Bad Man's list of the only musical genres you need to aware of - and why.

Okay boys and girls.  Time for a music lesson.  You've all been asked the question, "Hey, what music do you like?" To which you might respond, "Oh, I like Jazz." Or, "Oh, I like Rap". Or, (my favorite), "Oh, I like country." Why be so ignorant? What simple ridiculously meaningless terms - Rock. R&B. Hip-hop. Forget what you know; read on and learn to convey what you REALLY mean, instead of that useless babble your mouth is so used to spewing out.

Genres get a bad rap. That's because you're using genres that are too broad. And yes, a given artist may do many styles on a given album, but to help ppl talk to each other (heaven forbid!), genres that actually have to do with specific musical structure are certainly worth crawling out of your little hole to learn about.

These are my top-40 or so musical genres, and yes, they are more or less in order, encompassing the greatest aural artists of all time.  If you're listening to something that doesn't align with one of these, you need to evaluate why it is you're wasting your time.

1. Post-punk - musical experimentation with more challenging musical structures, lyrical themes, and a self-consciously art-based image, while retaining punk's initial iconoclastic stance. (Joy Division, public image ltd., Suicide, The Cure, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Cabaret Voltaire, Wire, The Fall, Echo & the Bunneymen, Magazine, XTC, Talking Heads, Chrome, Crispy Ambulance, Clock DVA (early), Devo (early), Fad Gadget, Jah Wobble, The Legendary Pink Dots, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Gang of Four, Wall of Voodoo, Klaus Nomi, U2 (first three albums only), Pavement, Section 25)
2. Gothic (positive-punk) - clean or warmly overdriven guitar sound processed through electronic effects including chorusing, flanging, analog delay, and/or dense reverb resulting in the "goth" timbre sound. Guitar playing takes its downstroke playing style from punk, emphasizes angular melodic lines instead of thick chords. Minor keys and minor mode melodies are prevalent, but major keys are also used. The Phrygian mode, with a flattened second scale degree contributes to the gothic sound with its "haunting" and dissonant mood. Gothic rock songs are typically mixed so that there is a heavy bass sound, which creates a moody and gloomy atmosphere. Gothic rock often uses repetitive snare drum snap to propel the beat, either a real drum beat or, later on, usually a drum machine beat. (Bauhaus, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Sisters of Mercy, The Cure, Joy Division, Southern Death Cult, Fields of the Nephilim, Danse Society, Theatre of Hate, March Violets, Play Dead)
3. 77 Punk - anti-establishment rock music genre and movement that emerged in the mid-1970s, eschewing the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock by creating music that was short, fast, and hard, with stripped-down instrumentation and often political or nihilistic lyrics. The associated punk subculture expresses youthful rebellion, distinctive clothing styles, a variety of anti-authoritarian ideologies, and a DIY attitude. Instrumentation includes one or two electric guitars, an electric bass, and a drum kit, along with vocals. Musical virtuosity is often looked on with suspicion - complicated guitar solos are considered self-indulgent and unnecessary. (Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones, The Damned, The Vibrators, The Slits, X-Ray Spex, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Eater, The Adverts, The Buzzcocks, Sham 69, The Jam, The Saints, The Subhumans, X, The Screamers, Dead Boys, Germs, UK Subs, 999)
4. Cowpunk - combined punk rock with country and blues in sound, subject matter, attitude, and style. (Social Distortion, The Cramps, The Gun Club (early))
5. UK82 (UK Hardcore, Second Generation UK Punk, No Future Punk) - incorporated distorted guitar and bass, and a fast, simple drumming style that became known as Dbeat, with vocals being shouted, but not screamed. (The Exploited, Discharge, Disorder, Chaos UK, Amebix, Charged GBH, Broken Bones, The Varukers)
6. Hardcore punk (American HC, OC, DCHC) - emerged as many of the first-wave punk bands disbanded, focused on music with faster tempos, louder volume and harder bass levels to give a thicker, heavier, and faster sound than 1970s-style punk. Characterized by short, loud, and passionate songs about government, capitalism, war and punk subculture. (Bad Brains, Circle Jerks, Black Flag, Minor Threat, Dead Kennedys, Suicidal Tendencies, The Minutemen, SS Decontrol)
7. Anarcho-punk - promoting anarchist politics and ideology. (Choking Victim, Dead Kennedys, Reagan Youth, T.S.O.L., The Varukers, MDC, Discharge)
8. No-wave - New York City experimental/punk/noise scene 1970-1980s. (Suicide, Swans, Theoretical Girls, DNA, Glenn Branca, Lee Ranaldo, Mars, Teenage Jesus & the Jerks, Lydia Lunch, Lou Reed (1975), The Contortions, Sonic Youth)
9. Industrial - experimental music with a noisy bent featuring tape loops, cut-ups, vocal and instrumental experimentation. (Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, NON, SPK, Einstürzende Neubauten)
10. Shoegazer - extensive use of guitar effects with indistinguishable vocal melodies blended into the creative noise of the guitars. (My Bloody Valentine, Astrobrite, Cocteau Twins, Catherine Wheel (Ferment), Mazzy Star, Autolux, Fleeting Joys, Chapterhouse, Lush)
11. Noisepop - in its early incarnation the primary inspiration of the Shoegazer movement, post-punk bands that fuse punk rock's attitude and anger with the atonal noise, feedback, and free song structures of noise music, presented in a decidedly pop context. (The Jesus and Mary Chain, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Pavement (early), The Swirlies, Silversun Pickups)
12. Grunge - strong dissonant harmony riffs, heavy drumming, "dirty" sound from heavy guitar distortion, fuzz and feedback, fusing elements of hardcore punk and heavy metal into a single sound. (Nirvana, Hole, Sonic Youth, L7, Babes in Toyland, Melvins, Tad)
13. Darkwave - neo-goth umbrella term now used for goth to avoid the goth stygma. Covering a wide range of musical styles with a goth overtone, including traditional gothic rock, goth-metal, post-industrial, dreampop, ethereal darkwave, neo-classical, neo-medieval, and Chant. (Black Tape for a Blue Girl, The Crüxshadows, Faith & The Muse, Dead Can Dance, Girls Under Glass, Android Lust, Ikon, In The Nursery, Lacrimosa, Lycia, Love Spirals Downwards, Miranda Sex Garden, Clan of Xymox, Tones on Tail, Project Pitchfork (1992 releases))
14. Dreampop - originated in Britain in the early 1980s fusing post-punk experiments with bittersweet pop melodies into sensual, sonically-ambitious soundscapes focusing on ethereal textures and moods, rather than on propulsive rock riffs. Breathy, high-register female vocals and androgynous male vocals; lyrics are generally introspective and existential. Cover art tends to consist of blurry pastel imagery and/or stark minimalist designs. Record labels include 4AD, Creation, Projekt, Fontana, Bedazzled, Vernon Yard, and Slumberland. (The Chameleons UK, Cocteau Twins, Curve, The Church, Dead Can Dance, Dif Juz, Julee Cruise, Lovesliescrushing, Lush, Mazzy Star, My Bloody Valentine, Spacemen 3, This Mortal Coil, The Sound, Sad Lovers and Giants, The Comsat Angels)
15. Electro-industrial (Post-industrial fusion. Elektro) - deep, layered and complex sound developed as an outgrowth from EBM and post-industrial. (Front Line Assembly, Skinny Puppy, Hocico, Haujobb, Numb, Mentallo and the Fixer, Leæther Strip, Velvet Acid Christ, :wumpscut:, Funker Vogt)
16. Dronescape - drone-based music, drone ambient or ambient drone, dronescape, dronology, drone metal. (Coil, Lee Ranaldo, Sonic Youth, Sunn O))), Merzbow, Kraftwerk (1970), Robert Fripp, Brian Eno, Aphex Twin, Velvet Underground)
17. Powernoise (Post-industrial fusion) - cross between post-industrial, IDM, drum & bass, hardcore techno, breakcore. Based on a distorted kick drum from a drum machine such as a Roland TR-909, uses militaristic 4/4 beats, and is usually instrumental. Sometimes a melodic component is added, secondary to the rhythm. (Noisex "United (Power Noise Movement)" (1997), Terrorfakt, Converter, Combichrist, Dulce Liquido, Iszoloscope, Manufactura, Soman, Xotox, Winterkälte, Noisex, Asche, Synapscape)
18. Aggrotech (Post-industrial fusion. AggroTek, TerrorEBM, HarshEBM, Hellektro; replaces dark electro) - an evolution of electro-industrial and dark electro typified by somewhat harsh song structures, aggressive and generally uptempo beats with a strong influence of techno music, and lyrics of a militant, pessimistic or explicit nature. Typically, the vocals are distorted to sound hoarse, harsh and without tone. Artists also frequently use atonal melodic structures. (Amduscia, Combichrist, Suicide Commando, Die Sektor, :wumpscut:, Psyclon Nine, Hocico, Dulce Liquido, Tactical Sekt, Feindflug, Virtual Embrace, Aslan Faction, Grendel, Agonoize, God Module, Tamtrum, Velvet Acid Christ, Unter Null)
19. Industrial metal (noise metal, cyber metal) - fuses elements of industrial music and other electronic genres such as House music by using electronic instruments such as Synthesizers and drum machines. (nine inch nails, Birthday Massacre, Betty-X, Ministry, Marilyn Manson, Die Krupps, Chemlab, Electric Hellfire Club, Numb, Front Line Assembly (some), Hanzel und Gretyl, Killing Joke (after 1990), KMFDM, Rammstein)
20. Post-industrial Rock (Post-industrial fusion) - rock fused with the hardness of industrial dance, very aggressive, with confrontational lyrics and samples. (Ministry, Pigface, KMFDM, The Genitorturers, nine inch nails)
21. Dark ambient - closely linked with industrial music, noise, ethereal wave, and sometimes even black metal. (Coil, Lustmord, Nurse With Wound, Lilith, Zoviet France, Black Tape For a Blue Girl, Controlled Bleeding, Sunn O))), SPK, Autopsia, The Hafler Trio, Vidna Obmana, Daniel Menche, Lull, Raison d'etre, Shinjuku Thief)
22. Synthpop - New Wave subgenre with the synthesizer as the dominant instrument. (A Flock of Seagulls, Art of Noise, Berlin, Depeche Mode, The Human League, Heaven 17, Kraftwerk, Ministry (first album only), New Order, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Soft Cell, Tears for Fears, Ultravox, Thompson Twins, Gary Numan (some), Yaz)
23. Gothic metal - originated during the early 1990s in Europe as an outgrowth of doom-death, a subgenre of doom metal. (Type-O Negative, Lacuna Coil, Birthday Massacre, Marilyn Manson)
24. Riot grrrl - indie-punk feminist movement refering to individual self-proclaimed riot grrrls who foster an aggressively independent DIY subculture by organizing and supporting female-centric bands, festivals and shows; group meetings, networking, collectives, and support groups; free workshopping, self-defense courses, activism, and underground fanzine culture. (Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Kim Gordon, Sleater Kinney, L7, Heavens to Betsy, Nikki McClure, Lois Maffeo)
25. Trip-hop (Bristol sound, Bristol acid rap) - mixed up bpms, spoken word samples, exploration of noir sound, strings, melodies, bizarre noises, phat bass, and slow beats, intended to give the listener the impression they were on a musical trip. (Tricky, U.N.K.L.E., Björk (Post), Massive Attack, DJ Shadow, Morcheeba, Portishead, Soma Sonic)
26. Futurepop - symbiose of EBM, synthpop and trance. (VNV Nation, Apoptygma Berzerk (middle works), Angels & Agony, Assemblage 23, Exilanation, Bruderschaft, Cesium 137, De/Vision, Icon of Coil, Informatik (later works), Neuroticfish, Wolfsheim)
27. 2 Tone - punk movement fusing elements of punk, ska and pop music. (The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat, Madness, Bad Manners)
28. Oi! - working class street-level punk originating in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. (Sham 69, Cock Sparrer, The Cockney Rejects, The Angelic Upstarts, The Business, The Gonads, The Last Resort, The 4-Skins, Blitz, Combat 84, Infa Riot, The Blood, Condemned 84, The Oppressed)
29. Thrash (Speedcore, Fastcore punk, not metal) - faster hardcore punk, includes high-tempos (often to the point of using blast beats), shouted vocals, short song length (usualy about one minute) and extremely politicized lyrics.  Much simpler lyrically and musically than the more experimental, sometimes containing bizarre timing breakdowns, of the Power Violence subgenre of HC Punk. (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles (D.R.I.) (note: also a thrash metal band, but they did BOTH distinct styles), Capitalist Casualties, Septic Death)
30. Gabber - subgenre of hardcore techno born in the Dutch city of Leiden in the late 1980s. Fusion of hardcore techno and industrial with a dark, aggressive atmosphere, built on samples and synthesised melodies with the typical tempo ranging from 160 to 220 bpm. Violence, drugs and profanity are common themes, with lyrics often screamed, pitch shifted or distorted. ("We Have Arrived" (1990) by Mescalinum United)
31. Grindcore (cybergrind) - heavily distorted, down-tuned guitars often showing crust punk-influenced riffs, blast beats by drummers, short songs, and a vocal style consisting of growls and higher-pitched vocals. (Mesrine, Napalm Death (early))
32. Death/doom metal - mixture of doom metal mixed with elements of death metal, most notably guttural vocals. (Winter, diSEMBOWELMENT, Paradise Lost (early), My Dying Bride, Anathema (early), Novembers Doom, Ataraxie, Mourning Beloveth, Draconian, Runemagick)
33. IDM (intelligent dance music) - late 80s' early 90's dance music w/emphasis on preocessing/sequencing. (808 State, Aphex Twin, Meat Beat Manifesto)
34. Big beat (Chemical breaks) - derivative of Breakbeat, Acid House and Techno featuring distorted, compressed breakbeats at moderate tempos (90 to 140 bpm), acidic synthesizer lines and heavy loops from Jazz, Rock or 60's Pop, punctuated with punkish-style vocals and driven by intense, distorted basslines with conventional pop and techno song structures. (The Chemical Brothers, The Crystal Method, The Prodigy)
35. Drum and bass (jungle) - fast tempo broken beat drums (generally between 160–180 beats per minute) with heavy, often intricate basslines. (Aphrodite, Goldie, Squarepusher)
36. Death metal - downtuned guitars, fast percussion, and dynamic intensity.  Blast beats and exceedingly fast drum patterns are frequently used to add to the ferocity.  Vocals are often grunts, snarls, and low gurgles colloquially called death grunts or death growls. (Depression, Napalm Death (afer 1989), Fear Factory, Bolt Thrower, Mesrine, Carcass, Cannibal Corpse, Entombed, Suffocation, Morbid Angel)
37. Doom metal - heavier and slower than most metal, uses only mid or slow tempos; the atmosphere emphasizes melancholy feelings. (Candlemass, My Dying Bride, Black Sabbath (early), diSEMBOWELMENT, Isis (early), Sunn O))))
38. Speed metal - uses traditional heavy metal song structures and riffing but with faster tempos and driving rhythms. (Judas Priest, Anthrax, Iron Maiden (some), Accept, Metallica (Kill 'em All), Megadeth (early), Slayer)
39. Thrash metal – NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) with hardcore punk tempos. Thrash metal songs are usually fairly complex, and frequently contain constant time and tempo changes. Thrash metal replaces melody with brutality and speed, with the use of ample distortion. Vocals in thrash metal are usually yelled, screamed, or snarled, though, at the same time, melodic. (D.R.I. (who also did Thrash punk), Metallica (early), Pantera, Slayer, Megadeth)
40. Techno - spawned in Detroit, Michigan during the mid-1980s with influences from Chicago house, electro, New Wave, funk and futuristic fiction themes, characterized by heavy use of percussion and minimal amount of melody. (Aphex Twin, Orbital, Underworld, LFO, Kraftwerk (some))

Brought to you by The Bad Man.