Every category and genre, explained

The foundation of most dance music. A steady four-on-the-floor kick on every beat, an off-beat hi-hat "tss" between kicks, and a warm, looping, soulful groove. If it feels like a club at midnight and you can nod your head on every kick, it is house.

House with the lights turned down. Softer kicks, lush jazzy or gospel chords (lots of 7th and 9th chords), muffled basslines and a mellow, late-night, slightly melancholy mood. Less "hands up", more "eyes closed".

House rhythm crossed with techno's coldness. Stripped back, punchy and percussive — tight rolling basslines, minimal melody, chopped vocal snippets. Built for sound systems, not for singing along.

House that takes its time. Long, gradual builds where layers stack over several minutes toward a big melodic release. Widescreen, emotional, festival-sized. If your track has a slow 90-second build into a huge melodic drop, this is usually the honest pick.

Loud, aggressive, distorted house. Heavy, buzzing, detuned synth basslines that snarl rather than groove, and a hard-hitting drop. The dominant festival sound of roughly 2008–2014.

House tempo with dubstep-style bass design. The drop swaps melody for a growling, talking, heavily modulated bass while the four-on-the-floor kick keeps going underneath.

Also listed as Big Room House, Festival EDM

Main-stage festival EDM at its most maximal. Enormous simple lead melody, a huge build with a white-noise riser and a silent pause, then a drop that is mostly kick and a single blaring synth. Designed for 40,000 people jumping.

Bright, emotional, candy-coloured. Detuned "wobbling" chord stabs that bend in pitch, pitched-up vocal chops, trap-influenced drums with rattling hi-hats. Sounds hopeful and a bit nostalgic.

Repetitive, hypnotic, machine-driven. A relentless kick, metallic percussion, very little melody or vocal, and long hypnotic loops that evolve slowly through filters rather than through verses and choruses. Darker and more industrial than house.

Techno's drive with an actual emotional melody on top. Brooding minor-key arpeggios, cinematic pads, a hypnotic groove that feels more like a journey than a party. Very common for modern "moody but danceable" tracks.

Stripped to almost nothing and hypnotic because of it. Tiny clicking percussion, a barely-there bassline, huge amounts of space, and micro-changes that reveal themselves over minutes. Deliberately sparse.

Also listed as Hardcore, Hard Techno, Gabber

Fast and punishing. Distorted, clipping kick drums that carry the whole track, screaming synth stabs, and tempos well past what a normal club plays. Aggression is the aesthetic.

Also listed as Hardstyle, Hard House, Hardcore Trance

Umbrella for hardstyle, hard house and hard trance. The signature is a "reverse bass" — the kick is followed by a pitched-down bass tone that sounds like it is bouncing backwards — plus euphoric or menacing leads.

Euphoric and melodic. Fast rolling 16th-note basslines, sweeping supersaw chords, a long emotional breakdown in the middle where the drums drop out entirely, then a soaring uplifting lead. Unmistakably "hands in the air".

Also listed as Psytrance, Goa Trance, Psychedelic Trance

Psychedelic trance. A galloping triplet bassline that never stops, squelchy acid-like leads, alien/organic textures and long trippy builds. Feels like a forest party rather than a nightclub.

Halftime and heavy. The drums feel half as fast as the tempo suggests (kick on 1, snare on 3), leaving enormous room for a modulated, growling, screaming bass to be the actual lead instrument.

Also listed as DnB, Drum and Bass, Liquid DnB, Neurofunk

Fast chopped breakbeats over a deep, slow-moving sub bassline. The drums sprint at ~174 BPM while the bass and melody move at half that pace, which is why it feels both frantic and heavy at once.

Drum & bass's rawer ancestor. Frenetic, heavily chopped and time-stretched breakbeats (usually the "Amen break"), reggae and dancehall basslines and vocal samples, and a rougher, more organic feel than modern DnB.

Also listed as Breakbeat, Nu Skool Breaks

Dance music built on a syncopated, funky broken drum loop instead of a straight four-on-the-floor kick. The groove stumbles and swings rather than marching.

Also listed as 2-Step, Garage, UKG

Skippy, swung, shuffling drums with a distinctive lurching two-step feel, soulful chopped vocals and a bouncy bassline. Sounds like house that has been knocked slightly off its grid, in a good way.

Also listed as IDM, Braindance, Experimental Electronic

"Intelligent Dance Music" — electronic music made for headphones rather than dancefloors. Irregular, intricately programmed drums, odd time feels, unusual synthesis, and structures that refuse to repeat predictably.

Also listed as Glitch, Glitch Pop, Neuro Hop

Hip-hop tempo and swagger built out of digital errors used on purpose — stutters, buffer skips, CD-skip artifacts, bit-crushing and granular chops — over a heavy funk bassline. Funky and broken at the same time.

Also listed as EDM Trap, Festival Trap

Hip-hop trap drums repurposed for festivals. Booming 808 sub kicks, rattling triplet and stuttering hi-hat rolls, and a big synth or vocal drop. Distinct from rap trap in that it is instrumental and drop-focused.

Also listed as Downtempo, Electronica, Chillwave

Slower electronic music built for listening rather than dancing. Grooves are present but relaxed, textures are rich, and the mood is atmospheric. The catch-all for "electronic, has a beat, but is not a club track".

Also listed as Chillout, Lounge

Soft, warm, low-energy electronic music designed to decompress to. Gentle beats, mellow chords, no aggression and no big drop. Ibiza sunset rather than Ibiza nightclub.

Also listed as Lo-Fi Hip Hop, Lofi Beats

Deliberately imperfect and cosy. Tape hiss, vinyl crackle, muffled dusty drums, jazzy sampled chords and a sleepy swung groove. Made to sit in the background while you study or work.

Atmosphere without rhythm. Long sustained tones, slow-moving pads and field recordings, usually with no drums and no clear beat at all. Meant to colour a space rather than command attention.

Also listed as Retrowave, Outrun, Darksynth

A loving recreation of 1980s film and video-game soundtracks. Gated reverb snares, analog-style arpeggios, neon-bright saw leads and a steady driving pulse. Nostalgic and cinematic by design.

Also listed as Nu Disco, Indie Dance, Disco House

Dance music with a live-band, disco or indie-rock heart. Funky electric bass, real-sounding drums, disco strings or guitar, often with an actual sung vocal and song structure.

Slow, heavy, cinematic and moody. Dusty hip-hop breakbeats at a crawling tempo, dubby bass, minor-key strings or Rhodes and often a haunting, breathy vocal. Rainy-city music.

Sustained, static and texture-first. A single tone or cluster held for a long time and slowly transformed, often harsh or unsettling. No beat, no melody, no resolution.

The dominant modern rap sound. Booming sliding 808 bass, rattling triplet hi-hat rolls, dark minor-key melodies and a half-time feel.

Also listed as East Coast, Golden Age

Classic 1990s East Coast rap. A hard kick ("boom") and cracking snare ("bap") on a swung sampled loop, usually chopped from jazz or soul records.

Menacing and sparse. Sliding 808s that glide between notes, skittering hi-hats, ominous minor melodies and a distinctive stuttering, off-kilter drum pattern.

Lyric-forward rap centred on social, political or introspective content, usually over warmer, more musical, live-feeling production.

Hazy, reverb-soaked and dreamlike. Washed-out ambient beats, heavily processed or mumbled vocals and an unhurried, floating quality.

The blurred line between singing and rapping. Sung, Auto-Tuned melodic hooks over trap-derived drums, with an emotional rather than combative tone.

Pop songwriting on a four-on-the-floor dance beat. Big chorus, bright synths, built for both radio and the club.

Pop where synthesizers replace guitars as the main colour. Crisp electronic drums, catchy synth riffs, often a slightly cool or detached vocal.

Pop melody with a smaller, more homemade, less glossy production. Jangly guitars or bedroom synths, intimate vocals, quirky arrangements.

Pop built from aggressive, prominent electronic textures — heavy synth bass and processed vocals pushed to the front.

Voice and a primary instrument at the centre. Piano or acoustic guitar, lyric-driven, minimal production so the song carries itself.

Pop pushed to a cartoonish extreme. Pitched-up vocals, distorted and clipping bass, abrupt structural jumps, maximal and deliberately overwhelming.

Melodic guitar rock outside the mainstream template — moody, dynamic, often quiet verses into loud choruses.

Guitar rock with a scrappy, independent feel. Jangly or fuzzy tones, conversational vocals, modest production.

Loud, riff-driven and swaggering. Heavy distorted power chords, powerful vocals, prominent guitar solos.

Swirling, hazy and exploratory. Phaser and reverb-drenched guitars, modal jams, tape effects and a drifting, trippy atmosphere.

Instrumental rock built on long crescendos. Clean delayed guitars slowly stack into an enormous distorted climax, usually with no vocals at all.

Fast, short, raw and direct. Three chords, shouted vocals, no solos, minimal production polish.

Modern, polished R&B. Smooth layered vocal harmonies, programmed drums, lush chords and an intimate mood.

Live, warm and jazz-informed. Real drums with a loose behind-the-beat feel, Rhodes electric piano, rich chord voicings and an organic mix.

Vintage groove music. Tight horn sections, syncopated bass, gospel-powered vocals and a band locked into a pocket.

Slow, consonant and non-intrusive. Sustained tones, gentle bells or bowls, no rhythm and no dissonance.

Field recordings — rain, ocean, forest — either alone or under a soft musical bed.

Tone-based tracks built around specific frequencies or slight left/right pitch offsets that create a pulsing binaural beat.

Country songwriting with rock and pop production. Electric guitars, big drums, polished vocals, arena-scale choruses.

Rootsy and unvarnished. Acoustic guitar, fiddle, banjo or dobro, live-room recording and lyric-driven storytelling.

Fast, acoustic and virtuosic. Banjo, mandolin, fiddle and upright bass trading solos over a driving off-beat chop.

Traditional acoustic jazz — swung ride cymbal, walking upright bass, head-solos-head structure.

Jazz harmony and improvisation with rock and funk energy. Electric instruments, complex meters, high virtuosity.

Polished, melodic and relaxed. Lyrical sax or guitar lead over soft R&B-influenced grooves, no harsh edges.

A single piano carrying the entire piece, from classical repertoire to modern minimal composition.

Full ensemble writing — strings, brass, woodwind and percussion — with large dynamic range and thematic development.

Contemporary composition using repetition, slow harmonic change and small ensembles, often with electronic processing.

Classic metal — galloping riffs, twin guitar harmonies, soaring clean vocals and virtuosic solos.

Screamed verses alternating with sung choruses, chugging breakdowns designed for a pit, and hardcore-derived intensity.

Rhythmically complex metal built on percussive, palm-muted low-string riffs in shifting odd time signatures.

Extremely slow, extremely heavy. Downtuned crawling riffs, enormous distorted low end and an oppressive atmosphere.

Modern acoustic songwriting — fingerpicked guitar, intimate vocal, sparse tasteful accompaniment.

Folk songwriting with a full band behind it — drums, bass and electric textures under acoustic foundations.

Built on the "dembow" rhythm — a distinctive syncopated boom-ch-boom-chick pattern that never lets up — with Spanish-language vocals.

Pop structure and production with Latin rhythmic and instrumental colour, usually sung in Spanish or Portuguese.

Live Afro-Cuban dance music — clave-driven percussion, piano montuno patterns, horn sections and call-and-response vocals.

The classic sound — guitar and keys chopping on the off-beat ("skank"), a melodic prominent bassline and a relaxed one-drop drum pattern.

Reggae deconstructed in the mixing desk. Vocals and instruments drop in and out through huge echo and reverb, with bass and drums left exposed.

Faster, digital and vocal-forward. Sparse programmed riddims with rapid patois toasting over the top.

Orchestral or hybrid writing that follows dramatic action — themes, builds and stingers rather than verses and choruses.

Loop-friendly music built to repeat seamlessly under gameplay, from chiptune to full orchestral.

Short-form, maximal, tension-and-release music — braams, risers, taiko drums and a huge final hit.

Contemporary West African pop. Bouncy syncopated percussion, warm melodic basslines, bright guitar or marimba figures and a relaxed vocal swing.

South African house derivative built around the "log drum" — a deep, bending percussive bass hit — with airy piano chords, shakers and lots of space.

Music performed on regional traditional instruments in a traditional idiom, from gamelan to flamenco to qawwali.

Amplified band blues — stinging lead guitar, shuffle groove, organ and a powerful vocal.

Solo or small-group blues on acoustic guitar, often with slide, foot-stomp percussion and a raw vocal.

Speech as the primary content — poetry, narration or affirmations, with music absent or purely supportive.

Recorded comedic performance, sketch or parody where the joke is the point.

Seasonal releases, typically Christmas, using traditional seasonal melodies or themes.