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Genres

  • African Traditions

    Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from Africa.

    • Afrofusion

      A blended style that adds a good amount of pop, R&B, hip-hop, and Latin flavors to its traditionally African foundations.

    • Central African

      Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from Central Africa.

    • East African

      Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from East Africa.

    • North African

      Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from North Africa.

      • Gnawa

        A style popular mostly in Morocco, combining West African music of the Sahel region and Sufi devotional music.

      • Mezwed

        A traditional music popular in Tunisia and Algeria, driven by hand drums (darbouka) and a bagpipe (mizwad). 

    • South African

      Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from South Africa.

    • West African

      Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from West Africa.

      • Afrobeat

        A jazzy interpretation of the primarily West African style of music popularized in the 70s by the great Fela Kuti.

      • Desert Blues

        A style built around repetitive riffs arpeggiated on the guitar with blues-like qualities, often associated with the Tamasheq people in the Sahara and Sahel regions.

      • Highlife

        A strongly dance-oriented style that is born in Ghana with jazzy elements (conventionally on brass instruments), a strong pop feel, and a slight Caribbean breeze. 

  • American Traditions

    Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from the Americas.

    • Caribbean

      Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from the Caribbean.

      • Afro-Caribbean

        A mixture of European and West African musical traditions born the Caribbean islands, that finds its roots in the African diaspora. 

        • Afro-Cuban Jazz

          A mixture of Jazz and Cuban musical traditions. 

        • Cuban

          A mixture of European and West African musical traditions that finds its roots in the African diaspora and developed in Cuba. 

      • Calypso

        A classic Caribbean style that originated in Trinidad and Tobago. Think Harry Belafonte and his songs "Day-O", "Jump in the Line", and "Jamaica Farewell". 

      • Haitian Folk

        Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of Haiti.

      • Reggae

        A genre that came out of Jamaica, built around a strong downbeat, syncopated chords on the offbeat, a generally slower tempo, and chill vibes.

        • Dancehall

          A relatively faster and more dance oriented form of reggae with electronic effects and party-like atmosphere.

        • Dub

          An often instrumental form of reggae that is remixed with electronic sound effects (including that popular whiplash effect) and a heavy bass.

      • Ska

        A fast tempo, offbeat rhythms, and a walking bass creates that lively, bouncy, upbeat sound known in the west through the English Beat and early No Doubt.

    • North American

      Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from North (and Central) America.

      • Gospel

        Vocals driven Christian spiritual music associated with African-American churches, that uses some West African musical elements such as call and response.

      • Louisiana Folk

        Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of the US state of Louisiana with its distinct mixture of the Caribbean and Acadian cultures.

        • Cajun

          Traditional upbeat dance music in the US state of Louisiana that started as the music of the French-speaking Acadian people, often driven by an accordion and a fiddle.

        • Zydeco

          A style that originates in the US state of Louisiana and sounds like a faster version of cajun, except for its blues and Caribbean influences, and the use of a washboard.

      • Mexican Folk

        Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of Mexico.

        • Mariachi

          Mexican folk music that originated in the state of Jalisco, performed by a combination of string and brass instruments, which give the style its distinctive flavor.

        • Ranchera

          A style born in the ranches of northern Mexico, with Mariachi-like brass instrumentation, but more focus on vocals, a lower tempo, a solemn and dramatic tone. 

      • Québécois Folk

        Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of the French-speaking Quebec province of Canada.

      • Tejano

        An uptempo style born in Texas, often played with an accordion lead, borrowing generously from Mexican and American folk traditions … so Tex-Mex. 

    • South American

      Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from South America.

      • Chilean Folk

        Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of Chile.

      • Peruvian Folk

        Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of Peru.

      • Tango

        That distinctive dance music from Argentina and Uruguay, with a rose between the teeth and all the seductive moves.

  • Asian Traditions

    Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from Asia.

    • Central Asian

      Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from Central Asia.

      • Mongolian Folk

        Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of Mongolian.

    • East Asian

      Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from East Asia.

      • Chinese

        Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from China.

        • C-pop

          Basically modern pop music that has been calibrated for Chinese audiences.

      • Japanese

        Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from Japan.

        • J-pop

          Basically modern pop music that has been calibrated for Japanese audiences.

      • Korean

        Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from Korea.

        • K-pop

          Basically modern pop music that has been calibrated for Korean audiences.

    • South Asian

      Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from South Asia.

      • Bengali Folk

        Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of the Bengali people.

      • Carnatic

        Classical Indian music that is the dominant form in South India. 

      • Hindustani Classical

        Classical Indian music that is the dominant form in North India and Pakistan. 

      • Indian Pop

        Basically modern pop music that has been calibrated for Indian audiences.

      • Punjabi

        Music created in or inspired by the traditions of Punjabi people.

    • Southeast Asian

      Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from Southeast Asia.

      • Cambodian

        Music created in or inspired by the traditions of Cambodia.

      • Indonesian

        Music created in or inspired by the traditions of Indonesia.

      • Thai

        Music created in or inspired by the traditions of Thailand.

    • West Asian

      Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from West Asia.

      • Armenian Folk

        Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of the Armenian people.

      • Middle Eastern

        Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from the Middle East.

        • Anatolian Rock

          A form of rock music that draws a great deal from Turkish folk music traditions.

        • Iranian Folk

          Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of the Iranian people.

        • Kurdish Folk

          Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of the Kurdish people.

  • Blues

    From its familiar12-bar, 16-bar structure and classic chord progression to all the variants that came out of this tradition. 

    • Blues Rock

      A merger of blues and rock. 

    • Chicago Blues

      This style grew primarily out of Delta Blues by adding electric instruments, drums, etc. 

    • Delta Blues

      Born in the Mississippi Delta, built on the basics of an acoustic slide guitar and harmonica.

    • Hill Country Blues

      Blues with heavier grooves, guitar riffs, and an emphasis on drums (a.k.a. North Mississippi blues). 

    • Memphis Blues

      Delta blues meets vaudeville traditions and jug bands early on, later getting electric, loud, distorted and big. 

    • St. Louis Blues

      Mostly piano driven, more on the boogie-woogie side.

    • Texas Blues

      Early versions of this style were flirting more with swing and jazz flavors, while later versions started sliding towards southern rock and blues rock. 

  • Classical

    Highly structured orchestral or choral music that either follows traditions that go back to centuries or responds to them, as modernists do.

    • Minimalist

      A highly stripped down form of music with limited musical phrases and instrumentation, moving through repetitive patterns. Think Philip Glass and Steve Reich. 

    • Modernist

      Music that grew out of the early 20th century in reaction to classical norms and structures, turning concepts like harmony, melody, and rhythm, even composition, on their heads. 

    • Post-Classical

      A relatively recent form of music built primarily on classical textures, but also incorporates elements of ambient and drone music, presented with a pop-adjacent twist. 

    • Post-Modern

      A form of music that came out of the '60s that like to create tension by shifting between styles and break norms and formal expectations. 

  • Country

    A genre that grew out of southern US folk music, steeped in rural flavors, that covers a range between Appalachian sound to western swing, including its modern pop-oriented variants.

    • Alternative Country

      Essentially a hybrid form between country and country rock that brings a sharper edge to the dominant Nashville and country pop sound. 

    • Americana

      Country music crossing over to its roots to include western swing, bluegrass, old-timey country, and other conventional styles often underrepresented in the mainstream.

    • Bluegrass

      Rapid fire finger-picked string based music that originally grew out of Appalachian folk, driven by banjo, fiddle, with a good deal of improvisation built into it. 

      • Progressive Bluegrass

        Bluegrass that blends in Americana, folk, jazz, and rock influences. 

    • Classic Country

      The traditional country and western sounds that were dominant in the genre through 60s and 70s, replaced first by neotraditionalists, then by modern country.

    • Country Rock

      A hybrid form of country and rock that developed in the '60s and peaked in the '70s.

    • Outlaw Country

      A form of country leaning towards western and honky tonk, among others, that grew as a reaction to the Nashville sound in the '70s and '80s.

  • Electronic

    Music that is built around the sounds, textures, and moods created through electronic instruments (like various synthesizers) and effects.

    • Ambient

      A typically calm and ethereal form of music that intends to stay in the background and be a mood setter with its atmospheric flow. 

    • Downtempo

      Almost dancey electronic music that plays at a much lower tempo to strictly be dance music, but gives off plenty of cool club vibes.

      • Trip-Hop

        Downtempo music with more pop-friendly elements, perhaps a touch of slowed down hip-hop beats and loads of cool, see Massive Attack and Portishead.

    • EDM

      Umbrella term for a variety of dance-oriented electronic music. Initials stand for Electronic Dance Music. 

      • Dubstep

        Mid-tempo electronic dance music with deep where oscillated (wobble) bass meets some syncopation, short melodic phrases and dark tones.

      • Future Bass

        Dubstep with trap beats, much more articulated melodies, and lush textures.

      • House

        An early form of EDM that originated in Chicago, with a warm sound, sampling, offbeat hi-hat action, and generally soulful vocals and texture.

      • Jungle

        Based on the "Amen" break, this is a form of EDM that is heavily into breakbeats and syncopation, with strong influences from dub, hip-hop, and funk.

        • Drum 'n' Bass

          Jungle on overdrive with tighter drums and bass.

      • Techno

        An early form of EDM that came out of Detroit, with a more synth driven, electronic sound, colder vibes and relatively more mechanical flow (compared to House). 

      • Trance

        An EDM style that grew out of Germany that is built on high tempo, blasting beats. and short, repetitive melodic lines with song dynamics that include peaks and valleys.

    • Experimental Electronic

      Electronic music that gets into an experimental space.

    • Folktronica

      Folk music that makes use of electronic tools for added ambience.

    • Indietronica

      Music rooted in indie rock but also employs elements of electronic music.

    • New Age

      A form of music that is similar to ambient, but places more value on harmoniousness and unobtrusiveness, and likes to be more explicit and assertive in its melodies. 

  • European Traditions

    Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from Europe.

    • Eastern European

      Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from Eastern Europe.

      • Balkan

        Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of the Balkan people.

      • Klezmer

        The musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews from Central and Eastern Europe that combines traditional Jewish music with Roma and Greek elements. 

      • Roma

        Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of the Roma people (used to be known as "gypsy music" in the old days).

        • Gypsy Punk

          A somewhat iffy name for music that combines the Roma tradition with rowdy and fun form of punk, especially made popular by Gogol Bordello.

      • Ukrainian Folk

        Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of Ukraine.

    • Northern European

      Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from Northern Europe (Scandinavia and the British Isles).

      • British Folk

        Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of Britain.

      • Celtic Folk

        Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of the Celtic people across national boundaries.

      • Irish Folk

        Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of the Irish people.

    • Southern European

      Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from Southern Europe (on the Mediterranean coast).

      • Greek

        Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of the Greek people.

      • Spanish

        Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of Spain.

        • Flamenco

          The folk traditions of the Andalusia region (southern Spain) with its rapid fire guitar work, hand claps, and castanets. Think flamenco dancing.

        • Galician

          The folk traditions of the Galicia region (northwestern Spain) with its historically Celtic roots.

    • Western European

      Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from Western Europe.

      • French Pop

        A highly influential form of pop music that stands between French chansons and the yé-yé style with its distinct stylistic flourishes. 

  • Experimental

    Music that pushes boundaries of conventional forms of music and subverts established norms.

    • Avant-Garde

      If experimental music is interested in pushing boundaries, avant-garde music is focused on smashing boundaries, grinding them to dust, and tossing them in the trash.

    • Avant-Garde Jazz

      A form of jazz that pushes the envelope pretty far in terms of the formal properties of the genre, or music in general, sometimes.

    • Concrete Music

      A technique of composition that uses recorded sounds, typically of environmental elements, and using them as building blocks in constructing a piece of music.

    • Drone

      Music that turns on repeating the same musical phrase over and over again, often (but not always) building towards a crescendo.

    • Experimental Electronic

      Electronic music that gets into an experimental space.

    • Experimental Hip-Hop

      Experimental form of hip-hop that values boundary pushing and structural innovation, and comes with an avant-garde edge.

    • Free Jazz

      A movement in jazz that aims to break out of all the formal limitations established in conventional jazz. As a rule, it is highly improvisational.

    • No Wave

      A style that started out in the late '70s that maintained the rock format and idioms fundamentally, but loaded it with a lot of noise, dissonance, and abrasive tones.

  • Folk

    From anonymous folk songs to modern singer-songwriter stuff that spun off of that tradition, as well as its stylistic intersection with other subgenres.

    • British Folk

      Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of Britain.

    • Chamber Folk

      This is folk music played with a classical chamber ensemble type intricate interplay, and a warm, pastoral feel.

    • Dream Folk

      A dreamy form of folk, often with a floating, ethereal feel.

    • Folk Rock

      A rocked up, electrified version that flows with a folk cadence but packaged in familiar rock forms with electric guitars, drums, etc. 

    • Folktronica

      Folk music that makes use of electronic tools for added ambience.

    • Indie Folk

      A merger of folk and indie sensibilities that brings in some rock elements, as well as a more expansive, cinematic feel to the songs.

    • Irish Folk

      Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of the Irish people.

    • Psychedelic Folk

      Folk music that is drenched in, or is at least curious about, the trippy nature of psychedelic music of the '60s. 

    • Traditional Folk

      Style of folks that leans into the time-honored traditional sound like it is the olden days, frequently performing songs passed down through generations.

  • Hip-Hop

    Rapping, breakbeats, beatboxing, scratching, and beatmaking ... all part of this relatively recent genre with a distinctly urban esthetic.

    • Alternative Hip-Hop

      A form of hip-hop that developed as an alternative to the mainstream, It tends to incorporate elements from other genres, especially, jazz, R&B, and funk. 

    • Boom Bap

      A late '80s style that turns on the kick-snare loops (the boom and the bap), scratching, generous amounts of funk sampling, and relatively stripped down sound.

    • Bounce

      A bouncy, dance-oriented form of hip-hop that is associated with New Orleans, incorporating elements of Mardis Gras Indian music. Big Freedia is your queen.

    • Drill

      This is a style that grew out of trap, taking its rapid fire hi-hat action and mapping them onto rapping with its characteristic triplet feel and often brutal, hard core lyrics.

    • Experimental Hip-Hop

      Experimental form of hip-hop that values boundary pushing and structural innovation, and comes with an avant-garde edge.

    • Horrorcore

      A branch of hip-hop that embraces dark, horror movie type themes and injects a metal type sound into its hardcore rap base. 

    • Trap

      A style of hip-hop that originated from Atlanta, defined by its synthesized beats and especially, its rapid, 16th note hi-hat action.

  • Jazz

    A relatively free form musical tradition typically with a swing feel, drawing a great deal from ethics of improvisation and individual expression.

    • Afro-Cuban Jazz

      A mixture of Jazz and Cuban musical traditions. 

    • Avant-Garde Jazz

      A form of jazz that pushes the envelope pretty far in terms of the formal properties of the genre, or music in general, sometimes.

    • Bebop

      A style that emerged in the mid '40s as a response to the swing era, with a faster tempo, rapid fire notes, and constant harmonic shifts, see Charlie Parker and Dizzie Gillespie.

    • Big Band

      Jazz performed with a big band, as the name suggests, that contains a broad brass section, and tends to be more structured and scripted in places. 

    • Cool Jazz

      A style that emerged as a response to bebop, cooling the temperature down, lowering the tempo and generally for a more relaxed, pleasant tones.

    • Ethio-jazz

      A fusion of traditional Ethiopian music and jazz.

    • Free Jazz

      A movement in jazz that aims to break out of all the formal limitations established in conventional jazz. As a rule, it is highly improvisational.

    • Fusion

      A musical style that introduces basic rock elements to jazz, including electrified instruments, distortion, strong beats, and an aggressive sound.

    • Hard Bop

      A style that that emerged in the mid '50s that slows bebop down a beat or two, with a heavier blues and gospel influence, emphasis on riffs, and soulful tunes.

    • Jazz Funk

      Funked up jazz time!

    • New Orleans Jazz

      Traditional jazz sound that emerged in New Orleans with second line brass, bringing influences of creole music, blues, and ragtime.

      • Dixieland

        A specific form of New Orleans jazz that peaked in the early 20th century and incorporated ragtime, blues, gospel, and military band music. 

    • Nordic Jazz

      Jazz created typically by Scandinavian musicians who draw from Scandinavian folk as well as ambient music. It is known for its atmospheric textures.

    • Nu Jazz

      A relatively recently developed form of jazz that brings electronic music (downtempo, breakbeats) and hip-hop influences to the front. 

    • Pop Jazz

      A merger between jazz and pop that gravitates towards pop style structures, catchy tunes and immediately accessible melodies. 

    • Post Bop

      A broad category born in the mid '50s that welcomes structural innovations introduced by modal jazz and free jazz. It is the basic foundations of modern jazz.

    • Ragtime

      Technically a precursor of jazz. It is syncopated and highly rhythmic style of music that is typically played on the piano. 

    • Smooth Jazz

      A melodically driven form of jazz that is more like a crossover with easy listening music with very limited improvisation and a highly melodic and mellow tone.

    • Soul Jazz

      A type of jazz that incorporates a lot of soul styling and melodic flow.

    • Spiritual Jazz

      A meditative form of jazz that is built on modal and free jazz ideas to a great extent, but also adds a sense of spiritual yearning and search into its textures. 

    • Swing

      The jazz of the 1920s and 30s, that involved large ensembles and a dance-friendly flow that made the genre a definitive form of popular music of the era.

  • Latin

    A distinctive genre that developed across Latin America that integrates West African polyrhythms and a strong dance component.

    • Afro-Caribbean

      A mixture of European and West African musical traditions born the Caribbean islands, that finds its roots in the African diaspora. 

      • Afro-Cuban Jazz

        A mixture of Jazz and Cuban musical traditions. 

      • Cuban

        A mixture of European and West African musical traditions that finds its roots in the African diaspora and developed in Cuba. 

    • Afro-Colombian

      A mixture of West African and Spanish traditions that emerged out of Colombia as a result of the African diaspora.

    • Bossa Nova

      A highly distinctive Brazilian style that is essentially a slowed down and laid back version of samba. See "The Girl From Ipanema". 

    • Cumbia

      A mostly mid to fast tempo style of Latin music that originated from Colombia, then spread out in the region, with a galloping swung feel and a clave beat.

    • Reggaeton

      A style that was born in Panama in the '90s, based on Jamaican dancehall, Dominican dembow beat (with its tresillo foundation), and Spanish rapping. 

    • Salsa

      A fast-paced polyrhythmic Latin style that came from a mixture of Cuban and Puerto Rican styles of music, anchored by a clave beat, with call and response vocals.

    • Samba

      Popular musical style of Brazil that is built on polyrhythmic percussion and call and response structure. Think carnival time in Rio de Janerio.  

    • Tropicália

      A mixture between samba and bossa nova on the one hand, and North American styles such as blues, R&B, soul, and funk on the other that emerged in the late '60s in Brazil.

  • Polynesian Traditions

    Music created in or inspired by the musical traditions that originally emerged from the Polynesian Islands.

    • Hawaiian

      Music created in or inspired by the folk traditions of Hawaii.

  • Pop

    A type of music known for its immediate accessibility, catchy melodies, and straightforward structure that makes it popular among music fans.

    • C-pop

      Basically modern pop music that has been calibrated for Chinese audiences.

    • Chamber Pop

      Pop that comes with an intricate interplay reminiscent of classical chamber ensembles, and a warm, pastoral feel.

    • Chillwave

      Chill electronic pop with a dreamy feel and a hint of lo-fi peeking through the waves of synth.

    • Dream Pop

      A style drenched in reverb and chorus effects that is a dreamy and hazy offshoot of post-punk and a spiritual mirror-universe cousin of shoegaze with a sweeter disposition. 

    • Electropop

      Pop infused with a heavy dose of electronic music.

    • French Pop

      A highly influential form of pop music that stands between French chansons and the yé-yé style with its distinct stylistic flourishes. 

    • Hyperpop

      Pop dialed up to 11 with highly sugary content, high energy, and a flow that frequently bounces off the walls. 

    • Indie Pop

      A style originally meant "independent label" pop, which gradually came to signify the kind of pop (with a rock touch) that is not intended to be a mainstream arena banger.

    • J-pop

      Basically modern pop music that has been calibrated for Japanese audiences.

    • K-pop

      Basically modern pop music that has been calibrated for Korean audiences.

    • Neo-Swing

      A style that revived the swing sound while also mixing it up with rock and ska. 

    • New Wave

      A strand in the post-punk explosion of the '80s that leaned heavily into catchy pop built around synthesizer. Duran Duran, Culture Club, etc. 

    • Pop Punk

      An energetic style that brings a pop finish to punk rock. 

    • Pop Rock

      A form of rock music that has its edges sanded off and covered with a layer of pop.

    • Power Pop

      This is pop that comes in a rock-like package, but also loaded with melodic hooks and energetic delivery, built around power chords. 

    • Psychedelic Pop

      Pop that brings the psychedelic sound of the '60s and its trippy headspace into pop. 

    • Synth Pop

      Synthesizer driven pop music that grew out of the '80s new wave sound.

    • Synthwave

      A nostalgic style of pop that looks back at the synth based soundtrack music from the '70s and '80s. 

  • R&B

    Originally known as rhythm and blues, this became an umbrella term for the crooning, often romantic and seductive sound with a loose feel and a cool sway. 

    • Alternative R&B

      The version of R&B that pushes the envelope on the stylistic choices and bring in influences from other genres, especially modern hip-hop.

    • Disco

      Big time dance music that exploded in the '70s, driven by funky bass lines, four on the floor drums, and that open-close hi-hat action. Also, polyester. And bell-bottoms.

    • Funk

      An energetic style of music with accent on the 1, syncopated bass lines that stand out, and a dance-ready flow. The catalog of James Brown is a good starting point.

    • New Jack Swing

      Uptempo form of R&B that emerged in the '80s with its mixture of funk and pop, and a good deal of new wave esthetics with their use of synths. 

    • Soul

      The love child of R&B and gospel, defined by its big, dramatic tones and "soulful" themes.

      • Neo Soul

        Soul that is infused with jazz, funk, and hip-hop, applied with high level of polish and pop awareness. Sade and Amy Winehouse are some of the timeless examples of this style.

  • Reggae

    A genre that came out of Jamaica, built around a strong downbeat, syncopated chords on the offbeat, a generally slower tempo, and chill vibes.

    • Dancehall

      A relatively faster and more dance oriented form of reggae with electronic effects and party-like atmosphere.

    • Dub

      An often instrumental form of reggae that is remixed with electronic sound effects (including that popular whiplash effect) and a heavy bass.

  • Rock

    Mutations and offsprings of old school rock 'n' roll with a lineage that goes back to blues, defined by a strong backbeat and an energetic delivery. 

    • Alternative Rock

      Rock that, while rejecting the conventional trappings of rock along the lines of indie rock, also stays close to the basic tenets and the vocabulary of the genre.

      • Grunge

        A form of alt-rock defines by an edgier, angst driven sound, an angry attack, and emotional rawness. Its roots go back to bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

    • Anatolian Rock

      A form of rock music that draws a great deal from Turkish folk music traditions.

    • Blues Rock

      A merger of blues and rock. 

    • Country Rock

      A hybrid form of country and rock that developed in the '60s and peaked in the '70s.

    • Emo

      A style that seems to come back in waves every decade or so, that combines hardcore punk and pop punk with emotionally heavy lyrics and often a distinctive vocal cadence.

      • Midwest Emo

        A form of emo that also plays footsie with math rock and an indie esthetic, driven by arpeggiated guitar lines and a strong melodic core. 

      • Screamo

        Emo with more dissonance and, yep, you guessed it, screaming.

    • Folk Rock

      A rocked up, electrified version that flows with a folk cadence but packaged in familiar rock forms with electric guitars, drums, etc. 

    • Garage Rock

      An explosive and unselfconscious form of rock that turns on stripped down arrangements, straightforward chords, a raw and unpolished sound with plenty of distortion.

    • Glam

      A unique mixture of naive pop, sophisticated rock, and a theatrical component that spilled over to a particular glitzy look that came out in the early '70s. See David Bowie and T.Rex.

    • Hard Rock

      A hard rocking, loud and aggressive style that grew in the '70s drawing its power from high-powered and distorted guitar work, and kept its blues undertones.

    • Indie Rock

      Arguably the new mainstream rock that, at least on paper, moves away from the norms and conventions to develop a more personal form and vision.

    • Industrial

      A style with an experimental tilt that mixes an abrasive, noise driven sound and harsh, metallic, industrial effects with transgressive lyrics, and pounding beats.

    • Krautrock

      A sound pioneered by a few German bands in the '70s (Can, Neu!, Faust) that combines a psychedelic mood with electronic flourishes and what is known as the motorik beat.

    • Math Rock

      A highly sophisticated form of rock that turns on odd time signatures and complex chords that take a whole bunch of technical proficiency to pull off.

    • Metal

      A genre that is a spiritual sibling of hard rock, defined by its aggressive stance, loud and distorted guitar work, powerful beats, and a propensity to scream or growl on vocals.

      • Black Metal

        A heavier form of death metal with loud and distorted guitars played at a high speed, pushing for very dark content that can get politically fairly iffy at times.

      • Death Metal

        A style that pushes metal to one of its extremes through a dissonant sound, low tuned guitars, growling vocals, and blasting drums. 

      • Doom Metal

        Death metal slowed down to a crawl, pretty much.

      • Heavy Metal

        A heavy form that takes hard rock to its next level, and served in the '70s as the starting point for the whole metal subgenre.

      • Nu Metal

        One of the alternative metal styles borrows from other genres such as industrial and hip-hop, blending old school metal vocals with rapping.

      • Post-Metal

        A style that pushes metal boundaries by incorporating some post rock elements and an atmospheric feel that reaches into shoegaze and ambient sometimes.

      • Sludge Metal

        An extreme form of metal that overlays punk and hardcore esthetics on top of doom metal. 

      • Speed Metal

        The form of metal that goes on overdrive with respect to speed, which makes it a challenging genre. 

      • Thrash Metal

        It's fast. It's loud. It's aggressive and abrasive. It's the kind of metal that was led by the classic trio of bands: Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax.

    • Pop Punk

      An energetic style that brings a pop finish to punk rock. 

    • Pop Rock

      A form of rock music that has its edges sanded off and covered with a layer of pop.

    • Post-Punk

      A collection of styles that emerged at the end of punk in the late '70s, then quickly diverged into sub styles, all of which challenged known norms of rock in their own way.

      • Dance Punk

        A style that combines the angular and syncopated feel of post-punk with dance type beats. 

      • Darkwave

        More or less, goth with synths. Same mood, same outlook on life, more or less. 

      • Goth

        A dark mood, repetitive drum and bass patterns with guitars mostly providing accents and atmospherics, paired with profoundly moody, kinda depressive vocals.

    • Post-Rock

      A style of music that has all the ingredients of rock, but the parts are assembled in a way that has very little resemblance to rock. Slint is (always) a good place to start.

      • Drone

        Music that turns on repeating the same musical phrase over and over again, often (but not always) building towards a crescendo.

      • No Wave

        A style that started out in the late '70s that maintained the rock format and idioms fundamentally, but loaded it with a lot of noise, dissonance, and abrasive tones.

    • Progressive Rock

      A form of rock that values compositional complexity, shifts in key and time signatures, often to serve a musical narrative or storytelling in the vein of classical music pieces. 

    • Psychedelic Rock

      The form of rock that goes back to the '60s, that fully embraces the sounds and textures associated with psychotropic drug usage. Also, lots of long solos. 

    • Punk

      A super raw and aggressive style that strips out all the artifice of rock down to its fundamentals, loaded with anti-establishment anger and anarchist esthetic.

      • Hardcore

        The second wave of punk, or music inspired by it, that doubles down on the premise of punk and turns up the dial. Bands like Bad Brains, Black Flag. 

      • Post-Hardcore

        The style that added more textures and nuance to its hardcore base, similar to the way post-punk ended up enriching the punk sound they started out with. 

    • Punk Rock

      A hybrid form that brings a bit of the punk mindset and primitivism into the more conventional form of rock.

    • Rock 'n' Roll

      The grandpa of rock music with its old school rhythm and blues roots. You know … Chuck Berry, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc.

    • Rockabilly

      Old school rock 'n' roll with a southern country finish.

    • Shoegaze

      A style that grew in the late '80s with its distorted wall of noise effect, dreamy, melancholic song, and aloof vocals, often buried under the noise. See My Bloody Valentine.

    • Slowcore

      A form of rock that swings the other way and slows everything down. Pick any album by Low.

    • Soft Rock

      A gentler, kinder form of rock with melodic songs, softer textures, and an overall mellow attitude.

    • Stoner Rock

      A hybrid of psychedelic rock and doom metal: psychedelic at its core but takes on a bigger sound and moves in a sludgy way. 

    • Surf Rock

      A style that evokes a sense of summertime at the beach, whether through its middle eastern flavored guitar lines or vocal harmonies. Think Dick Dale and The Beach Boys.

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