This is a list of
rock music genres consisting of subgenres of
popular music that have roots in 1940s' and 1950s'
rock and roll, and which developed into a distinct identity as
rock music in the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. By the late 1960s, a number of identifiable rock music subgenres had emerged, including hybrids like
blues rock,
folk rock,
country rock, and
jazz-rock fusion, many of which contributed to the development of
psychedelic rock influenced by the
counter-cultural psychedelic scene. New genres that emerged from this scene included
progressive rock, which extended the artistic elements;
glam rock, which highlighted showmanship and visual style; and the diverse and enduring major subgenre of
heavy metal, which emphasized volume, power, and speed. In the second half of the 1970s,
punk rock both intensified and reacted against some of these trends to produce a raw, energetic form of music characterized by overt political and social critiques. Punk was an influence into the 1980s on the subsequent development of other subgenres, including
new wave,
post-punk and eventually the
alternative rock movement. From the 1990s alternative rock began to dominate rock music and break through into the mainstream in the form of
grunge,
Britpop, and
indie rock. Further fusion subgenres have since emerged as well as conscious attempts to revisit rock's history.