Types of music genres
The famous saying goes, “There are only two kinds of music: good and bad.” That said, it’s often easier to start listening when music is categorized by genre.
Use this as a reference to help you discover new ‘good music.’
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Types of music genres (41–50)
Grunge
It’s the genre best known for the existence of NIRVANA! It caught fire around Seattle at the end of the 1980s, and is characterized by a sound that blends punk and metal.
It also had a huge impact on fashion—think distressed jeans, Converse sneakers, flannel shirts, and inside-out T-shirts.
Types of music genres (51–60)
Kecak
It is a men’s choral performance held in Bali, Indonesia, which is also a play that uses a dance called Sanghyang.
Originally, Sanghyang arose as a form of purification during outbreaks of disease and poor harvests, but in recent years it has come to be regarded as an artistic practice.
gospel
It’s music performed by Black artists that sings messages based on the Christian Bible, and it’s also the origin of soul music! Starting in the 1930s, it began to be performed in Black churches, and while it has influenced other genres, gospel itself has continued to evolve as a genre.
Go go!
It’s a Black dance music genre that was born in Washington and became hugely popular in the 1970s and ’80s! It’s characterized by endlessly repeating, hard-hitting rhythms that use Latin percussion, and you can also feel the influence of Afro music.
psychedelic rock
The psychedelic movement of the counterculture that emerged on the U.S.
West Coast in the late 1960s.
It’s a rock genre that became popular during that era! Compared to earlier rock, it incorporates a more fantastical worldview, evoking a hallucinatory musical experience.
psychobilly
It’s a music genre that emerged in the 1980s, blending rockabilly with punk.
Think of it as an intense form of rockabilly, driven by aggressive slap on the upright bass and relentless power chords.
It’s also known for its distinctive fashion: studded leather riders jackets, Doc Martens worn with the trousers tucked into the boots, and a hairstyle known as the “psycho cut.”
Salsa
It is a genre of Latin music said to have been developed by Central Americans living in New York, incorporating elements of American music such as soul, jazz, and rock into 1930s Cuban music like son and rumba.
It is a musical style in which the clave, a rhythm characteristic of South America, plays a key role.