Soulful
Bachata - gorgeous shmatlz from Latin America
Bossa Nova - beautiful complex Latin music
Blues
Highlife - Upbeat West African fusion of jazz and hope.
Hiplife - Highlife plus Hip-Hop
Indie
Motown - a genre that blew up around one record label, which had the bright idea of fusing gospel with pop.
Neo-Soul - Soul for the 90's
R'n'B
Salsa - a genre called "saucy" could never be anything but sensual
Tropical Dance
Afropop - Essentially, pop from Africa. I guess it's in the name.
Baile Funk (Funk Carioca) - Brazilian favela funk - music as movement.
Cumbia - Andean polka, with brass, accordions, and contagious melodies.
Dancehall - Jamaica's top export: addictive, sexy music.
Dubstep - heavy sub-bass and tripped-out rhythms characterise England's favourite sub-genre
Grime - The UK's answer to gangsta, grime grew from garage in East London, and has become ubiquitous here.
House
Kuduro - Angolan Dance music: rhythmically complex, lyrically variable.
Kwaito - South Africa's fusion of house with indigenous music has produced something gorgeous.
Ragga - Reggae meets Dancehall in a crowded party. They get along very well.
Rai - When the drum machine was introduced to Algeria, Rai was the result. It's intense
Reggaeton - Based around a single dancehall riddim, this is the musical craze which has swept Latin America this decade.
Salsa
Skweee - Skippy Scandinavian pop
Soca - Carnival music from the Caribbean
Tropical Bass - a catch-all term for anything produced in the tropics, with a bit of bass on it.
Two-Step - jittery, irregular rhythms. Delicious.
