CURRENT TRENDS  
Rock music has grown to include hundreds of musical styles, some of which define a broad mainstream, while others are supported by small but devoted audiences. As in earlier decades, major record companies have used independent labels to find new trends and locate promising talent.

Rap music continued to develop in the 1990s, stimulating controversy over its sometimes violent lyrics. Many rap styles gained popularity, including the gangsta (gangster) style of such rappers as Ice-T, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Doggy Dogg; the pop-rap style of M.C. Hammer; the reggae and folk-influenced sound of Arrested Development; and the mixture of hip-hop and jazz developed by Us3. Heavy metal has remained popular, as evidenced by huge arena concerts featuring such bands as Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth. A style known as alternative rock, popularized in the late 1980s by the group R.E.M., combines heavy-metal guitars, folk and punk influences, and cryptic, introspective lyrics. The alternative style spawned a number of substyles, such as the grunge rock of Seattle-based groups Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam. Techno, a style of dance music that gained popularity in the 1990s, combines computer-generated, discolike rhythms with digital samples. Acid jazz is a related style, combining rock, soul, R&B, and jazz influences.

Music video has remained an important means of introducing new performers. Other new media technologies, including the use of fiber-optic cables and satellite transmissions, have changed the way people access popular music. Advances in recording-studio technology, digital recording equipment, and synthesis techniques have allowed musicians, producers, and music engineers to exert far greater control over their final product than previously possible. In live concerts, miniaturized and relatively portable amplification equipment has been introduced to create the illusion of direct communication between the audience and the performers. In contrast, the Lo-Fi movement developed in the 1990s as a reaction against the glossy production values of mainstream popular music. This movement stresses primitive, low-fidelity recording techniques that reflect those used in the 1950s for rockabilly and in the 1970s for punk rock.

As the history of rock music broadens and expands, rock music itself has increasingly become an object of nostalgia. In 1995 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened in Cleveland, Ohio. Also in the 1990s, several television documentaries were produced on the history of rock and roll, and historical box-set recordings were reissued featuring artists from Elvis Presley to Led Zeppelin.