A cappella – a style of music performed without any background music/instruments and just voices doing the instrumentation.
Absolute music – music that is not explicitly "about" anything.
Acid house – a psychedelic style of house music, defined primarily by the deep basslines and "squelching" sounds of the Roland TB-303 electronic synthesizer-sequencer.
Acousmatic music – a style of electroacoustic music that is specifically composed for presentation using speakers as opposed to a live performance.
Acoustic music – a music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means.
Adult contemporary music – any music with lush and soothing qualities that focuses on melody and harmony.
Alternative hip hop – any style of hip hop music that deviates from the norm, usually by possessing lyrics not usually found in mainstream hip hop as well as musically combining it with other genres; despite its popularity among alternative rock fans, only some alternative rappers actually fuse hip hop with that genre.
Alternative R&B – any style of contemporary R&B that deviates from the norm, usually by having a more electronic influence. Originally a synonymous term for neo soul, alternative R&B (which now only refers to styles originating from the 2000s), alternative R&B tries to expand beyond the conventions of genres altogether.
Alternative rock – any style of rock music that deviates from the norm, usually by having melodic vocals and personal lyrics; often applied to styles that sprang out following the initial punk rock music scene.
Ambient music – a style of incredibly slow electronic music that uses long repetitive sounds to generate a sense of calm and atmosphere.
Arena rock – any style of rock music inherently designed for large audiences (i.e. an arena); largely used as a pejorative label rather than as a description for an actual genre of rock.
Ars antiqua – European music from the Late Middle Ages, which advanced concepts of rhythm.
Ars nova – a style of French music from the Late Middle Ages, rejected fiercely by the Catholic Church.
Ars subtilior – a style of French music from the Late Middle Ages.
Art pop – pop music made purposefully to bring the genre to artistic heights.
Art punk – punk rock made purposefully to bring the genre to artistic heights; sometimes considered a style of post-punk.
Art rock – rock music made purposefully to bring the genre to artistic heights.
Ashik – music performed by mystic or traveling Turkish, Azerbaijan, Georgian, Armenian, and Iranian bands, using vocals and the saz, performed since ancient times.
Avant-funk – an avant-garde style of funk made purposefully to challenge the conventions of the genre.
Avant-garde music – music considered to be ahead of its time, often using new, unusual, or experimental elements, or fusing pre-existing genres.
Avant-garde jazz – an avant-garde style of jazz made purposefully to challenge the conventions of the genre; related and originally synonymous with free jazz, avant-garde jazz still maintains some form of structure and uses composed melodies.
Avant-pop – any avant-garde form of popular music that is experimental, new, and distinct from previous styles while retaining an immediate accessibility for the listener.
Baroque music – a style of Western art music made between the 17th and 18th centuries characterized by its usage of the harpsichord and contrapuntal melodies.
Baroque pop – a style of rock music originating from the 1960s that contains elements of Baroque music (particularly its instrumentation and contrapuntal melodies). As Baroque pop is usually not seen as being a pop music genre, it is sometimes referred to as baroque rock.
Bassline – a style of speed garage that combines elements of dubstep, particularly its emphasis on bass.
Batá-rumba – Cuban rumba music that incorporates bata and guaguanco.
Batucada – an African-influenced style of Brazilian samba.
Baul – a style of folk music, specially in the Bengali region.
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Beach music – Californian genre from the 1950s that combined elements of all popular genres at the time, particularly big band and shag jazz.
Beat music – a style of rock and roll developed in the United Kingdom characterized by its strong, driving beat that emphasizes all the beats of a 4/4 bar; unlike British rock and roll, beat music was seen as being musically on par with American rock and roll and found success in the United States following the British Invasion.
Beatboxing – a capella music created to emulate hip hop beats.
Beautiful music – term of endearment for various easy listening genres.
Bebop – a fast-paced style of jazz popular in the 1940s and 1950s that replaced the dance-oriented swing music; known for its complex chord progressions, instrumental virtuosity, and the predominant role of the rhythm section.
Beguine/Biguine – a style from French territory in the Caribbean, Martinique island and precursor of jazz.
Beiguan music – a style of Chinese traditional music popular in Taiwan and the province of Zhangzhou.
Bel canto – a light, sophisticated style of Italian opera singing.
Berlin School of electronic music – heavily experimental electronic music that acted as a more avant-garde style of Krautrock and inspired ambient and New Age music.
Bhangra – a popular style of Punjabi dance music that uses western instruments along with traditional Punjabi instruments; named after the dance of the same name.
Bhangragga – a fusion of bhangra, reggae and dancehall.
Biomusic – a style of experimental music which deals with sounds created or performed by living things.
Bitpop – electronic music, where at least part of the music is made using old 8-bit computers, game consoles and little toy instruments. Popular choices are the Commodore 64, Game Boy, Atari 2600 and Nintendo Entertainment System.
Blues – a style from the Mississippi Delta area known for its usually depressing lyrics and its unique song structure, using playing techniques such as blue notes, blues scales, and the twelve-bar chord progression.
Boogie – 1. a repetitive form of rhythm found in boogie-woogie. 2. a style of funk characterized by a mid-tempo post-disco rhythm, prominent use of slap bass, loud clapping sound, and its new wave melodic chords and synthesizers.
Brit funk – funk performed by British musicians, often influenced by soul, jazz, and Caribbean music.
Britpop – British alternative rock from the 1990s that subverted the depressing themes of the then-popular grunge movement in favor of jangly, optimistic music with lyrics often touching on the themes of partying and working class life. Despite its name, it is rarely viewed as a style of pop music.
British folk rock – associated with the folk revival of the 1960s, British folk rock tends to use modern, often electric, instruments alongside or in place of traditional and acoustic folk instruments.
British Invasion – refers to a period where British musicians, primarily of the beat music movement along with some pop acts, became popular in America during the 1960s.
British rock and roll – rock and roll originating from the United Kingdom; commonly viewed as being an inferior version of its original counterpart, its popularity was almost completely replaced by the much more lively beat music.
Broken beat – a style of breakbeat played in a syncopated 4/4 rhythm with punctuated snare beats.
Brostep – an aggressive and metal-influenced style of dubstep popular in America.
Ca din tulnic – Romanian folk music played with the alpenhorn.
Ca trù – a style of Vietnamese chamber music performed by one lute player and a geisha-esque female singer, used to entertain wealthy audiences, who would be included in the performances, and to perform in religious ceremonies.
Cabaret – an often jazz-informed style of music played at upbeat stageplays or burlesque shows.
Calypso music – a Trinidadian popular music genre inspired by both African (via Kaiso) and French styles and is known for its lyrics dealing with the racist oppression of native Trinidadians at the time.
Chicago house – house music performed by Chicago inhabitants; considered the first form of house music.
Chicago soul – soul music performed by Chicago inhabitants.
Chicken scratch – a fusion of Native American, White American, Mexican, and European styles, performed by the Native American Tohono O'odham people.
Chill-out music – any music with a slow tempo designed to calm people after raves; originally a synonymous term for ambient house.
Chillwave – indie pop style known for its looped synths and calming effects.
Chinese music – any music performed by Chinese people.
Chinese rock – rock music performed by Chinese people, often fused with traditional styles.
Chiptune – electronic music that is made on vintage computers/game systems or emulations thereof. May also refer to electronic music that uses samples from video games or vintage computers.
Classical period – a clearer, slicker style of Western art music performed in the 18th and 19th centuries, known for its emphasis on homophones and melody.
Close harmony – any music with notes performed in a close range.
Conscious hip hop – a style of hip hop music that's, while not directly political like its successor genre political hip hop, still talks about the struggles within the African-American community.
Country music – an American popular music genre originating from rural America with lyrics about the hardships of that culture that is played with acoustic guitars, steel guitars, banjos, fiddles, and harmonicas.
Dappankuthu – Indian folk dance music, popular in the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, often used as filmi music in the movies produced in those states.
Dark ambient – a style of industrial music that takes elements from ambient music to create a feeling of dread and foreboding, rather than the relaxation given off by most ambient music.
Dark cabaret – a fusion of cabaret and gothic rock.
Darkcore – a chaotic and sinister style of jungle, which relied on pitch-shifting and horror movie audio samples.
Darkstep – a style of darkcore jungle that takes its signature sinister feel and fuses it with upbeat breakbeats and ambient noises, creating an excessively chaotic tone.
Dark wave – an excessively pessimistic style of post-punk, which relied on tales of realistic sorrow, rather than the fantasy elements of the then-popular gothic rock.
Death rock – a style of gothic rock known for its scratchy guitars, and lyrics focusing on supernatural and pessimistic themes, sometimes delving into intentionally campy horror themes.
Digital hardcore – a fusion of hardcore punk and hardcore techno, known for its far-left lyrics.
Dirge – a song of mourning, often played at a funeral.
Dirty rap – hip hop with sexual and pornographic themes.
Disco – a style of dance music with elements of soul music, pop music and salsa music that originated from music venues that were popular with African Americans, Latino Americans, Italian Americans, LGBT people, and psychedelic hippies.
Dongjing – Chinese traditional music of the Nakhi people of the Yunnan province.
Doo-wop – a simplistic style of music known for its vocal harmonies and usually slow and smooth upbeat instrumentation.
Doom metal – a style of heavy metal known for its low-tuned sound, slow tempos, clean and non-growled vocals and pessimistic lyrics.
Downtempo – a slow-paced style of electronic music that differs from ambient music in that it also has a beat and rhythm. Sometimes treated as a synonym for trip hop, it differs from that genre by having a less "earthy" sound.
Dream pop – an atmospheric and melodic style of neo-psychedelia designed to make the audience feel dreamy; despite its name, it is usually not considered a form of pop music.
Drone metal – a fusion of drone and heavy metal music.
Drill music – Chicago rap, see Drill (music genre) for more.
Dub music – an electronic offshoot of reggae in which pre-existing recordings (usually the instrumental track of said recordings called riddim) are heavily remixed, resulting in an echoey, reverberating sound.
Early music – any music made from the prehistoric era until the advent of baroque music.
East Coast hip hop – hip hop music originating from the American East Coast (largely New York City); considered the first form of hip hop music.
Easy listening – a popular music genre and radio format known for its slower tempo and the large prominence of strings.
Easycore - a style of pop punk that heavily features elements of metalcore such as screamed vocals & breakdowns while also featuring major key riffs & progressions & occasionally synthesizers.
Electric blues – any style of blues played with electric instruments, most notably the electric guitar.
Electro – a style of boogie which intentionally sounds robotic and computer-like that later incorporated the rhythms of hip hop music.
Electronic music – music that utilizes electronic instruments, such as the synthesizer, Theremin, and computer.
Electronic rock – refers to any style of rock music that contains elements of electronic music (usually its usage of the synthesizer), although the term is largely limited to certain styles.
Electronica – a type of music that is produced using electrical instruments such as synthesizers, electronic percussion.
Electronicore – a fusion of electronic and post-hardcore/metalcore music.
Eurotrance – European trance music, usually a fusion of Eurodance with uplifting trance and/or hard trance.
Exotica – a style of easy listening that is meant to invoke the sounds of exotic locations (mostly Oceania) using non-Western instruments such as the Congo drum.
Experimental music – any music that breaches contemporary standards of music.
Filmi-ghazal – a fusion of filmi and ghazal poetry.
Fingerstyle – the act of plucking guitar strings with the fingertips.
Flamenco – a popular style of Spanish folk dance music developed in Andalusia by Romani-Spanish (or Gitanos), but later expanding to the general Spanish populace.
Free jazz – a style of jazz that takes the genre's usage of musical improvisation to the extreme, almost to the point of eliminating jazz's other elements. Related and originally synonymous with avant-garde jazz, free jazz is completely improvisational.
Free tekno – a style of techno developed by anarchists.
French house – house music originating from France that usually tries to emulate the genre that house music sprang out of: disco.
Frevo – Brazilian dance styles associated with the Brazilian Carnivale.