Find Your Sound: Which Dance Music Genre Are You?

How the quiz works

Find Your Sound matches your answers to 127 dance music genres from The DJ Diaries Dance Music Timeline. Each genre is tagged from facts already on its timeline card: the tempo range in BPM, the year it took shape, its family (house, techno, trance and so on), and words in its description of what you hear and what you see on the dancefloor.

Each of the eight questions carries a weight. Tempo counts most, then mood and era, then vocals, place, movement and sound, then how you listen. A genre earns the full weight for an answer when it fits strongly (its tempo band, its decade or its family), half when it only fits through its description or when its BPM range just touches the tempo you picked, and a quarter when it sits in the decade next door. The match percentage is the share of the total weight a genre earns. Ties go to the genre that fits your answers in more ways, then the older genre. There is no randomness, so the same answers always give the same result, and a shared link reopens it.

Want the full story of each sound? Browse the Dance Music Timeline or check tempos in How Fast Is Each Genre? A DJ’s Guide to BPM.

Disco & Funk (9)

• Funk 1965, United States (James Brown and his band), 95 to 115 BPM
• Disco 1974, New York City, USA, 110 to 130 BPM
• Cosmic Disco 1979, Lazise, Lake Garda, Italy, 95 to 115 BPM
• Post-Disco 1979, New York City, USA, 100 to 125 BPM
• Boogie 1980, New York City, USA, 105 to 120 BPM
• Hi-NRG 1981, San Francisco and New York City, USA, 120 to 140 BPM
• Italo Disco 1983, Northern Italy, 110 to 130 BPM
• Nu-Disco 2003, Oslo, Norway, 110 to 124 BPM
• Synthwave 2006, France, 80 to 118 BPM

House (28)

• Chicago House 1984, Chicago, USA, 118 to 125 BPM
• Miami Bass 1985, Miami, Florida, USA, 125 to 140 BPM
• Deep House 1986, Chicago, USA, 118 to 124 BPM
• Acid House 1987, Chicago, USA, 120 to 130 BPM
• Balearic Beat 1987, Ibiza, Spain, 95 to 120 BPM
• Italo House 1988, Rimini and the Adriatic coast, Italy, 118 to 124 BPM
• Ambient House 1989, London, UK, 90 to 120, often beatless BPM
• Progressive House 1992, UK, 122 to 130 BPM
• Ghetto House 1993, South and West Sides, Chicago, United States, 135 to 150 BPM
• Kwaito 1993, Soweto and Johannesburg, South Africa, 100 to 115 BPM
• Tribal House 1993, New York City, USA, 124 to 130 BPM
• Big Beat 1994, London and Brighton, UK, 100 to 130 BPM
• Tech House 1994, London, UK, 124 to 128 BPM
• Hard House 1995, London and Leeds, United Kingdom, 140 to 150 BPM
• French House 1996, Paris, France, 120 to 128 BPM
• Afro House 1999, South Africa, 118 to 124 BPM
• Funky House 1999, UK, 124 to 128 BPM
• Electro House 2002, Italy and France, 125 to 130 BPM
• Footwork 2003, Chicago, United States, 155 to 165 BPM
• Moombahton 2009, Washington, DC, USA, 105 to 110 BPM
• Organic House 2011, International day party circuit (Ibiza, Tulum, Burning Man), 110 to 124 BPM
• Gqom 2012, Durban, South Africa, 120 to 128 BPM
• Future House 2013, France and the Netherlands, 124 to 128 BPM
• Tropical House 2013, Norway and Australia, 100 to 115 BPM
• Amapiano 2015, Gauteng townships, South Africa, 110 to 115 BPM
• Bass House 2015, UK and Los Angeles, USA, 124 to 128 BPM
• Lo-Fi House 2016, Online (YouTube), UK and Australia, 118 to 125 BPM
• 3-Step 2023, Johannesburg, South Africa, 118 to 124 BPM

Soulful / Gospel House (6)

• Garage House 1982, New York City and New Jersey, USA, 115 to 125 BPM
• Jackin' House 1986, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 120 to 128 BPM
• Gospel House 1987, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 118 to 124 BPM
• Vocal House 1990, US East Coast (New York, Baltimore), 120 to 125 BPM
• Handbag House 1992, London, UK, 120 to 128 BPM
• Soulful House 1993, New York City and New Jersey, USA, 118 to 124 BPM

Techno (15)

• EBM 1981, Düsseldorf, Germany and Brussels, Belgium, 115 to 130 BPM
• Electro 1982, New York City, USA, 110 to 130 BPM
• Detroit Techno 1987, Detroit, Michigan, USA, 120 to 135 BPM
• New Beat 1987, Ghent, Antwerp and Brussels, Belgium, 95 to 115 BPM
• Acid Techno 1992, London, UK, 135 to 150 BPM
• Gabber 1992, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 160 to 200 BPM
• Dub Techno 1993, Berlin, Germany, 115 to 125 BPM
• Minimal Techno 1993, Detroit, Michigan, USA, 125 to 132 BPM
• Ghettotech 1995, Detroit, United States, 140 to 160 BPM
• Hard Groove 1996, United Kingdom, 130 to 140 BPM
• Microhouse 1999, Frankfurt and Cologne, Germany, 118 to 125 BPM
• Industrial Techno 2013, Berlin, Germany and the UK, 130 to 145 BPM
• Deconstructed Club 2014, Berlin, Germany; New York, United States; London, United Kingdom, Variable
• Melodic Techno 2016, Berlin, Germany, 120 to 126 BPM
• Hard Techno Revival 2021, Europe (Amsterdam, Berlin) and the USA, 140 to 160 BPM

Trance (5)

• Trance 1990, Frankfurt, Germany, 130 to 140 BPM
• Hard Trance 1993, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, 140 to 150 BPM
• Progressive Trance 1995, UK, 128 to 134 BPM
• Uplifting Trance 1996, Netherlands, Germany and UK, 136 to 140 BPM
• Vocal Trance 1999, Europe, 130 to 138 BPM

Psytrance / Goa (6)

• Goa Trance 1993, Goa, India, 130 to 150 BPM
• Dark Psytrance 1998, Germany and Russia, 148 to 180 BPM
• Psybient 1998, England, UK, 80 to 110 BPM
• Forest Psytrance 1999, Northern Europe (Sweden, Finland), 145 to 160 BPM
• Full-On 2000, Israel, 140 to 148 BPM
• Progressive Psy 2000, Sweden and Germany, 132 to 138 BPM

Jungle & D&B (6)

• Jungle 1992, London, UK, 160 to 175 BPM
• Drum and Bass 1994, London and Bristol, UK, 165 to 180 BPM
• Jump Up 1995, London, UK, 170 to 178 BPM
• Nu Skool Breaks 1996, London, United Kingdom, 125 to 140 BPM
• Neurofunk 1997, London, UK, 170 to 176 BPM
• Liquid Funk 1999, London, UK, 170 to 176 BPM

Rave / Hardcore (8)

• Breakbeat Hardcore 1990, London and South East England, UK, 140 to 155 BPM
• Makina 1991, Valencia and Catalonia, Spain, 150 to 180 BPM
• Happy Hardcore 1993, South East England and the Midlands, UK, 160 to 180 BPM
• Breakcore 1998, Europe (Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Rotterdam), 160 to 300 BPM
• Freeform Hardcore 1999, United Kingdom, 150 to 170 BPM
• Hardstyle 2000, Netherlands and Belgium, 140 to 160 BPM
• Donk 2002, North West England (Bolton, Wigan, Liverpool), UK, 140 to 155 BPM
• UK Hardcore 2002, United Kingdom, 165 to 175 BPM

Garage & Dubstep (10)

• Baltimore Club 1991, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 128 to 135 BPM
• UK Garage 1995, London, UK, 128 to 135 BPM
• Speed Garage 1996, London, UK, 130 to 136 BPM
• 2-Step Garage 1997, London, UK, 130 to 138 BPM
• Bassline 1997, Sheffield, England, UK, 135 to 142 BPM
• Jersey Club 2000, Newark, New Jersey, USA, 130 to 140 BPM
• Dubstep 2001, Croydon and South London, UK, 138 to 142 (felt at half time) BPM
• Grime 2002, Bow, East London, UK, 138 to 142 BPM
• UK Funky 2006, London, UK, 128 to 132 BPM
• Brostep 2010, United States and United Kingdom, 140 to 150 BPM

Hip Hop & R&B (9)

• Old School Hip Hop 1973, The Bronx, New York City, USA, 95 to 115 BPM
• Golden Age Hip Hop 1987, New York City, USA, 90 to 110 BPM
• Trip Hop 1991, Bristol, England, UK, 70 to 100 BPM
• G-Funk 1992, Los Angeles (Compton and Long Beach), California, USA, 85 to 100 BPM
• Neo Soul 1995, United States (New York, Philadelphia, Richmond), 70 to 100 BPM
• Crunk 1997, Atlanta, Georgia and Memphis, Tennessee, USA, 70 to 85 BPM
• Trap 2003, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 130 to 150 (felt at half time, 65 to 75) BPM
• Afrobeats 2004, Lagos, Nigeria and Accra, Ghana, 95 to 115 BPM
• UK Drill 2012, Brixton, South London, UK, 138 to 145 BPM

EDM / Pop (6)

• Eurodance 1990, Frankfurt, Germany, 120 to 150 BPM
• Big Room House 2012, Netherlands and Belgium, 126 to 130 BPM
• EDM Trap 2012, USA, 135 to 150 BPM
• Future Bass 2012, Australia, Scotland and the USA, 130 to 160 BPM
• Slap House 2018, Brazil, then Germany and Lithuania, 120 to 126 BPM
• Hyperpop 2019, London, UK and online (USA), varies widely, often 140 to 180 BPM

Revival / Fusion (4)

• Electroclash 2001, New York, United States; Munich, Germany, 110 to 130 BPM
• Electro Swing 2006, Austria and France, 115 to 130 BPM
• Phonk 2012, SoundCloud, USA; drift phonk in Russia, 120 to 150 BPM
• Brazilian Phonk 2023, Online, Brazil and Europe, 125 to 135 BPM

Global Crossover Pop (4)

• Dancehall 1979, Kingston, Jamaica, 90 to 110 (older), up to 130 BPM
• Kuduro 1996, Luanda, Angola, 130 to 140 BPM
• K-pop House 2015, Seoul, South Korea, 115 to 124 BPM
• Reggaeton Pop Crossover 2017, Puerto Rico and Miami, USA, 88 to 100 BPM

Latin Music (11)

• Cumbia 1940, Caribbean coast, Colombia, 80 to 110 BPM
• Bossa Nova 1958, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 110 to 140 BPM
• Salsa 1967, New York City, USA, 160 to 220 BPM
• Latin Freestyle 1983, New York City and Miami, USA, 110 to 125 BPM
• Latin House 1985, Chicago and New York City, USA, 120 to 128 BPM
• Miami Latin Pop 1985, Miami, USA, 100 to 130 BPM
• Baile Funk 1989, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 130 (later 150) BPM
• Reggaeton 1994, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 88 to 100 BPM
• Urban Bachata 1999, The Bronx, New York City, USA, 120 to 140 BPM
• Latin Trap 2016, Puerto Rico, 130 to 150 (felt at half time) BPM
• Corridos Tumbados 2019, Sonora, Mexico and Los Angeles, USA, 70 to 110 BPM