Music Genre Wheel: 149 Genres to Spin: how it works
This music genre wheel holds 149 genres in 11 families, from rock and hip hop to Latin, jazz and classical. Spin it to choose tonight's listening, your next songwriting brief or the next quiz round. Each result comes with one line on where the genre began or what it sounds like.
Spin one family or the whole wheel of music genres
With all 149 names on it, the wheel of music genres is crowded, so tap a family chip for a wheel you can read. Families run from 11 genres (Classical, vocal and experimental) to 15 (Electronic and dance; Africa, Asia and Europe). For a true random music genre wheel, leave it on All and accept that you may land on Tuvan throat singing.
A song genre wheel for writers and producers
The challenge is simple: spin, then finish one track in that style before the day ends. Used as a song genre wheel, the line under the result is your first brief. Drum and bass means fast breakbeats, typically 165 to 185 beats per minute. Bossa nova means a softer, cooler take on samba. For a month of prompts, spin 30 times in Elimination and press Copy; picks are forgotten when the page closes.
Tips
Listening party: each person gets one music genre wheel spin and two minutes to queue a track that fits.
Music teachers can filter to Jazz and blues, put music genre spin the wheel on the board, and open a lesson with the fact under the result.
Got a shortlist already? Open My list and type one genre per line, up to 100. The wheel spins only those.
Questions and answers
How were the 149 genres chosen?
The names come from Wikipedia's list of music genres and styles, read on 18 September 2026. That list is far longer, so we kept genres you can find a playlist for today and spread them across 11 families. Entries that name a whole country's music or a radio chart were left out.
How does a spin the wheel music genre round work in a quiz?
Spin, read the genre out, and give each team 30 seconds to name a song or an artist that fits. Use Elimination so no genre comes up twice in one night. For a mixed-age table, filter to Pop or Rock, where most of the names are familiar.
Is every genre equally likely?
Yes. Each genre on the wheel has the same chance, and the winner is drawn before the wheel starts to turn, so a harder spin changes nothing. On All, that is 1 chance in 149. A family with 15 genres comes up more often than one with 11.
A cappellaSinging with no instrumental accompaniment.
Barbershop musicUnaccompanied four-part close harmony.
Baroque musicWestern art music of roughly 1600 to 1750, the period that followed the Renaissance.
Classical periodWestern art music from about 1750 to 1820, the age of the symphony and the string quartet.
ImpressionismA late 19th and early 20th century movement, centered on France, that valued mood and tone color.
Lo-fiRecordings that keep the hiss, hum and flaws that a studio would normally remove.
Minimal musicBuilt from short repeated patterns that change slowly; it began in the United States around 1960.
Musique concrèteMusic assembled from recorded sounds, pioneered in France in the 1940s.
Renaissance musicMusic of Europe in the 1400s and 1500s, much of it written for unaccompanied voices.
Romantic music19th century Western art music that put personal expression first.
Video game musicSoundtracks written for games, from early sound chips to full orchestras.
Soul, funk and R&B 12
BoogiePost-disco funk of the late 1970s to mid 1980s that mixes acoustic and electronic instruments.
Contemporary R&BThe modern form of R&B, which mixes soul, funk, pop and hip hop.
DiscoGrew out of the nightlife of American cities from the late 1960s, with a steady four-on-the-floor beat.
FunkA mid 1960s style that lands hard on the first beat of the bar, known as the one.
Go-goA funk offshoot from Washington, D.C. built on audience call and response; the city made it its official music in 2020.
Gospel musicChristian music with dominant vocals, strong harmony and call and response.
Neo soulA soul revival that broke through in the late 1990s, with funk, jazz and hip hop in the mix.
New jack swingA late 1980s fusion of R&B singing with hip hop beats and drum machines.
Northern soulA dance movement from northern England and the Midlands, built on rare, fast American soul records.
Quiet stormA late-night radio format of smooth, slow R&B that began in Washington, D.C. in the 1970s.
Rhythm and bluesA 1940s style from African American communities; the name began as a record industry marketing term.
SoulGospel feeling joined to rhythm and blues, from African American communities around 1960.
Pop 13
Baroque pop1960s pop dressed with classical touches such as harpsichords and string sections.
Bedroom popHome-recorded, lo-fi pop named for where it is made.
Bubblegum popUpbeat, catchy late 1960s pop aimed squarely at young listeners.
City popJapanese pop from the mid 1970s on, at its height in the 1980s, drawing on funk, disco and soft rock.
Doo-wopVocal group harmony from 1940s African American communities, often sung with little or no backing.
Dream popPop that puts texture and atmosphere on the same level as melody.
HyperpopA 2010s style that pushes pop to extremes with pitched-up vocals and distorted, maximal production.
J-popJapanese popular music; the name was coined by the Japanese media to set it apart from foreign music.
K-popPopular music from South Korea, known for idol groups and tight choreography.
Latin popPop with Spanish or Portuguese lyrics.
SchlagerCatchy, sentimental European pop with simple, easygoing lyrics.
Synth-popPop led by synthesizers; it broke through at the end of the 1970s.
Yé-yéEarly 1960s pop from western and southern Europe, named after the English 'yeah, yeah'.
Country and folk 13
AmericanaA blend of American roots styles: country, folk, blues and bluegrass.
Bakersfield soundA 1950s California reply to the Nashville sound, all electric twang and a driving beat.
BluegrassTook shape in the 1940s around banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar and upright bass.
Cajun musicFrench-language music from Louisiana led by fiddle and accordion.
Celtic musicThe folk traditions of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany and their neighbors.
FilkFolk music of science fiction and fantasy fandom, traditionally sung at fan conventions.
Honky tonkHard-edged barroom country with fiddle and steel guitar.
Indie folkAcoustic folk instruments in the hands of indie rock musicians, from the 1990s on.
Outlaw countryA 1970s movement of artists who pushed back against the polished Nashville sound.
Singer-songwriterOne writer performing their own songs, usually with just a guitar or piano.
SkifflePlayed on home-made instruments such as the washboard and tea-chest bass; a 1950s craze in Britain.
Western swingCountry dance music that took on the rhythm of swing, led by fiddle and steel guitar.
ZydecoLouisiana Creole dance music played on accordion and a washboard worn on the chest.
Rock 14
Alternative rockAn umbrella name for rock that grew out of the independent underground and reached the mainstream in the 1990s.
BritpopMid 1990s British guitar pop that looked back to the British bands of the 1960s.
Glam rockEarly 1970s British rock known for glitter, platform boots and stomping choruses.
Gothic rockDark, bass-led and atmospheric rock that British post-punk bands arrived at by the end of the 1970s.
GrungeCame out of Seattle in the mid 1980s, mixing punk energy with heavy, sludgy guitars.
Hard rockLoud, riff-driven rock with aggressive, distorted electric guitars; it began in the mid 1960s.
Indie rockNamed for the independent record labels that released it in the 1980s.
New waveA late 1970s, pop-minded offshoot of punk that welcomed synthesizers.
Progressive rockLong multi-part songs, odd time signatures and banks of keyboards; it developed in Britain and the United States in the late 1960s.
Psychedelic rockMid 1960s rock built on studio effects, long solos and borrowed Indian instruments such as the sitar.
Rock and rollTook shape in the United States in the years either side of 1950, out of rhythm and blues and country music.
ShoegazeA late 1980s British style of blurred, effects-heavy guitars, named for players who stared down at their pedals.
Surf rockReverb-heavy guitar music tied to Southern California surf culture, at its peak from 1958 to 1964.
Yacht rockA name coined in 2005 by an online comedy series for smooth soft rock of the mid 1970s to mid 1980s.
Metal and punk 14
Black metalFast tremolo-picked guitars, shrieked vocals and deliberately raw production.
Death metalKnown for growled vocals, low-tuned distorted guitars and blast beat drumming.
Doom metalMetal at its slowest and heaviest: low tunings and crawling tempos.
EmoBegan as emotional hardcore in Washington, D.C. in the mid 1980s.
Hardcore punkA faster, harder form of punk that appeared in the late 1970s.
Heavy metalRock made thick and loud, with distorted guitars and long solos; it took shape in Britain and the United States around 1970.
MetalcoreA fusion of extreme metal and hardcore punk, known for its breakdowns.
Nu metalMetal crossed with hip hop, funk and grunge, often played on down-tuned seven-string guitars.
Pirate metalMetal with pirate lyrics and sea shanty melodies. Yes, it is a real genre.
Pop-punkPunk speed and guitars paired with pop melodies and hooks.
Power metalFast, melodic metal with soaring clean vocals and fantasy themes.
Punk rockMid 1970s rock stripped down to short, fast songs and a do-it-yourself attitude.
Ska punkPunk crossed with the offbeat guitar and horn sections of ska.
Thrash metalEarly 1980s metal defined by fast tempos and tight, palm-muted riffs.
Hip hop 14
Boom bapNamed after the sound of its kick and snare drums; the core East Coast sound of the late 1980s and 1990s.
BounceNew Orleans hip hop from the late 1980s, driven by call-and-response chants.
Chopped and screwedA remix technique from 1990s Houston: slow the record right down, then cut and repeat beats.
Conscious hip-hopHip hop that puts social issues and ideas at the center of the lyrics.
DrillBegan in Chicago in the early 2010s, with its sound rooted in trap.
East Coast hip-hopBegan in New York City, where hip hop was born in the 1970s.
G-funkEarly 1990s West Coast sound: slow grooves, whining synthesizer leads and funk samples.
GrimeA London style of the early 2000s: quick-fire MCs over beats near 140 beats per minute.
Jazz rapHip hop built on jazz samples and live jazz playing, from the late 1980s on.
Lofi hip-hopMellow instrumental beats with a worn, tape-like sound, popular for study playlists.
NerdcoreHip hop about computers, science fiction, games and other subjects nerds care about.
PhonkTook its sound from 1990s Memphis rap tapes and spread online in the 2010s.
TrapA Southern hip hop style marked by fast hi-hats, deep 808 bass and dark synthesizers.
West Coast hip-hopThe California branch of hip hop, a dominant force in the early and mid 1990s.
Jazz and blues 14
Bebop1940s jazz of fast tempos and complex chord changes, made for listening and not for dancing.
Boogie-WoogiePiano blues driven by a rolling, repeated left-hand bass figure.
Bossa novaA softer, cooler take on samba from Rio de Janeiro in the late 1950s; the name means new trend.
Chicago bluesBlues plugged in: electric guitar, amplified harmonica and a full rhythm section.
Cool jazzA relaxed, lighter-toned answer to bebop from the late 1940s and 1950s.
Delta bluesOne of the earliest blues styles, from the Mississippi Delta, often a lone singer with slide guitar.
Desert bluesGuitar music of the Sahara, associated above all with Tuareg musicians.
DixielandThe early jazz of New Orleans, with several horns improvising at once.
Free jazzBroke with fixed chord changes and steady tempos around 1960.
Hard bopA mid 1950s extension of bebop that pulled in blues, gospel and rhythm and blues.
Jazz fusionA late 1960s meeting of jazz improvisation with rock and funk rhythms and electric instruments.
RagtimeSyncopated piano music at its most popular between the 1890s and the 1910s.
Smooth jazzA polished, radio-friendly offshoot of jazz fusion, most often led by a saxophone.
SwingThe dance music of the 1930s and early 1940s.
Latin and Caribbean 14
BachataGuitar-led music from the Dominican Republic.
CalypsoA song tradition from Trinidad and Tobago known for witty, topical lyrics.
CumbiaBegan on the Caribbean coast of Colombia and spread across Latin America.
DancehallA sparser, faster Jamaican style that followed roots reggae from the late 1970s.
DubReggae remixed at the mixing desk: vocals stripped out, drums and bass pushed up, echo added.
MariachiA Mexican ensemble tradition of violins, trumpets and guitars, including the deep-bodied guitarrón.
MerengueMusic and dance from the Dominican Republic, played on accordion, güira scraper and tambora drum.
ReggaeA Jamaican style dating from the late 1960s; the 1968 single Do the Reggay gave it its name.
ReggaetonGrew up in Puerto Rico out of the Spanish-language reggae of Panama in the late 1980s and 1990s.
SalsaDance music based mainly on Cuban son, with Puerto Rican and other Caribbean styles folded in.
SambaA Brazilian genre with Afro-Brazilian roots, and the sound of Rio de Janeiro's carnival.
SkaA Jamaican style from the late 1950s, known for guitar chops on the offbeat; it came before rocksteady and reggae.
SocaAn offshoot of calypso from 1970s Trinidad and Tobago, also called the soul of calypso.
TangoBegan in Argentina and Uruguay in the late 19th century; the bandoneón, a kind of concertina, gives it its voice.
Electronic and dance 15
Acid houseMid 1980s Chicago house built on the squelch of a Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer.
AmbientMusic that puts tone and atmosphere ahead of rhythm and structure.
ChiptuneMade with the sound chips of vintage computers and game consoles, or made to sound that way.
Drum and bassA British style from the early 1990s that runs fast breakbeats, about 165 to 185 a minute, over heavy bass.
DubstepA South London style of the early 2000s, with sparse rhythms and heavy sub-bass.
Electro swingDance music that sets old swing and jazz, or new playing in that style, to house and hip hop beats.
EurodanceBegan in Western Europe in the late 1980s: big sung choruses, often paired with rapped verses.
House musicBorn in Chicago clubs in the early 1980s, with a steady four-on-the-floor kick drum.
Italo disco1980s dance music from Italy, heavy on synthesizers and drum machines.
SynthwaveA style from the mid to late 2000s modelled on the film soundtracks and video games of the 1980s.
TechnoCame out of Detroit in the mid 1980s.
Trance musicEmerged in Frankfurt, Germany, around 1990, built on repeating melodic phrases and long build-ups.
Trip hopSlow, atmospheric beats that came out of Bristol, England, around 1990.
UK garageA 1990s British club sound with shuffling, syncopated rhythms and pitched vocal samples.
VaporwaveAn early 2010s internet genre built from slowed-down samples of 1980s and 1990s background music.
Africa, Asia and Europe 15
AfrobeatPioneered in Nigeria in the 1960s from West African styles, funk and jazz.
AfrobeatsAn umbrella name for 21st century West African pop. Not the same thing as Afrobeat.
AmapianoA South African style named after the Zulu word for pianos, known for wide, percussive basslines.
BhangraRooted in the folk dance music of the Punjab.
EnkaSentimental Japanese ballad singing.
FadoPortuguese song of longing, tied to Lisbon and Coimbra.
FlamencoThe art of song, dance and guitar from Andalusia in southern Spain.
GamelanThe ensemble music of Java and Bali in Indonesia, played mostly on bronze gongs and keyed percussion.
HighlifeBegan in what is now Ghana, mixing local rhythms with Western instruments.
Hindustani classicalThe classical music tradition of northern India.
KlezmerInstrumental music of Ashkenazi Jewish communities in Central and Eastern Europe, played at weddings and dances.
PolkaA lively dance in two-four time from 19th century Bohemia, in today's Czech Republic.
RaïAlgerian popular music that began in the port city of Oran.
SoukousDance music from the Congo basin that developed out of Congolese rumba.
Tuvan throat singingA technique from Tuva in southern Siberia in which one singer sounds two or more pitches at once.
How this list was compiled: Genre names were taken from Wikipedia's List of music genres and styles (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_music_genres_and_styles), read on 2026-09-18. We kept 149 names from that much longer list: genres a listener can find a playlist for today, spread across every major family. Entries that name a country's music as a whole, a radio chart or a musician's job were left out, and so were a few names that do not suit a general audience. The eleven groups are our own arrangement of that list's sections; metal and punk, which it files under rock, have a group of their own. Each one-line description is a sentence we wrote ourselves and then checked against the opening of that genre's own Wikipedia article, read on the same date: the place, period or defining sound is the article's, the wording is ours. Bedroom pop has no article of its own; Wikipedia covers it in a section of the Lo-fi music article, and our line follows that section. Licence: own work