A generic term which refers to mainstream but unpredictable music with an edgier sound than Pop, Rock was founded in the mid-1950s on three-chord Rock & Roll, which was heavily influenced by rhythm and blues, country and the boogie-woogie music of the 1940s. Rock has expanded over the last half-century to encompass an extraordinary variety of sound, ranging in all styles from Elvis to the Beatles to Sly Stone to the Allman Brothers to Bruce Springsteen to Nirvana.
2026 note
Read more: the ListenSmart article on this style.
Types of Rock
- AAA
- Acid Rock
- Adult Alternative Rock
- Adventure Rock
- Arena Rock
- Art/Progressive Rock
- Beach Rock
- Boogie Rock
- British Invasion
- British Rock
- British Traditional Rock
- Christian Rock
- Classic Rock
- Classical Rock
- Electronica Rock
- Experimental Rock
- Folk Rock
- Funk Rock
- Garage Rock
- Glam Rock
- Goth Rock
- Groove Rock
- Guitar Rock
- Improv Rock
- Instrumental Rock
- Latin Rock
- Math Rock
- Neo-Psychedelia
- New Wave
- Noise Rock
- Progressive Rock
- Psychedelic
- Rock & Roll
- Rock En Espanol
- Rockabilly
- Southern Rock
- Space Rock
- Surf Rock
- The Adult Arena