List of popular music genres
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Popular music dates at least as far back as the mid 19th century. Below is a list of genres.
Different genres often appeal to different age groups. These often, but not always, are the people who were young when the music was new. Thus, for instance, Big band music continues to have a following, but it is probably a rather older group, on average, than the audience for rap. For a few of the genres listed below (for instance, Ragtime), the original target generation may have died out almost entirely.
This "generation gap" in the consumption of popular music is particularly marked since the second world war and the increased economic and social independence of younger people. Music hall and other forms before the 1940s are not so clearly marked by generation.
- Adult Contemporary
- Acid house
- Alternative rock
- Ambient
- Ambient House
- Arabesque music
- Blues
- Blues rock
- Britpop
- Baggy
- Lion Pop
- Thamesbeat
- Urchin Rock
- Cheese
- Chinese rock
- Contemporary Christian
- Country music
- Big Beat
- Clunk
- Desert rock
- Disco
- Drum and bass
- Easy listening
- Lounge Music
- Acid Lounge Music
- Electronic music
- Elevator music
- Enka
- Eurodance
- Folk, specifically in its popularized forms, as opposed to performed by traditional folk musicians
- Gospel
- Gabba
- Garage
- Happy Hardcore
- Hard rock
- Glam rock
- Metal
- Poodle Rock
- Hardcore techno
- Hi-NRG
- House music
- Italo house
- Indie Music
- C86
- Garage Rock
- Scumpop
- Urchin Rock
- Industrial rock
- Jazz
- J-rock
- Latin Pop
- Lo-fi
- Music hall
- New Age
- New Wave
- The New Wave Of The New Wave
- Northern Soul
- Pop music
- Baroque pop
- Bubblegum pop
- Cantopop
- Dream Pop
- Indie Pop
- J-pop
- Turkish pop music
- Teenybopper music
- Twee pop
- Tweeny pop
- Traditional pop music
- Pop standards
- Progressive rock
- Psychedelic music
- Punk rock
- Post-punk
- Punk-funk
- Post-punk
- Ragtime
- Rave
- Reggae
- Rock and roll (rock)
- Romo
- Rhythm and blues
- Rhythmic
- Ska
- Southern rock
- Tin Pan Alley
- Trance music
- Urban Music
- Acid Jazz
- Crunk
- Funk
- Hip hop
- New Jack Swing
- Rap Music
- Chicano Rap
- Swing Beat
- UK Garage a.k.a Two-Step
- World music
Show Tunes are generally considered to be in between popular and art music. Examples being that " Memory" (Cats) is a very acceptable song, while only select groups of people enjoy listening to "One" (A Chorus Line) , "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats" (Cats), "The Dream" (Fiddler on the Roof), "We'd Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover" (Annie), "Over the Moon" (RENT), etc.
[edit] Genres that are not popular music
Musical genres usually considered not to be popular music include:
- Most classical music, including opera
- Children's songs (including nursery rhymes and jumprope songs)
- Folk music, as created by traditional performers
- Gregorian chant, hymns, and many other forms of religious music
- Military music
- National anthems and other patriotic music
- Sea shanties and other work songs
As noted earlier, these have a distinct character from popular music: either they are transmitted by word of mouth rather than in organized fashion (children's songs, authentic folk music) or else they are produced to fill the needs of a particular social institution (church, aristocracy, the military, or the state). Note that music pieces of each of these genres can become part of the popular music either in their pure form (like various gregorian compilation CD's) or as remixes (like Moby's Play).
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Lists of music genres
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| Music genres : A-F · G-M · N-R · S-Z · Cultural and regional |
| Art Music · Blues · Country · Electronic · Folk · Heavy metal · Hip hop · Industrial · Jazz · Popular music · Reggae · Rock |
