The records that made the styles

35 styles, in course order

1. 01

   Blues

   American roots

   Mamie Smith's "Crazy Blues" (1920) sold 75,000 copies in its first month. Blind Lemon Jefferson's "Rising High Water Blues" (1927) told of the Mississippi flood that year. Muddy Waters' "I Can't Be Satisfied" (1948) made Chicago the centre of electric blues. Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Texas Flood" (1983) took Texas blues to the world.

2. 02

   Jazz

   American roots

   The Original Dixieland Jass Band's "Livery Stable Blues" (1917) was the earliest released jazz record. "Tanga" (1943), by Mario Bauzá for Machito and his Afro-Cubans, is taken as the first jazz piece built on clave, and "Manteca" (1947) the first jazz standard built on it. "A Blowin' Session" (1957), with John Coltrane and Johnny Griffin, is counted among the high points of hard bop.

3. 03

   Gospel

   American roots

   Arizona Dranes was the first to bring ragtime to gospel and the first to play piano on a gospel recording. Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Willie Mae Ford Smith are named as the first great gospel recording artists. The Edwin Hawkins Singers' "Oh Happy Day" (1969) opened urban contemporary gospel and is still sung worldwide.

4. 04

   Country

   American roots

   Fiddlers Henry Gilliland and Eck Robertson recorded "Arkansas Traveler" and "Turkey in the Straw" for Victor on 30 June 1922, the first commercial recordings of traditional country instrumentals. Fiddlin' John Carson's "Little Log Cabin in the Lane" (Okeh, 14 June 1923) is widely taken as the first country song with vocals. The Bristol sessions of 1 August 1927, with Ralph Peer behind the machine, are remembered as a historic session. Uncle Tupelo's "No Depression" (1990) is credited as the first alt-country album.

5. 05

   Soul

   American roots

   Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home to Me" (1962) has been called perhaps the first record to define the soul experience. Labels became styles: Motown in Detroit, Stax in Memphis, Hi Records with Al Green, and Philadelphia International's lush Philly soul.

6. 06

   Funk

   Groove and the dance floor

   James Brown's "Cold Sweat" (1967), "Mother Popcorn" (1969) and "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" (1970); the Meters' "Cissy Strut"; Parliament's "Chocolate City" (1975) and Funkadelic's "One Nation Under a Groove" (1978).

7. 07

   Disco

   Groove and the dance floor

   Donna Summer's "Love to Love You Baby" (1975) and "I Feel Love" (1977), produced by Giorgio Moroder, one of the first disco tracks to use a synthesizer, a Moog, on the beat. The film "Saturday Night Fever" (1977) carried disco into the mainstream.

8. 08

   House

   Groove and the dance floor

   Jesse Saunders' "On and On" (1984), co-written by Vince Lawrence, is sometimes called the first house record. Farley "Jackmaster" Funk's "Jack'n the House" (1985), Steve "Silk" Hurley's "Jack Your Body" (1986), Marshall Jefferson's "Move Your Body (The House Music Anthem)" (1986), and Mr. Fingers' "Mystery of Love" (1985) and "Can You Feel It?" (1986).

9. 09

   Techno

   Groove and the dance floor

   Cybotron's "Cosmic Cars" (1982), "Clear" (1983) and "Techno City" (1984). Model 500's "No UFO's" (1985), the first release on Juan Atkins' label Metroplex, is generally taken as the first techno record. Derrick May's "Strings of Life" and "Nude Photo" (1987) took techno to Europe; Underground Resistance's "Nation 2 Nation" (1991) showed its jazz side.

10. 10

    Drum and bass

    Groove and the dance floor

    Lennie De Ice's "We Are I.E." (1991) is often cited as a precursor. Roni Size & Reprazent's "New Forms" (1997) won the Mercury Prize; 4hero's "Two Pages" (1998) was nominated; Pendulum's "Hold Your Colour" (2005) is the best-selling drum and bass album.

11. 11

    Rock and roll

    Guitars

    "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, Ike Turner's band, recorded by Sam Phillips in March 1951, is often cited as the first rock and roll record. Bill Haley and His Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" set off the boom once it opened the film Blackboard Jungle (1955).

12. 12

    Punk

    Guitars

    The MC5's debut "Kick Out the Jams" (1969) is counted a forerunner. Patti Smith's single "Hey Joe" / "Piss Factory", on her own Mer label with Television's Tom Verlaine, is often cited as the first punk record. Then the Ramones' first album and the Sex Pistols' only official album, "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols", which topped the British charts.

13. 13

    Heavy metal

    Guitars

    Cream's "Fresh Cream" (1966) and "Disraeli Gears" (1967) are regarded as prototypes. Black Sabbath's second album "Paranoid" (1970) set the dark lyrical tone that metal kept.

14. 14

    Grunge

    Guitars

    The compilation "Deep Six" (C/Z Records, 1986) is called seminal. Nirvana's debut "Bleach" was recorded for $606.17 in 1989; their "Nevermind" (DGC, September 1991) brought the whole Seattle scene to the mainstream.

15. 15

    Shoegaze

    Guitars

    The Jesus and Mary Chain's debut "Psychocandy" (1985) is credited as the immediate forerunner. My Bloody Valentine's 1988 EP "You Made Me Realise" and album "Isn't Anything" established the style, and their "Loveless" (1991) is its peak.

16. 16

    Hip-hop

    Rap and bass

    The Fatback Band's "King Tim III (Personality Jock)" (1979) is generally taken as the first commercially released rap song. The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" (1979) rapped over a re-recording of Chic's "Good Times" and became a Top 40 single. Kurtis Blow's "The Breaks" (1980) was the first hip-hop single certified gold, and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message" (1982) opened the way for politically conscious rap.

17. 17

    Trap

    Rap and bass

    T.I.'s "Dope Boyz" (2001), from his debut "I'm Serious", put the word in the lyric. Lex Luger's production for Waka Flocka Flame's "Flockaveli" (2010) defined the sound, and Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" (2013), with Juicy J, is credited with cementing trap on the Billboard charts.

18. 18

    UK garage

    Rap and bass

    Tina Moore's "Never Gonna Let You Go" in Kelly G's remixes is one of the earliest 2-step records in the speed garage scene. Shanks & Bigfoot's "Sweet Like Chocolate" was the first UK garage track to reach number one in the UK, and Artful Dodger's "Re-Rewind" became a 2-step anthem; both went platinum. Craig David's debut "Fill Me In" mixed R&B with 2-step.

19. 19

    Grime

    Rap and bass

    Wiley's "Eskimo" and Dizzee Rascal's "Crime" (2000) are among the claimants to the first grime record. Dizzee Rascal's "Boy in da Corner" won the 2003 Mercury Prize. Lethal Bizzle's "Pow!" (2004) was grime's first UK Top 20 single.

20. 20

    Dubstep

    Rap and bass

    Skream's "Midnight Request Line" carried the scene beyond its clubs, and Benga and Coki's "Night" (2007) followed it. Burial's self-titled album was The Wire's album of 2006, and his "Untrue" (2007) was nominated for the Mercury Prize.

21. 21

    Reggae

    The Caribbean and Latin America

    Larry Marshall's "Nanny Goat" and the Beltones' "No More Heartaches", both from early 1968, are taken as the first real reggae records. Trojan Records released reggae in the UK from 1968; in 1970 alone Trojan and B&C put out about 500 singles.

22. 22

    Dub

    The Caribbean and Latin America

    "The Undertaker" by Derrick Harriott and the Crystallites, engineered by Errol Thompson, was one of the first strictly instrumental reggae albums. Lee "Scratch" Perry's "Blackboard Jungle Dub" (1973), mixed with King Tubby, and Keith Hudson's "Pick a Dub" (1974), the first deliberately themed dub album. UB40's "Present Arms in Dub" was the first dub album in the UK top 40.

23. 23

    Salsa

    The Caribbean and Latin America

    Fania's first album, "Cañonazo" (1964); the Fania All-Stars, formed in 1968; Larry Harlow's salsa opera "Hommy" (1973); Rubén Blades' "Siembra", heard everywhere in Cuba in the mid-1980s.

24. 24

    Bossa nova

    The Caribbean and Latin America

    Elizeth Cardoso's "Canção do Amor Demais" carried the first Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes songs in the style. João Gilberto's "Chega de Saudade" (1959) consolidated it. "Getz/Gilberto" (1964), by João Gilberto, Stan Getz and Tom Jobim, won Grammy Awards.

25. 25

    Reggaeton

    The Caribbean and Latin America

    The first tracks by DJ Playero and DJ Nelson were built on the Jamaican "Dem Bow" riddim produced by Bobby "Digital" Dixon. Daddy Yankee's "Barrio Fino" and its single "Gasolina" opened reggaeton to the world. Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" with Wyclef Jean carried the dembow beat with a salsa-inflected trumpet sample.

26. 26

    Afrobeat

    Africa, Europe and Asia

    Fela Kuti and Africa 70's "Zombie" (1977), a massive success whose attack on the Nigerian military led to a raid on his Kalakuta Republic commune by 1,000 soldiers. Roy Ayers' "Africa: Centre of the World" (1981) came from his collaboration with afrobeat musicians.

27. 27

    Highlife

    Africa, Europe and Asia

    Jacob Sam, also known as Kwame Asare, is credited with the first highlife recording. E. T. Mensah, "the King of Highlife", led the Tempos, who toured West Africa and Britain; his "Ghana Freedom" is tied to Ghana's independence.

28. 28

    Flamenco

    Africa, Europe and Asia

    Julián Arcas' rondeña was the first composition recorded for solo guitar that is considered flamenco. Paco de Lucía's "Entre dos aguas", from the album "Fuente y caudal", is his best-known piece; with the Guitar Trio he made "Friday Night in San Francisco" (1981), which sold over a million copies. Camarón de la Isla's "Soy Gitano" (1989) was recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Tomatito.

29. 29

    City pop

    Africa, Europe and Asia

    Mariya Takeuchi's "Plastic Love" (1984), which millions abroad have since found through YouTube; Tomoko Soryo's "City Lights by the Moonlight" (1977), marketed as "city pops".

30. 30

    K-pop

    Africa, Europe and Asia

    Seo Taiji and Boys, who debuted on 11 April 1992 with "I Know", modernised Korean pop by bringing in rap and American hip-hop. Psy's "Gangnam Style" (2012) carried the Korean Wave around the world.

31. 31

    Ambient

    Electronic and new

    Eno's "Discreet Music" (1975), meant to be played at very low levels, and "Ambient 1: Music for Airports" (1978). Laurie Spiegel's "The Expanding Universe", made between 1974 and 1976 on the GROOVE computer system. In the 1990s, Aphex Twin's "Selected Ambient Works Volume II" and Global Communication's "76:14", both 1994.

32. 32

    Synth-pop

    Electronic and new

    Kraftwerk's "Autobahn" reached number 11 in the UK. Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" (1977), produced by Giorgio Moroder, set the programmed beat. Yellow Magic Orchestra's self-titled album (1978) and "Solid State Survivor" (1979); the Human League's "Being Boiled" and the Normal's "Warm Leatherette", both 1978.

33. 33

    Trip hop

    Electronic and new

    Massive Attack's "Blue Lines" (1991) and "Protection" (1994); Portishead's "Dummy" (1994); Tricky's "Maxinquaye" (1995).

34. 34

    Afrobeats

    Electronic and new

    P-Square's "Game Over" (2007). D'banj's "Oliver Twist" reached number 9 in the UK in 2012, the first afrobeats top 10 there. Wizkid's "Ojuelegba", remixed with Drake and Skepta (2014); Drake's "One Dance" (2016) with Kyla and Wizkid became Spotify's most streamed song; Wizkid and Tems' "Essence" reached the Billboard Hot 100.

35. 35

    Amapiano

    Electronic and new

    Kabza De Small is named as a pioneer. Mellow & Sleazy's "Trust Fund", with Kabza De Small, Mpura, Focalistic and DJ Maphorisa, marked the New Age Bacardi blend around 2021; "Overdue" (2021) by Kooldrink, DJ Lag and Tyla showed popiano.