The 21 most popular musical genres

Music is one of the most universal artistic manifestations, it always accompanies us and we all like it. Music manages to connect with the soul, with our emotions and moods. Surely, we do not listen to the same songs on a happy day as on a sad one. There are musical genres for all tastes; That is, music is grouped into categories that identify some pieces as belonging to a certain trend.

How is this classification done? In reality, there is no specific formula or method, but it can be done from different perspectives. Thus, these divisions are often subjective and controversial.. As a result, some genres can overlap, combine, give rise to a new genre, etc.

Below, we show an approach to the 21 most listened to musical genres today.

The most popular musical genres

If we take into account the study of Music Consumer Insight Report (2018) we found that the pop genre topped the list, followed by rock in second place, and Dance/Electronic/
House In the third.

For its part, if we consider the Spotify report for 2021, we find that Latin trap, reggaeton, pop, k-pop and rap are the most popular musical genres in recent times. Well, the most listened to artists worldwide that year were:

Bad BunnyTaylor SwiftBTSDrakeJustin Bieber

Now, based on these and other sources, we can list the 21 most popular musical genres. Let’s see what they are.

1. Electronic dance music: Electronic Dance Music (EDM)

Generally referred to as EDM, this form of music is produced by DJs who add dozens of tones to a piece to create unique music. You can listen to them in clubs or even live, depending on your accessibility to them.

Starting in the sixties, several pioneering predecessors of the genre became known worldwide and continue to influence current production. Below, we present some of the artists and currents that, from our point of view, occupy a prominent position:

He dub from Jamaica: it was a genre of electronic music that emerged from music experimentation reggae in the 1960s.The German band Kraftwerk, formed in 1970.The disk music of Giorgio Moroder.

Currently, Daft Punk is one of the main music groups dance electro-pop.

2. Music rock

Originated as Rock & Roll In the United States, music rock has been shaking the world since the 1950s. With great evolution over the years and giving rise to an endless number of derived subgenres, the rock It remains one of the contemporary genres par excellence.

It is a form of music that began with string instruments, but, over time, modern instruments have been included. Due to the number of aspects and variants that the genre has, it is difficult to give a precise definition.

Its strong rhythms, wild lyrics and easily identifiable aesthetic made the rock in one of the favorite genres of young people. Especially during the second half of the 20th century.

An entire culture influenced by music that has crossed borders, the rock It is an attitude, the figure of the person rises rockstar and penetrated society.

Some of the stars of rock Those who have popularized this culture are: Little Richard, Bill Haley and Chuck Berry. On the other hand, bands like Pink Floyd, The Doors, Metallica, Nirvana and Megadeth They are the modern bands that have taken the culture of rock for assault.

3. Jazz

Identified with swing and blue notes, the jazz It has its roots in both West African and European culture. It is said that the Jazz is “One of America’s original art forms” and which features a unique combination of creativity, coercion and interactivity.

With its origins from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, the jazz It has also played an important role in the global projection of iconic figures: Ella Fitzgerald, Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln and Ethel Waters.

4. Dubstep

The term dubstep It began to become popular around 2002. It was coined by record labels such as Big Apple and Tempa, To differentiate this remix stylistic trend from the original genre, the 2-step.

He dubstep It is electronic music that falls into the category of drum&bass. He dubstep gained some popularity in the early 2000s in London, England.

It is characterized by incorporating the elements funky of the breakbeat or the darkest features of the drum and bass in one’s own 2-step.

5. Rhythm and Blues either R&B

Vocalists like Sade, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé and Tina Tuner have become big in the music industry thanks to their dedication to this form of music.. Originating in the 1940s, this African American music is a combination of hip hop, funk, dance, pop and soul. His lyrics focus on themes such as relationships, sex and freedom.

This is one of the musical genres that is very popular among young people, its boom began in the mid-80s and early 90s. New trends, changes in our lifestyle and customs resulted in the loss or slight decline of genres that had triumphed years before, such as disco music.

Thus, R&B began to spread in clubs and youth environments. At times, he has been closely linked to pop and it can be difficult to draw their distinction.

6. Techno

It originated in the United States, specifically, in the city of Detroit. It is accepted that the origin of techno It is due to the experimental use of the synthesizer in the fusion of pieces from various currents of music.

Nowadays, the use of more advanced technology than the old synthesizer has led to many styles of techno. He techno was originally associated with an aesthetic defined as Afrofuturist and cyberpunk.

7. Music country

This is another of the popular music genres of American music that originated in the 1920s. Country music has its roots in folk US.

It is constructed using simple shapes of instruments ranging from electric guitars to drums, mandolin and harmonica. Some of the most popular musicians of the genre are: Johnny Cash, Blake Shelton and Kenny Rogers.

8. Electro

A perfect combination of hip hop and electronic music; he electro either electro–funk uses drum machine, vocoder and talkbox. This allows it to distinguish itself from another similar form of music, music disk. Some of the notable artists who have been into this form of music are: Arthur Baker, Freeez, Man Parrish and Midnight Star.

9. Indie Rock

In reality, it is included within the genre or subgenre known as rock alternative that, in turn, would fall into the category of rock.

He Indie Rock originated in the 1980s and has gradually changed the music industry. One of the most iconic bands of the indie is Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand and The Kooks also stand out.

After a decade, it also gave birth to genres like math rock, emo, noise pop, postrock and it–fi.

10. Music pop

Pop It is a term derived from ‘popular’ and, therefore, its connection to popular music is more than evident. With its roots in style rock and rollthis form can include any form of music, from urban music and dance to rock, country and Latin.

The most used instruments are electric guitars, synthesizers and basses. It is a genre that has been closely associated with the commercial, it is “that music that is heard on the radio.” Some notable artists of pop are: Britney Spears, Madonna, Lady Gaga and, of course, the “king of pop“, Michael Jackson.

eleven. Hip hop

He hip hop It is more than a genre, it is an American artistic and cultural movement. It is recognized as the artistic expression that was born at the end of the 60s in the working-class neighborhoods of New York.

In 2017, for the first time, the genre of hip hop surpassed the rock as the most popular genre in consumer taste or, at least, that was the case according to the year-end Nielsen report on the industry. disk.

12. Evergreen

Songs with lyrics that take advantage of and give shape to something universal and timeless belong to this classification.. What do we mean by this? It can start from a feeling, a story, a message, a state of mind, an idea… in short, something that resonates generation after generation.

Its message is non-prescriptive, non-audience specific, and reflects something universally memorable.

13. Heavy Metal

It is also called simply metal. This genre began towards the end of the 1960s in the United Kingdom and the United States.. Combines elements of punk rock and of rock psychedelic giving it a greater charge of aggressiveness and speed.

Famous exponents of Heavy Metal are Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and the English Black Sabbath. Today, the world capital of heavy metal It is Finland having the largest number of bands heavy metal per capita in the world.

While countries equally influential in the genre such as Sweden and Norway have only 27 bands of heavy metal For every 100,000 inhabitants, Finland has twice as many, 54 bands.

14. Classical music, piano concertos, symphonies and operas

In reality, it is not a contemporary genre, but rather it has centuries of history behind it, but we include it for its immortality and its permanent mark.

This is academic music, It is the music of great composers performed by symphony orchestras. By definition, classical music covers a period of time from approximately the 11th century to the 19th century. It is based on the liturgical and secular music of the West.

Due to the growing professionalization of the profession of the musician and composer of classical music, it is recognized as an expression of the cultured elites of society.. However, it has managed to adapt and some popular music groups, such as the British band Queen, decided to merge it with the rockwith more current genres and bring it to mass culture.

fifteen. K-Pop

According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, the k-pop It is one of the most listened to musical genres in the world. And its popularity has become very evident even for non-fans.

This musical genre emerged in South Korea in the early and mid-1990s and has been specifically identified as the popular music of this country.. However, it began to become popular during the first decade of this millennium.

He k-pop includes other genres such as pop, rap, EDM, rock or R&B, and among its most prominent exponents are BTS, Super Junior; Black Pink and Exo.

16. Independent music

Although it is not a musical genre in itself, we placed this category on the list because it is frequently used to refer to productions that move away from the large industries of the music market.

Within independent music we can find a variety of genres, but his…