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Music genres on Spotify

What each genre means, the artists who define it, and how it shows up in your Spotify pie.

  • Alt-Z

    Alt-Z is Spotify's tag for Gen Z's alternative sound: moody, bedroom-pop-leaning indie music. See what defines the genre and its leading artists.

  • Alternative Metal

    Alternative metal mixes heavy metal riffs with alt-rock melody and grunge influences. See what defines the genre and the bands that lead it today.

  • Alternative Rock

    Alternative rock grew out of 1980s-90s underground and college-radio scenes into a mainstream sound. See what defines it and who leads it today.

  • Beatlesque

    Beatlesque describes music clearly inspired by The Beatles' melodies, harmonies and studio craft. See what defines the sound and its artists.

  • Chicago Rap

    Chicago rap spans drill's aggressive street sound to boom-bap-influenced lyricism. See what defines the genre and the artists who built its sound.

  • Classic Rock

    Classic rock refers to the rock music of the late 1960s through the 1980s still played on the radio today. See what defines the genre and its bands.

  • Cloud Rap

    Cloud rap is hazy, atmospheric hip-hop built on ambient, reverb-heavy beats and dreamy melodies. See what defines the genre and who pioneered it.

  • Contemporary Pop

    Contemporary pop is today's mainstream pop sound. See what defines it, how it differs from classic pop, and the artists topping the charts now.

  • EDM

    EDM is the umbrella term for club and festival electronic music, from house to dubstep. See what defines the genre and today's top EDM artists.

  • Electropop

    Electropop blends synth-pop hooks with dance-pop energy. See what defines the genre, who pioneered it, and today's top electropop artists on Spotify.

  • Hard Rock

    Hard rock is loud, riff-driven rock music with heavier guitars than classic rock. See what defines the genre and the bands leading it today.

  • Hip-Hop

    Hip-hop is rhythm- and rhyme-driven music built on beats and MCing. See what defines the genre, where it came from, and today's top hip-hop artists.

  • Indie Pop

    Indie pop pairs catchy, pop-leaning songwriting with an independent, lo-fi edge. See what defines the genre and today's top indie pop artists.

  • Indie Rock

    Indie rock covers guitar bands who built their sound outside major labels. See what defines the genre and the indie rock artists leading it today.

  • K-Pop

    K-pop is South Korea's pop music export: slick production, choreography and idol groups. See what defines the genre and today's top K-pop artists.

  • Mellow Gold

    Mellow gold is Spotify's tag for soft, radio-friendly pop and soft rock from the 1970s and 80s. See what defines the sound and the artists behind it.

  • Melodic Rap

    Melodic rap blends sung, Auto-Tuned hooks with hip-hop's rhythm and flow. See what defines the genre and the artists leading it on Spotify today.

  • Metal

    Metal is heavy, distortion-driven rock music with dozens of sub-genres, from thrash to djent. See what defines the genre and today's top metal bands.

  • Nu-Metal

    Nu-metal fuses metal's heavy riffs with hip-hop and grunge influences. See what defines the genre and the nu-metal bands leading it on Spotify.

  • Permanent Wave

    Permanent wave is Spotify's tag for the alt-rock and new-wave era of the 1980s-90s. See what defines it and the bands that shaped the sound.

  • Pop

    A complete guide to pop music and its many sub-genres, from dance-pop to bedroom pop, with the artists defining the sound on Spotify right now.

  • Pop-Rock

    Pop-rock fuses rock instrumentation with pop songcraft. See what makes a song pop-rock, examples of the genre, and the artists leading it today.

  • Punk

    Punk rock is fast, stripped-down and rebellious rock music. See what defines the genre, its roots, and the punk bands topping Spotify today.

  • Rock

    An overview of rock music and its many sub-genres, from classic rock to punk and metal, with the bands and artists that define each one on Spotify.

  • Urbano Latino

    Urbano latino covers reggaeton, Latin trap and the wider urban Latin sound. See what defines the genre and the artists topping it worldwide today.