Western Europe
The sound of Germany
Krautrock reorganised what rock could be, and the electronic music that followed reorganised everything else. Underneath both sits schlager, enormously popular and almost entirely unexported.
1,477 artists in the catalog.
What Germany does that nowhere else does
Genres far more common here than across the rest of the catalog. The multiplier is how much more common, weighted by how many artists carry it.
Five records to start with
Not a canon — a way in. Each one links to what it is, who it's for and where to go next.
German artists worth walking into
Ordered by how much we can tell you, not just by how well-known they are.
Die Toten Hosen
punk rock
Where to start →Rammstein
Neue Deutsche Härte · industrial metal
Where to start →Kraftwerk
Krautrock · electro
Where to start →Modern Talking
Eurodance · Eurodisco
Where to start →Scorpions
hard rock · heavy metal
Where to start →Accept
heavy metal
Where to start →Pete Namlook
ambient music
Where to start →KMFDM
industrial metal · industrial rock
Where to start →Anthony Rother
electro
Where to start →Schiller
synth-pop
Where to start →Tangerine Dream
Krautrock · electronic music
Where to start →Scooter
acid trance · house music
Where to start →