of Comedy

• Novelty
• Parody Music
• Stand-up Comedy
• Vaudeville
• Commercial
  • Jingles
  • TV Themes

Country

Country music is about American tradition, but its simple form allows for infinite variations on similar themes. Like blues, the two genres often share themes, melodies, and songs, and American country music is simple at its core. Most of its songs are built around three chords and a simple melody, but these basic forms allow for many different styles, from the gritty sounds of honky-tonk to the jazz-influenced improvisations of western swing.

Country music emerged from American southern folk music, both from the Appalachians and the blues, and old-time country was simple and folksy, with the sole use of guitars and fiddles. As the genre progressed, it became the foundation for modern country music, oriented towards pop and the Bakersfield sound with rock inflections.

Subgenres of Country Music

• Alternative Country
• Americana
• Australian Country
• Bakersfield Sound
• Bluegrass
  • Progressive Bluegrass
  • Reactionary Bluegrass
• Blues Country
• Cajun Fiddle Tunes
• Christian Country
• Classic Country
• Close Harmony
• Contemporary Bluegrass
• Contemporary Country
• Country Gospel
• Country Pop
• Country Rap
• Country Rock
• Country Soul
• Cowboy / Western
• Cowpunk
• Dansband
• Honky Tonk
• Franco-Country
• Gulf and Western
• Hellbilly Music
• Honky Tonk
• Instrumental Country
• Lubbock Sound
• Nashville Sound
• Neotraditional Country
• Outlaw Country
• Progressive
• Psychobilly / Punkabilly
• Red Dirt
• Sertanejo
• Texas County
• Traditional Bluegrass
• Traditional Country
• Truck-Driving Country
• Urban Cowboy
• Western Swing
• Zydeco

Dance

Dance

While dance music is a derivation of electronic music (or vice versa), it has earned its own place on our list of music genres. Dance music was everywhere in the mid-70s and already covered the modern forms of dance music we know today. However, the term Electronic Dance Music (EDM) was used in the United States as early as 1985, although the term “dance music” was not understood as a general term back then.

What is widely perceived as dance music has changed over time; now it includes different genres and may not always encompass the term EDM. Similarly, electronic dance music can mean different things to different people. Both “club music” and “EDM” may seem vague, but the terms are sometimes used to refer to distinct and unrelated genres (club music is defined by what is popular, while EDM is distinguished by musical attributes). Although the Billboard Dance Chart published a music list in 1974, the largest music industry in the United States did not create charts for this style of music until the late 1990s. In July 1995, Nterious Records and Project X Magazine organized the first awards ceremony, calling it the “Electronic Dance Music Awards.”

Subgenres of Dance Music

• Club / Club Dance
• Breakcore
• Breakbeat / Breakstep
  • 4-Beat
  • Acid Breaks
  • Baltimore Club
  • Big Beat
  • Breakbeat Hardcore
  • Broken Beat
  • Florida Breaks
  • Nu Skool Breaks
• Brostep
• Chillstep
• Deep House
• Dubstep
• Electro House
• Electroswing
• Exercise
• Future Garage
• Garage
• Glitch Hop
• Grime
  • Bouncy House
  • Bouncy Techno
  • Breakcore
  • Digital Hardcore
  • Doomcore
  • Dubstyle
  • Gabber
  • Happy Hardcore
  • Hardstyle
  • Jumpstyle
  • Makina
  • Speedcore
  • Terrorcore
  • Uk Hardcore
• Hardcore
• Hard Dance
• Hi-NRG / Eurodance
• Horrorcore
• House
  • Acid House
  • Chicago House
  • Deep House
  • Diva House
  • Dutch House
  • Electro House
  • Freestyle House
  • French House
  • Funky House
  • Ghetto House
  • Hardbag
  • Hip House
  • Italo House
  • Latin House
  • Minimal House
  • Progressive House
  • Rave Music
  • Swing House
  • Tech HouseTribal House
  • UK Hard House
  • US Garage
  • Vocal House
• Jackin House
• Jungle / Drum’n’bass
• Liquid Dub
• Regstep
• Speedcore
• Techno
  • Acid Techno
  • Detroit Techno
  • Free Tekno
  • Ghettotech
  • Minimal
  • Nortec
  • Schranz
  • Techno-Dnb
  • Technopop
  • Tecno Brega
  • Toytown Techno
• Trance
  • Acid Trance
  • Classic Trance
  • Dream Trance
  • Goa Trance
    • Dark Psytrance
    • Full on
    • Psybreaks
    • Psyprog
    • Suomisaundi
  • Hard Trance
  • Tech Trance
  • Uplifting Trance
    • Orchestral Uplifting
  • Vocal Trance
• Trap

Easy Listening

Easy Listening music is instrumental music designed to be relaxing and soothing. Unlike jazz, which demands your full attention, easy listening is meant to be heard in the background, which is why many critics and listeners dismissed the music as nothing more than disposable fluff in its early days. Although some records certainly fall into that category, there were a number of creative arrangements and

conductors working in the genre, such as Martin Denny, Les Baxter, and Esquivel, who stood out with unpredictable instrumentation and idiosyncratic arrangements. Still, the main characteristic of easy listening, from the lush wordless vocals of Ray Conniff to the Latin flourish of Herb Alpert, is that it is pleasant and easy on the ears.

Subgenres of Easy Listening

• Background
• Bop
• Elevator
• Furniture
• Lounge
• Middle of the Road
• Swing

Electronic

Electronic music is music that uses non-traditional electronic instrumentation and sound manipulation technology as the main musical backbone of a composition.

In its original form, initiated by avant-garde classical composers like Edgard Varèse and Karlheinz Stockhausen, electronic music compositions were collages of abstract noise created using loops, oscillators, sirens, and field recordings. It could be argued that the first composer to create electronic music using traditional rhythms and melodies was Raymond Scott.

Since the 1960s, starting with bands like Silver Apples and White Noise, electronic music has seeped into pop music, and its commercial breakthrough happened mainly in the 1980s with the advent of Synthpop.

Subgenres of Electronic Music

• 2-Step
• 8bit – aka 8-bit, Bitpop and Chiptune
• Ambient
  • Ambient Dub
  • Ambient House
  • Ambient Techno
  • Dark Ambient
  • Drone Music
  • Illbient
  • Isolationism
  • Lowercase
• Asian Underground
• Bassline
• Chillwave
• Chiptune
  • Bitpop
  • Game Boy
  • Nintendocore
  • Video Game Music
  • Yorkshire Bleeps and Bass
• Crunk
• Downtempo
  • Acid Jazz
  • Balearic Beat
  • Chill Out
  • Dub Music
  • Dubtronica
  • Ethnic Electronica
  • Moombahton
  • Nu Jazz
  • Trip Hop
• Drum & Bass
  • Darkcore
  • Darkstep
  • Drumfunk
  • Drumstep
  • Hardstep
  • Intelligent Drum and Bass
  • Jump-Up
  • Liquid Funk
  • Neurofunk
  • Oldschool Jungle:
    • Darkside Jungle
    • Ragga Jungle
  • Raggacore
  • Sambass
  • Techstep
  • Crunk
  • Electro Backbeat
  • Electro-Grime
  • Electropop
• Electro
• Electro-swing
• Electroacoustic
  • Acousmatic Music
  • Computer Music
  • Electroacoustic Improvisation
  • Field Recording
  • Live Coding
  • Live Electronics
  • Soundscape Composition
  • Tape Music
• Electronica
  • Berlin School
  • Chillwave
  • Electronic Art Music
  • Electronic Dance Music
  • Folktronica
  • Freestyle Music
  • Glitch
  • Idm
  • Laptronica
  • Skweee
  • Sound Art
  • Synthcore
• Electronic Rock
  • Alternative Dance
    • Baggy
    • Madchester
  • Dance-Punk
  • Dance-Rock
  • Dark Wave
  • Electroclash
  • Electronicore
  • Electropunk
  • Ethereal Wave
  • Indietronica
  • New Rave
  • Space Rock
  • Synthpop
  • Synthpunk
• Eurodance
  • Bubblegum Dance
  • Italo Dance
  • Turbofolk
• Hardstyle (kudos to Dominik Landahl)
• Hi-Nrg
  • Eurobeat
  • Hard Nrg
  • New Beat
• IDM/Experimental
• Industrial
• Trip Hop
• UK Garage
  • 2-Step
  • 4×4
  • Bassline
  • Grime
  • Speed Garage

Experimental

Experimental Music

Experimental music describes the most radical approaches found throughout the history of recorded music. It has two main characteristics: the first relates to production, and the other to sound.

Firstly, experimental musicians use non-traditional production methods. This can be through the unconventional use of traditional instruments such as guitars, cellos, saxophones, and even the human voice as in Sound Poetry. It can be through sound production with objects that are not considered musical instruments in their original contexts, with Musique concrète and radical industrial music being examples of this method. It can be through the manipulation/application of multiple effects on previously recorded material (Sound Collage). It can even be through the manipulation of sound itself as a physical entity (Microsound).

Secondly, these non-traditional production methods result in a sound that goes beyond the usual boundaries of music. The use of traditional instruments outside any academic framework, as in free improvisation, can result in a total absence of direction in the music. Whatever production technique is used, the absence of clear rhythm or tempo or any recognizable musical scale is quite common. Textures can also be completely deconstructed, and the remaining sound barely resembles common definitions of music (Harsh Noise). Like Nouvelle cuisine, so to speak.

Since the late 20th century, the popularization of electronic instruments like synthesizers and the proliferation of digital tools for programming and manipulating sound have allowed more people to experiment with music more easily. Digital electronic devices have also brought new sonic experiments, such as Glitch.

Subgenres of Experimental Music

• Conducted Improvisation
• Drone
• Electroacoustic
• Free Improvisation
• Futurism
• Glitch
• Indeterminacy
• Industrial
• Noise
• Plunderphonics
• Reductionism
• Sound Art
• Sound Collage
• Sound Poetry
• Tape Music
• Turntable Music

Folk

Although the literal translation of “folk” is folklore, for a long time, in popular culture, folk music is one thing, and folk music (which could be part of that genre frequently used by Americans known as world music) is another. Thus, when talking about folk, we are referring to American and British music that has been passed down through generations by oral tradition.

It is a simple music based on acoustic instruments that turns everyday events and ordinary people into mythical states. Many traditional popular songs have no known author; they have simply evolved over the years. Most of the earliest recorded folk music was of this nature, but with Woody Guthrie, popular music began to be recorded.

Even so, many artists, including The Weavers and Pete Seeger, chose to mix traditional songs with newer material, whether written by the artists themselves or other contemporary musicians. Initially, Bob Dylan worked in that style, but on his second album, “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan,” he started creating completely original material, thus initiating the modern era of folk, where most artists sang their own songs (usually in a personal and introspective way) and only occasionally did cover versions.

Subgenres of Folk

• American Folk Revival
• Anti-Folk
• British Folk Revival
• Contemporary Folk
• Filk Music
• Freak Folk
• Indie Folk
• Industrial Folk
• Neofolk
• Progressive Folk
• Psychedelic Folk
• Sung Poetry
• Techno-Folk

Jazz

Jazz originated in African-American communities in the southern United States in the early 20th century. Characterized by a unique blend of influences, such as the New Orleans Brass Bands tradition (which fuses West African music and European military music Brass Band), it was heavily influenced by Ragtime and Blues and quickly became one of the most popular music genres from the 1930s with the development of Swing.

The overall sound of jazz has changed many times over the past century, but one element that is present in most jazz is improvisation. Early blues was commonly structured around a repetitive call-and-response pattern (as we have seen already). Alongside this improvisation, however, blue notes and syncopated polyrhythms have also been recognized as features that are fundamental to jazz expression. Effectively, the genre has generated its own vocabulary within music theory to describe its unique playing style, including concepts like swing (a sense of rhythmic “feel” or “groove” created by the musical interaction between performers) and the extensive use of the ii – V – I progression.

Among the earliest recognized styles were Dixieland, which emerged in New Orleans in the 1910s, and Stride, an early form of piano music that evolved from Ragtime. The era of big bands followed in the next two decades, and after enjoying national popularity for the first time, the prominent sound started to shift from dance-oriented Big Band Swing to focus on smaller groups playing the more rhythmically complex Bebop style, developed in the mid-1940s.

Subgenres of Jazz

• Acid Jazz
• Avant-Garde Jazz
• Bebop
• Big Band
• Blue Note
• Contemporary Jazz
• Cool
• Crossover Jazz
• Dixieland
• Ethio-jazz
• Fusion
• Gypsy Jazz
• Hard Bop
• Latin Jazz
• Mainstream Jazz
• Ragtime
• Smooth Jazz
• Trad Jazz

Latin Music

Largely derived from the influence of Anglo-Saxon culture, many musical genres native to Latin countries have been gathered into one that defines them all as Latin music. While it is true that in many cases, they all have common aspects, we have maintained the same criterion, more for a matter of synthesis than anything else. After all, if someone refers to Latin rhythms, most of us understand what they are talking about.

Thus, Latin music is a general term for various diverse styles from different regions and countries in Latin America, Spain, and Portugal. Often, the term refers to Latin pop, whether dance-based or pop-oriented, sung in Spanish or Spanglish. It ranges from

flamenco to corridos, passing through bossa nova or bachata, often performed by large groups. Latin America, being the main producer of this genre (obviously), is also known for its dance or rumba music, such as salsa and samba, which have layers of percussion, blaring horns, and a catchy sense of music.

Overall, most Latin music represents a cool and relaxed style that blends dance music with jazz. With the exception of Tejano and Mariachi, which are folk and pop, most Latin music is defined by its strong rhythms.

Subgenres of Latin Music

• Alternativo & Rock Latino
• Argentine tango
• Bachata
• Baithak Gana
• Baladas y Boleros
• Bolero
• Bossa Nova
  • Axé
  • Bossa Nova
  • Brazilian Rock
  • Brega
  • Choro
  • Forró
  • Frevo
  • Funk Carioca
  • Lambada
  • Maracatu
  • Música Popular Brasileira
  • Música Sertaneja
  • Pagode
  • Samba
  • Samba Rock
  • Tecnobrega
  • Tropicalia
  • Zouk-Lambada
• Brazilian
• Chicha
• Criolla
• Contemporary Latin
• Cumbia
• Flamenco
• Huayno
• Latin Jazz
• Mariachi
• Nuevo Flamenco
• Pop Latino
• Fado
• Punta
• Punta Rock
• Ranchera
• Raíces
• Raison
• Reggaeton y Hip-Hop
• Regional Mexicano
• Salsa y Tropical
• Soca
• Son
• Tejano
• Timba
• Twoubadou
• Zouk

New Age

The New Age is a music genre that tends to focus on tranquil, meditative, and relaxing melodies. It can take many forms: electronic New Age uses soft synthesizers, long sustained notes, and simple drum rhythms, while acoustic New Age uses instruments like flutes, piano, and guitar to create a calming atmosphere (though sometimes even these acoustic instruments are digitally sampled). Mike Oldfield, Enigma, Popol Vuh, and Vangelis are some of the prominent artists in this genre.

Some artists have even mixed specific types of folk music to create distinct sounds. Examples of this include Enya and Clannad, who blended New Age and Celtic music to create Celtic New Age, and Cusco and Medwyn Goodall, whose South American influences stylized Andean New Age.

Subgenres of New Age:

• Andean New Age
• Celtic New Age
• Neoclassical New Age
• Environmental
• Healing
• Meditation
• Nature
• Relaxation
• Travel

Pop

Certainly the most popular genre, living up to its name. It is also the one that has best adapted to the new times, adopting the most attractive elements (at least for the market) from other genres. In fact, the boundary between some of these musical genres and pop is often very vague, not to mention rock, which has been absorbed over time in bands like The Beatles among many others.

Pop music, more than any other genre, is closely linked to the economic forces of mass production and mass marketing. The early popular standards were the result of the new sheet music market in the 19th century. For the first time, composers could make a living thanks to consumers without the need for itinerant shows or a supportive sponsor. The invention of the phonograph cylinder in the late 19th century, and the more durable disc technology developed in the early 20th century, led to the standardization of songs and the potential for mass consumption.

Non-classical music in the first half of the 20th century was generally called popular music, not pop music. However, the popular music from the 1900s to 1940 that most appealed to listeners in the United States is now generally recognized as traditional pop.

The dynamics of the post-World War II economy and the advent of the Rock & Roll era brought a new era of teenage consumerism and the first wave of Teen Pop celebrities. Several sources suggest that the use of the word “pop” dates back much earlier than the 1950s, but it certainly became a cultural phenomenon with the music of the 1950s.

Pop music, more than rock music, also tends to emphasize the vocalist as the main performer. As such, pop songs tend to be relatively short with only brief instrumental breaks. A basic structure of introduction/verse/chorus/verse/chorus, or some slight variation of that structure, is very common in pop music and has remained so for decades.

In the 1960s, The Beatles brought pop rock to the forefront, challenging some notions of what edges could be allowed within the basic construction of pop. In the 1970s, many soft rock artists went the other way, softening pop by reducing the centrality of rhythm in pop music. However, by the end of the decade, disco music had taken pop in an even more dance-oriented direction, paving the way for dance-pop.

Pop and R&B have always coexisted with a lot of direct crossovers or through indirect cross-pollination. In the 1980s, those lines were further blurred when Michael Jackson was crowned the King of Pop. In the 21st century, Hip Hop has become a major influence in pop music, with many pop stars employing top hip-hop producers to help create their hits.

Pop music has also been heavily globalized (e.g., C-Pop, K-Pop, Indian Pop, and Latin Pop), reflecting both a global economy and a growing consumer class in much of the world.

Subgenres of Pop:

• Adult Contemporary
• Arab Pop
• Baroque
• Britpop
• Bubblegum Pop
• Chamber Pop
• Chanson
• Christian Pop
• Classical Crossover
• Europop
  • Austropop
  • Balkan Pop
  • French Pop
  • Latin Pop
  • Laïkó
  • Nederpop
  • Russian Pop
• Dance Pop
• Dream Pop
• Electro Pop
• Iranian Pop
• Jangle Pop
• Latin Ballad
• Levenslied
• Louisiana Swamp Pop
• Mexican Pop
• Motorpop
• New Romanticism
• Orchestral Pop
• Pop Rap
• Popera
• Pop/Rock
• Pop Punk
• Power Pop
• Psychedelic Pop
• Schlager
• Soft Rock
• Sophisti-Pop
• Space Age Pop
• Sunshine Pop
• Surf Pop
• Synthpop
• Teen Pop
• Traditional Pop Music
• Turkish Pop
• Vispop
• Wonky Pop

Rap or Hip Hop

The germination of rap is sometimes attributed to the street poetry of the Last Poets and Watts Prophets, but it didn’t start to take its full form and gain its label until Sugarhill Gang released “Rapper’s Delight” in 1979. Since then, rap spread from its epicenter in New York to the rest of the United States (with each region acquiring its specific flavor) and then to countless countries.

The key components of rap are the rhythm and the rhymes, but that simplicity hides the wide range of sounds that have emerged from them. Instrumentalists, sampled sounds, or a drum machine can form the backbone of a track, while an arrangement can be spacious or chaotically dense, and a chorus can vary from an atonal shout to a sweet melody.

The detractors kept calling rap a fad in 1985 when LL Cool J released his first single. They continued to do the same when, about 20 years later, the same MC released his tenth album, and they will probably keep doing it as long as the genre exists. In the unlikely event that rap dies, it would be too late to prevent its influence on most other forms of music, from R&B to rock and modern jazz, as we demonstrate in our list of best rap songs.

Rap Subgenres

• Alternative Rap
• Avant-Garde
• Bounce
• Chap Hop
• Christian Hip Hop
• Conscious Hip Hop
• Country-Rap
• Crunkcore
• Cumbia Rap
• Dirty South
  • Brick City Club
  • Hardcore Hip Hop
  • Mafioso Rap
  • New Jersey Hip Hop
  • East Coast
• Freestyle Rap
• G-Funk
• Gangsta Rap
• Golden Age
• Hardcore Rap
• Hip-Hop
• Hip Pop
• Hyphy
• Industrial Hip Hop
• Instrumental Hip Hop
• Jazz Rap
• Latin Rap
• Low Bap
• Lyrical Hip Hop
• Merenrap
• Midwest Hip Hop
  • Chicago Hip Hop
  • Detroit Hip Hop
  • Horrorcore
  • St. Louis Hip Hop
  • Twin Cities Hip Hop
• Motswako
• Nerdcore
• New Jack Swing
• New School Hip Hop
• Old School Rap
• Rap
• Turntablism
• Underground Rap
• West Coast Rap

Rock

Rock is a widely popular and vast genre that encompasses a wide range of different styles. Its origins can be traced back to the late 1940s recordings in the US that combined elements of Jump-Blues and Swing, with an increased emphasis on the role of the electric guitar borrowed from Chicago Blues. Although the term “rock” was originally used by some Blues performers in the late 1930s to describe the more upbeat version of their music with faster tempos, it was not officially registered until the late 1940s.

Original rock music was song-based and typically used a chorus-verse structure with a rhythmic background and the electric guitar at the forefront of the music, being heavier and/or faster than its earlier genres. The structure and sound of rock are based on a prominent electric guitar sound with bass and drums providing the rhythm (although electric guitars can also sometimes contribute, usually known as rhythm guitars in this context). However, rock musicians have experimented with this basic structure from the beginning, so two different rock bands may not sound alike or even have similar structures. Rock music from its inception has symbolized counterculture and has served as a vehicle for rebellion and protest, although the proliferation of the genre has diluted the significance of this characteristic as a central aspect.

Is heavy metal part of rock? For us, no, but it’s obvious that it is, although like dance and experimental music, they have evolved along different paths over the years. And punk? It could be separated, but in this case, we do consider that its strong influence has contributed more to the survival of rock than as a music genre in itself.

Rock Subgenres

• Acid Rock
• Adult-Oriented Rock
• Afro Punk
• Adult Alternative
• Alternative Rock
• American Traditional Rock
• Anatolian Rock
• Arena Rock
• Art Rock
• Blues-Rock
• British Invasion
• Cock Rock
• Death Metal / Black Metal
• Doom Metal
• Glam Rock
• Gothic Metal
• Grind Core
• Hair Metal
• Hard Rock
• Math Metal
• Math Rock
• Metal
• Metal Core
• Noise Rock
• Jam Bands
• Post Punk
• Prog-Rock/Art Rock
• Progressive Metal
• Psychedelic
• Rock & Roll
• Rockabilly
• Roots Rock
• Singer/Songwriter
• Southern Rock
• Spazzcore
• Stoner Metal
• Surf
• Technical Death Metal
• Tex-Mex
• Thrash Metal
• Time Lord Rock (Trock)
• Trip-hop
• Alternative
  • Art Punk
  • Alternative Rock
  • Britpunk
  • College Rock
  • Crossover Thrash
  • Crust Punk
  • Emotional Hardcore (emo / emocore)
  • Experimental Rock
  • Folk Punk
  • Goth / Gothic Rock
  • Grunge
  • Hardcore Punk
  • Hard Rock
  • Indie Rock
  • Lo-fi
  • Musique Concrète
  • New Wave
  • Progressive Rock
  • Punk
  • Shoegaze
  • Steampunk

R&B and Soul

R&B, which evolved from jump blues in the late ’40s, laid the groundwork for rock & roll. While it retained the rhythm and momentum of jump blues, its instrumentation was sparer, and the emphasis was on the song, not improvisation. Chord changes from blues played with a driving beat were what gave rise to the deviation. During the ’50s, R&B was dominated by vocalists like Ray Charles and Ruth Brown, as well as vocal groups like the Drifters and the Coasters.

Over time, R&B transformed into soul, which was funkier and looser than R&B rhythms. Soul thus came to describe a number of R&B-based music styles, from the catchy pop-R&B of Motown to the gritty soul of Stax/Volt, an immense diversity was born. During the early part of the ’60s, soul music remained close to its R&B roots. However, musicians pushed the music in different directions; different regions of America produced different types of soul.

In urban centers like New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago, the music focused on vocal interaction and smooth productions. In Detroit, Motown concentrated on creating a pop-oriented sound that was equally informed by gospel, R&B, and rock & roll. In the South, the music became harder, relying on syncopated rhythms, raw vocals, and loud, energetic sounds. All of these styles formed soul, which ruled the 1960s music charts. During the ’60s and ’70s, soul began to splinter: artists like James Brown and Sly Stone developed funk; Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff initiated the Philly sound with the O’Jays and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes; and later in this decade, danceable R&B became a mass phenomenon with the short-lived disco craze. In the ’80s and ’90s, the sound was polished and less earthy, but even then, R&B began to incorporate stylistic elements of hip-hop until, by the end of the millennium, there were hundreds of artists who included both rapping and singing on their records.

R&B and Soul Subgenres

• Contemporary R&B
• Disco R&B
• Doo Wop
• Funk
• Modern Soul
• Motown
• Neo-Soul
• Northern Soul
• Psychedelic Soul
• Quiet Storm
• Soul
• Soul Blues
• Southern Soul

Reggae

Reggae is a music exclusive to Jamaica, but ironically, it has its roots in the R&B of New Orleans. The direct ancestor of reggae is ska, a rhythmic and modern variation originated by Jamaican R&B musicians in New Orleans. Based on skittering guitar and syncopated rhythms, ska was their take on R&B and was quite popular in the early ’60s. However, during an extremely hot summer, it was too hot to play or dance, so the rhythm slowed down, and reggae was born.

Since then, reggae has proven to be as versatile as the blues, as it lends itself to a range of interpretations, from Alton Ellis’ steady melodic rock to Bob Marley’s rock and folk-influenced songwriting to Lee “Scratch” Perry’s trippy, almost psychedelic soundscapes. Commercial pop-oriented bands like UB40, as well as more adventurous reggae artists like Marley and Perry, have influenced countless artists in reggae, folk, rock, and dance music. Their contributions resonate throughout popular music to this day.

Reggae Subgenres

• 2-Tone
• Dancehall
• Dub
• Roots Reggae
• Reggae Fusion
• Reggae en Español
  • Spanish Reggae
  • Reggae 110
  • Reggae Bultrón
  • Romantic Flow
• Lovers Rock
  • Ragga
  • Dancehall
  • Raggamuffin
• Ska
  • 2 Tone
  • Dub
  • Rocksteady

Bonus: World Music

In this section, we could find all the music genres we have already discussed, but as there are some nuances, let’s go ahead.

Regional music refers to music that has developed from regional cultural traditions and is performed or played predominantly in those regions. Genres cease to be regional music when they are no longer perceived as exclusively linked to the context of their region by audiences outside their original culture or region.

Any form of regional music is strongly linked to its specific region in the perception of the audience. Therefore, world music or regional music encompasses traditional regional folk music as well as high cultural or art music derived from a specific region. Regional music spans from primitive and prehistoric music, through the more sophisticated ancient music, to traditional folk music, classical regional music (Arabic classical music, Hindustani classical music, Japanese classical music, etc.), and modern developments heavily inspired by traditional music (e.g., Morna, Caribbean Calypso, Brazilian MPB, Spanish Catalan Rumba, etc.).

As globalization is heavily influenced by technology, technological advancements play a significant role in distinguishing between regional and global music. Regional music commonly uses traditional instruments, such as banjo, balalaika, sitar, and accordion, whereas global music widely incorporates modern electronic instruments and devices like bass, electric guitar, drum machine, synthesizer, and many others. Some instruments, especially those closely associated with Western classical music (piano, violin, clarinet, brass, etc.), are frequently used in both regional and global music substyles.

Subgenres of world music

• Africa
  • African Heavy Metal
  • African Hip Hop
  • Afro-Beat
  • Afro-Pop
  • Apala
  • Benga
  • Bikutsi
  • Bongo Flava
  • Cape Jazz
  • Chimurenga
  • Coupé-Décalé
  • Fuji Music
  • Genge
  • Highlife
  • Hiplife
  • Isicathamiya
  • Jit
  • Jùjú
  • Kapuka
  • Kizomba
  • Kuduro
  • Kwaito
  • Kwela
  • Makossa
  • Maloya
  • Marrabenta
  • Mbalax
  • Mbaqanga
  • Mbube
  • Morna
  • Museve
  • Palm-Wine
  • Raï
  • Sakara
  • Sega
  • Seggae
  • Semba
  • Soukous
  • Taarab
  • Zouglou
• Asia
  • Anison
  • C-Pop
  • Cantopop
  • Enka
  • Hong Kong English Pop
  • Fann At-Tanbura
  • Fijiri
  • J-Pop
  • Japanese Pop
  • K-Pop
  • Khaliji
  • Kayōkyoku
  • Korean Pop
  • Liwa
  • Mandopop
  • Onkyokei
  • Taiwanese Pop
  • Sawt
• Australia
• Cajun
• Calypso
  • Chutney
  • Chutney Soca
  • Compas
  • Mambo
  • Merengue
  • Méringue
  • Caribbean
• Carnatic
• Celtic
• Celtic Folk
• Contemporary Celtic
• Coupé-décalé
• Dangdut
• Drinking Songs
• Drone
• Europe
• France
• Hawaii
• Japan
• Klezmer
• Mbalax
• Middle East
• North America
• Ode
• Piphat
• Polka
• Soca
• South Africa
• South America
• South / Southeast Asia
  • Baila
  • Bhangra
  • Bhojpuri
  • Dangdut
  • Filmi
  • Indian Pop
  • Hindustani
  • Indian Ghazal
  • Lavani
  • Luk Thung
  • Luk Krung
  • Manila Sound
  • Morlam
  • Pinoy Pop
  • Pop Sunda
  • Ragini
  • Thai Pop
• Traditional Celtic
• Worldbeat
• Zydeco