24 Music Genres Worth a Listen

1. Symphonic Metal
A melodic genre that combines heavy distorted guitar riffs of heavy metal with traditional instrumentals, booming orchestras, wide vocal ranges, and classical-sounding music. Depending on the band's style, the song may incorporate synths, full symphonic orchestras, choirs, and sometimes even opera-style singing. Metal fans who hate cookie-monster death growls or fry screams will easily be able to find this genre enjoyable.

2. Retro/Eurobeat
With J-Pop and Eurodance as its parents, Retro Eurobeat can also be considered a variant of the Hi-NRG-driven Italo disco and British pop music that developed in the 80s and 90s. You'll often find this sped-up disney cheese in the intros of 90s animes and in background music from fitness competitions on TV. Common characteristics of Eurobeat are: fast paced beats (>120bpm), rapid synthesizer riffing, and recurring song themes like "Cars/Racing", "Energy", or "Japan". It has mostly faded out of the mainstream but is still beloved by the internet and, unlike Vaporwave, is actually listenable if you give it a chance.

3. Hard Trance
Trance is a genre of electronic music that developed in Germany (early 1990s) characterized by strong, hard kicks, fully resonant basses, repeating melodic phrases, and a musical form that distinctly builds up and down throughout a track. At a tempo of 130-180 beats per minute (BPM), a typical song begins with a progressive beat (a beat which becomes an increasingly more complex beat throughout the song), leads to a "build up" beat, and then to a "hook" or "theme".

4. DnB (Liquid Funk)
Emerging in England during the early 1990s, DnB or "Drum and Bass" is characterized by rapid breakbeats (typically between 150–180 beats per minute) and heavy bass/sub-bass lines. Liquid (Or Liquid Funk) is a subgenre of DnB containing fewer bar-oriented samples and more instrumental layers (both synthesized and natural), harmonies, melodies, and ambiance.

5. Japanese Pop/Punk/Rock/Metal
Is anyone really surprised these weird music videos come from Japan? The whole country is bizarro world, they do everything we do but in a strange, uncomfortable way... and their music is no exception. I went out of my way to pick normal-looking videos and decent sounding songs, some with English lyrics. But regardless of the language it's sung in, it will still feel somewhat alien (Especially "BabyMetal" and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas").

6. Djent/Progressive
A style of heavy metal music that developed as a spinoff of traditional progressive metal. The word "djent" is an onomatopoeia for the distinctive high-gain, distorted palm-muted, low pitch guitar sound most notably employed by bands like Meshuggah and Sikth. It also incorporates drawn out "drone" sounds or progressive guiltar leads over the palm muting rhythms. Many djent bands also substitute slower soloing for the "drone" riffing in more mainstream Djent bands.

7. Power Metal
Power metal is a "fantasy-style" genre concentrated around medieval, renaissance, folk, and science fiction themes. Power Metal has origins way back in the 1970s drawing from the lyrical styles of Iron Maiden and Rainbow (RIP Dio). It combines characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal to create a more theatrical, dramatic, and emotionally "uplifting" sound (in contrast to death metal). Guitar chords are anthem-like, melodically harmonizing with frequently used keyboards.

8. House
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago in the early 1980s. It is characterized by a prominent kick drum on every beat, repetitive 4/4 melodies, off-beat hi-hats, and synthesized basslines. Great for beginners looking to get into electronic music due to its minimalistic nature, presence in mainstream radio, visible integration into "pop", and uplifting "soulful themes".

9. Industrial Rock
Emerging from the late 1980s, this genre draws influence from both Industrial dance music and hard rock/metal, using distorted guitar riffing, sampling, synths, sequencer hooks, and distorted vocals. The genre has also occasionally concentrated around dark, morbid, or dystopian themes due to influence from the black metal scene during the early 2000s.

10. Electro
Electro is a genre of electronic music typically featuring drum machines and heavy electronic sounds, usually without vocals. If vocals are present they are usually delivered in a deadpan manner, often through electronic distortion such as vocoding and talkboxing. Overall, the examples here are less vocal-oriented and focused more on the Chiptune-esque, video-game sounding instrumentals. Electro (or Electro-Funk) originally emerged as a fusion of funk and early hip-hop in the 80s, followed by a Second wave in the 90s (think Daft Punk) and a Third wave of popularity occurred in 2011 (link below) when Electro branched out into subgenres, many of which can be found on channels like Monstercat, EpicNetworkMusic, and TastyNetwork.

11. Melodic Metal
A genre of metal combining some elements of death metal (like heavy riffing) with elements of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and Power Metal (more classical riffing). Melodic Death Metal or "Melodeath", in short, is basically an amalgamation of #7 and #17 on this list. The style originated and developed in Sweden and the United Kingdom during the early and mid-1990s. Some bands strictly use death-growls, but many other melodic metal bands still include clean vocals.

12. Dubstep/Drumstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music originating in London ( late 1990s) developing from a lineage of related styles such as 2-step garage, broken beat, and Dnb. The music generally features syncopated drum and percussion patterns with bass lines that contain prominent sub bass frequencies. Usually includes a melodic build to a "drop" of distorted bass lines, melodic chord progressions, or dissonant breakdowns. The word "Drumstep" refers to a combination of dubstep elements with DnB to form a whole new beat and tempo.

13. Folk Metal
Yes, this actually exists. "Folk metal" (Including but not limited to "Samurai Metal", "Pirate Metal", "Pagan Metal", "Celt Metal", and occasionally "Viking Metal") is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterized by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles.

14. IDM/Glitch/Glitch-Hop
Before you scroll past this one due to the name, I should let you know that "Glitch" doesn't automatically indicate that it contains cacophonous toilet-noises in place of melody. "Glitch" and "Glitch-Hop" are subsets of IDM ("intelligent dance music") which relies on individualistic experimentation rather than adhering to specific "rules" and characteristics associated with the rest of EDM genres. Glitch does adhere to an "aesthetic of failure" and deliberate use of audio malfunctioning, but can still incorporate melody.

15. Hardstyle
Hardstyle is a genre of electronic dance music (integrating various hardcore/hard techno styles) with origins in the Netherlands during the early 2000s. A Hardstyle beat generally consists of distorted sharp kick-drum sounds (~150bpm), faded bass lines, and finally, a signature dissonant distorted synth "theme" or melodic "hook" in the middle of the song following the drop-build.

16. Symphonic/Melodic Black Metal
Black metal is an extreme genre of metal including rapid drum beats ("Blast beats" and "Gravity Blasts"), raw lo-fi recording (Yes, on purpose), "Shrieking" vocals (as opposed to the "Growling" in Death Metal), atmospheric chords (sometimes using keyboards), unconventional song structures, and virtually half the guitar riffs involve tremolo picking. The 1st Black metal wave came from thrash-like style bands in the 1980s (Venom), a 2nd wave from Norway in the 1990s (Burzum, Darkthrone, Emperor), the much hated 3rd "gothic" wave in the 2000s (Cradle of Filth? not even sure if you could even call this wave BM), and a modern wave.

Overall, the Black Metal scene strives to be inaccessible to the mainstream and outsiders who are not committed. For now I'll just showcase the mainstream. If you want to explore further, definitely check out the 2nd wave Norwegians (but be warned, it's not easy-listening for metal rookies).

17. Death Metal/TechDeath
This genre employs "heavy" distorted low-tuned guitars played with highly-technical palm muting and tremolo picking, frequent time-sig changes (TechDeath), deep growling vocals, and powerful double kick drumming (Blast beats). Any present melodies are usually played in minor keys, abrupt tempo, and chromatic chord progressions. For this list I've toned down the quanitity of Tech Met to make it easier to listen to. Either way, the lyrical themes of death metal strive to be "Br00tal", invoking slasher film-stylized mutilation, Lovecraftian horror, Viking mythology, and extreme violence (dissection, torture, cannibalism, and necrophilia).

18. Virtuosic (Neoclassical & Experimental Rock)
Virtuosic rock pushes genre boundaries, common composition, and performance technique. Guitar-virtuosos attempt to individualize their music with strange instrumental tunings, compositional styles, and fusing elements of exotic musical genres. Genre-wise, artists like Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Joe Satriani defy the norms of socially-acceptable styles and push genre boundaries with innovative techniques, instrumental-emphasis, and unconventional compositional structure.

19. Trancecore/Trance Metal
Genre mashing done right. Trance Metal is a mixed Genre of Melodic Death Metal and Metalcore (Or Post-Hardcore) with Trance music incorporated in it. It is NOT an EDM genre, it is usually classified as a Post-Hardcore subgenre (Enter Shikari) or "Metal" subgenre (Dark Tranquility), although minimal influence may be present. Trance Metal bands are usually heavily guitar riff influenced bands (like most melodeath bands) with little breakdowns grooves or none at all.

20. Happycore
Debatably a derivative of trance, hardcore, and hard dance, typified by a very fast tempo (usually around 160–180 BPM), coupled with solo vocals and sentimental lyrics (But not really in the case of this list). Its characteristically 4/4 beat "happy" sound distinguishes it from most other forms of hardcore, which tend to be "darker". This classification is kind of a grey area as the songs here might be more in line with trance (due to the weakness of the kick drum and slightly slower tempo), but I'm open to suggestions.

21. Electronicore
It's what it sounds like, different electronic genres mixed with either metal or post-hardcore. Electronicore (also known as synthcore or simply electronic hardcore) describes a stylistic fusion of post-hardcore and electronic music, specifically electronica. Notable artists of this genre have originated from England, Sweden, and Japan.

22. Metalcore
Metalcore is a broad fusion genre of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is an amalgam of the names of the two genres, distinguished by its emphasis on "breakdowns", which are slow, intense passages that are conducive to moshing. Some of examples i've included here also tend to incorporate complex melodic riffing over their breakdowns

23. Doujin (Demetori)
Dōjin (or Doujin) originates from the general Japanese term for a community that shares the same interest in an anime, manga, or video games (the word is sometimes translated into English as clique, fandom, society, or circle) as well as the content produced from said community. Doujin music first emerged as fan-made content for popular Japanese media, including genre-bending covers of obscure video game music (in this case, Touhou). Some professional artists, like Demetori, participate as a way to publish material outside the regular publishing industry while delivering music from the underground into the mainstream.

24. TnB (Trap and Bass)
The Trap genre is all about its crisp, grimy and rhythmic snares, which can be incorporated into DnB (Drum and Bass) or Dubstep style beats to create a unique sound. Although Trap is typified by its aggressive lyrical content and sound, I find the Beat much more appealing. Trap beats (140bpm or higher) are propelled by 808 kick drums, heavy extended sub-bass lines, fast time-divided snares, double-time/triple-time hi-hats (Like in technical-sounding Hip-Hop beats), and multi-layered hard-lined and melodic synthesizers.

KawaiiJorge1 pt43m
I'm not a hipster and know all of these. Yet no Synthwave or Nu Disco.