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Here's a little primer on the genres that are most relevant today, plus others that have fallen out of favor and into the pages of music history.

Americana, alt-country, or — heaven forbid —y'allternative: It's country made by Nashville outsiders of one stripe or another. Many credit the late Gram Parsons as the genre's seminal figure. Other key artists: Lucinda Williams, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Uncle Tupelo, Steve Earle.

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Brit-pop: A resurgence of distinctively British pop-rock in the early '90s that celebrated the accents and the culture. The rivals for the Brit-pop crown were Blur and Oasis, the former with a more intellectual approach and roots in the pastoral Englishness of late '60s Kinks and the latter with a fondness for things like "Cigarettes and Alcohol" and a Beatles fetish. Pulp may have been the quintessential Brit-pop band, though.

Crunk:— Born in Atlanta and midwifed by Lil Jon, crunk marries shout-along choruses and stomp-along beats to hooks so simple (often played by a keyboard on the "cheesy old synthesizer" setting) that you can't believe someone hasn't come up with them before. Key artists: Lil Jon, Youngbloodz, Trillville.

Dancehall: This is where rap meets reggae (and the pop charts, at least in its later years). Key artists: Yellowman, Sean Paul, Beenie Man.

Dance music/electronica: There are myriad permutations of dance music, and about twice as many names to describe them. House and garage, both arising in the days after disco, share that four-on-the-floor beat, where the bass drum is a constant. Garage is also a form of U.K. dance music of the late '90s that incorporated more hip-hop influences. This evolved into 2 step, dubstep and grime. Grime is rap with a British accent, often delivered with a rapid flow, minimalist beats and squonky synthesizer bleats.

Death metal: These bands are obsessed with, you guessed it, death. And there seem to be an awful lot of them in Scandanavia. Maybe it's something in the pickled herring. Key bands: Napalm Death, Entombed, Morbid Angel.

Emo: Shorthand for emotional punk. This watered-down term is now a catchall for anything vaguely punk-influenced yet melodic that, at least these days, is only useful to describe punk made by sensitive boys with that floppy hairstyle (go to Google, type in "emo hair" and marvel at all the Web sites). Key bands: Sunny Day Real Estate, the Promise Ring, Fall Out Boy.

Freakfolk: A relatively new singer-songwriter phenomenon that's edgy, arty and sometimes unhinged. Bears little relation to James Taylor or Judy Collins, though you'll hear echoes of late '60s British folk. Key artists: Devendra Banhart, Akron/Family, Joanna Newsom.

Garage rock: When the 1960s British Invasion happened, American kids with more energy than virtuosity took to their garages and bashed out some neighbor-annoying noise. Minus the lavish production budgets, the music came out raw and rough. Frequently revived. Key bands: the Kingsmen, the Standells, the Fleshtones, the Hives.

Glam rock: Rock with fashion sense and a bag full of Maybelline cosmetics. After the glamour-deficient earthiness of the hippies, some formerly nondescript singers and songwriters (and the kids they inspired) rebelled by dressing up. "Glam" gets recycled anytime a new band slaps on a little makeup and shiny duds (see the recent revivalists the Killers). Key artists: David Bowie, T. Rex, the Sweet.

Grunge: Ah, the flannel, the growling guitars and all that Seattle-centric hype of the early '90s. You've heard Nirvana and Pearl Jam, and maybe even lesser known purveyors Mudhoney and the Melvins. Things went downhill after that (see post-grunge).

Hip-Hop soul: New Jack Swing evolved into hip-hop soul by turning down the R&B influence and ratcheting up the hip-hop element. Mary J. Blige has been called the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul."

Industrial: When Industrial music began, there were actual industrial sounds in the music. That's no longer true, but the deep, dark gloom and pessimism remain. Key bands: Einsturzende Neubaten, Nine Inch Nails.

Kraut rock: It might seem insulting, but this label is used to describe a group of early '70s German bands influenced by contemporary classical composition and jazz. The repetitive rush of Neu lives on in Stereolab, every post-rock band has a little Can in them and Kraftwerk is everywhere, especially in synth-pop and hip-hop.

Neo-soul — Where the hip-hop elements are played down and the R&B is front and center. Many of the genre's most visible artists are Southerners, like India Arie and Anthony Hamilton.

New Jack Swing: This is where hip-hop went back to its R&B roots. Basically the invention of Teddy Riley, who produced and wrote Johnny Kemp's seminal 1986 new jack swing hit "Just Got Paid" and subsequently formed the groups Guy and Blackstreet.

New Romantic: In the '80s, this was used to group together bands with a highly evolved fashion sense and a fondness for lush dance-pop: Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, ABC.

Post-grunge: Two words: Creed and Nickelback. Buff out the rough edges and most of the intelligence from grunge and that's what you get.

Post-punk: A broad field that covers the gloomy sad-rock of Joy Division, the funked-up politics of Gang of Four and the fierce and angular buzz of Fugazi (here lie the roots of emo). Some include Pixies and Dinosaur Jr. in post-punk, but you could also call them proto-alternative rock.

Post-rock/math rock: The latter might be described as a more clinical and geeky version of the former. It's been tagged as '90s progressive rock (and the debt to German innovators Can is obvious). It's frequently instrumental, more concerned with texture than most popular music, and it contains elements of jazz and the minimalism of composers such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass. Key artists: Tortoise, Mogwai, Sigur Ros.

Progressive metal: This is metal with an advanced degree and the pretentious lyrics to prove it. In truth, some of it is really good, like the mighty Tool.

Progressive rock (or prog-rock): A few serious rockers of the late '60s and early '70s didn't think their music got enough respect, so they decided to gum up the works with outré time signatures, classically inspired suites and concepts and lyrics that reached an unprecedented level of pretentious bombast. It did sound really cool sometimes, though. Key bands: Yes, King Crimson.

Reggaeton: When hip-hop and dancehall are filtered through the Hispanic youth culture of the Caribbean, you get reggaeton. Hear the distinctive rhythms once, and you'll always be able to identify it. Key artists: Ivy Queen, Daddy Yankee, Pitbull.

Shoegazer: It crawled from Britain in the late '80s as a massive wall of swirling guitars, mumbles and drones made by people who tended to look at their feet while playing. My Bloody Valentine provided the blueprint. The shoegaze aesthetic lives on in California's Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Atlanta's much-buzzed-about Deerhunter. It's closely affiliated (and often used interchangeably) with dream pop, though the latter tends to describe more ethereal music such as the Cocteau Twins. Other key bands: Curve, Ride.

Ska: An uptempo, often horn-driven precursor to reggae that was later adopted by a bunch of British bands of the post-punk era and later picked up by a third generation of American bands such as the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Less Than Jake and early No Doubt and Sugar Ray.

Snap: Just when you think popular music is as stripped down as it can get, hip-hop artists such as D4L and Atlanta's Dem Franchize Boyz put finger snaps to the fore, take things at a leisurely pace and create snap music.

Synth-pop: Musicians with synthesizers, pop songs, a voice and not much more. A large percentage of synth-pop is made by duos. Early exponents: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (aka OMD), Soft Cell, Depeche Mode. Current practitioners: Mates of State, Athens duo I Am the World Trade Center. German band Kraftwerk — a seminal influence on hip-hop — was synth-pop before there was such a thing.

Trip-hop: A subgenre that is identified with a single location — Bristol, England — and is tied to a very specific time-period — the '90s. Atmospheric minimalism with a subdued hip-hop beat, trip-hop is a relative of turntablism and acid jazz. Key artists: Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky.

Staff writer Bob Longino also contributed to this article