The Monkees would be one of the better known acts in today's Pop/Rock scene. While modern-day pop music has its roots in rock and roll, it also draws on a multitude of other genres including latin, rock and country music. It began to become its own separate genre in the 1950s when the term ‘popular music’ became pop and was used to describe this new eclectic sound that the masses were favouring at the time. Pop is often regarded by fans of other more original music styles as commercially focused and created to please the masses rather than as an expression of the artist. Big names in pop over the years have included the likes of Michael Jackson, Britney Spears and Madonna.

Rock music developed from rock and roll in the 1950s and today is regarded as a subgenre of pop due to its commercial success with the masses. Typified by the presence of electric and bass guitars and drums, rock music is also influenced by many other genres such as country, folk and blues. From the 1970s on, it became the favoured choice of the politically active and many subgenres developed including punk rock, grunge rock and in more recent years indie rock. Well-known artists of these styles include The Clash, Nirvana and Arcade Fire.