List of music genres and styles

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This is a list of music genres and styles. Music can be described in terms of many genres and styles. Classifications are often arbitrary, and may be disputed and closely related forms often overlap. Larger genres and styles comprise more specific sub-categories.

Contents

Classical

Avant-garde & Experimental

Blues

Country

Easy Listening

Electronic

Folk

Hip Hop

Jazz

Pop

R&B & Soul

Rock

Metal

Punk

Regional

African

Antarctica

Asian

Australasia & Oceania

European

Balkan States

Baltic States

Caucasus

Central European States

Nordic/Scandinavian States

Slavic States

Western European

Latin & South American

North American

Religious

Traditional Folk

Other

These categories are not exhaustive. A music platform, Gracenote, listed more than 2000 music genres (included by those created by ordinary music lovers, who are not involved within the music industry, these being said to be part of a 'folksonomy', i.e. a taxonomy created by non-experts). Most of these genres were created by music labels to target new audiences, however classification is useful to find music and distribute it.

See also

This list is split into four separate pages:

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Washington (state)</span>

The U.S. state of Washington has been home to many popular musicians and several major hotbeds of musical innovation throughout its history. The largest city in the state, Seattle, is known for being the birthplace of grunge as well as a major contributor to the evolution of punk rock, indie music, folk, and hip hop. Nearby Tacoma and Olympia have also been centers of influence on popular music.

Popular music of the United Kingdom in the 1980s built on the post-punk and new wave movements, incorporating different sources of inspiration from subgenres and what is now classed as world music in the shape of Jamaican and Indian music. It also explored the consequences of new technology and social change in the electronic music of synthpop. In the early years of the decade, while subgenres like heavy metal music continued to develop separately, there was a considerable crossover between rock and more commercial popular music, with a large number of more "serious" bands, like The Police and UB40, enjoying considerable single chart success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music history of the United States</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">American popular music</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dance music</span> Music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing

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This is a list of lists of musicians.

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