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Genre · United States, 1950s

Soul

Where to start with soul: What's Going On, then seven more albums below, in order.

Soul grew out of gospel and rhythm and blues in Black American communities in the 1950s and 1960s. Singers such as Ray Charles and Sam Cooke took the church's voices and call and response into songs about love and everyday life, and Motown in Detroit and Stax in Memphis gave it two different sounds.

Listen for three things. The voice, raw or smooth, carrying most of the feeling. The rhythm section, bass and drums with a firm groove. And the horns or strings answering the singer. Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye each show a different side.

Start listening8 albums, in order →
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
If you only play oneWhat's Going OnMarvin Gaye · 1971

If you only play one soul album, make it this one: a song cycle about war, poverty and faith that still flows like one long groove.

Part of Progressive soul →
Step 1

Where to start: 8 soul albums, in order

Click a cover to hear 30-second previews. Start at the top; each record takes you a little further.

  1. 01

    What's Going On

    Marvin Gaye · 1971

    The songs run into each other like one long piece; the title track, 'Mercy Mercy Me' and 'Inner City Blues' turn soul toward social comment.

    Progressive soul
  2. 02

    I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You

    Aretha Franklin · 1967

    Her first Atlantic album, recorded partly in Muscle Shoals, with 'Respect' and 'Do Right Woman, Do Right Man'.

    Southern soul
  3. 03

    Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul

    Otis Redding · 1965

    Otis Redding with the Stax house band; 'I've Been Loving You Too Long' and his own 'Respect' are Memphis soul at its warmest.

    Southern soul
  4. 04

    Innervisions

    Stevie Wonder · 1973

    Stevie Wonder plays most of the instruments himself; 'Living for the City' and 'Higher Ground' bring synthesizers into soul.

    Progressive soul
  5. 05

    Curtis

    Curtis Mayfield · 1970

    His first solo album: strings, horns and long grooves, with 'Move On Up' and '(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go'.

    Psychedelic soul
  6. 06

    There's a Riot Goin' On

    Sly & the Family Stone · 1971

    The band at its darkest: murky drum machine, slow funk and 'Family Affair'.

    Funk
  7. 07

    Hot Buttered Soul

    Isaac Hayes · 1969

    Just four long tracks, including an 18-minute 'By the Time I Get to Phoenix', with orchestral arrangements that stretch soul out.

  8. 08

    Voodoo

    D'Angelo · 2000

    Loose, behind-the-beat grooves recorded with Questlove on drums; a key record of neo soul, with 'Untitled (How Does It Feel)'.

Previews courtesy of Apple Music.

Which one did you like best? Its tag below the cover is the branch to dig into next.

Step 2

How soul grew

5 periods, each with the branches that appeared in it. Branches with a dot have their own page.

  1. Before 1960

    Gospel and rhythm and blues

    Ray Charles and Sam Cooke carried gospel singing into secular songs, and rhythm and blues gave them a beat to dance to.

    Gospel musicRhythm and bluesSouthern soul

    On the route: record 2, record 3

  2. 1960s

    Motown and Stax

    Motown in Detroit polished soul for the pop charts while Stax in Memphis kept it raw. James Brown pared his songs down to rhythm, and funk began.

    Brown-eyed soulBritish soulFunkBlue-eyed soulProgressive soulPsychedelic soulNorthern soul

    On the route: record 1, record 4, record 5, record 6

  3. 1970s

    Albums with a message

    Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Curtis Mayfield wrote whole albums with something to say. Lush strings swept through the decade, and quiet storm slowed soul down for late-night radio.

    Cinematic soulSmooth soulQuiet storm
  4. 1980s–1990s

    R&B again

    Drum machines and synthesizers reshaped the sound, now usually called R&B. Hip-hop producers sampled old soul records, and singers sang over hip-hop beats.

  5. Late 1990s onward

    Neo soul and retro soul

    Neo soul singers such as D'Angelo and Erykah Badu went back to live bands, and retro soul revived the sound of the 1960s.

    Retro-soul
The full lineage tree
↘ 1600s 1610s 1620s 1630s 1640s 1650s 1660s 1670s 1680s 1690s 1700s 1710s 1720s 1730s 1740s 1750s 1760s 1770s 1780s 1790s 1800s 1810s 1820s 1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s BluesBlues · 1890 JazzJazz · 1917 Soul / R&BSoul / R&B · 1955 Gospel musicGospel music · 1600 Rhythm and bluesRhythm and blues · 1938 Southern soulSouthern soul · 1957 Brown-eyed soulBrown-eyed soul · 1960 British soulBritish soul · 1962 FunkFunk · 1965 Progressive soulProgressive soul · 1965 Blue-eyed soulBlue-eyed soul · 1965 Psychedelic soulPsychedelic soul · 1967 Northern soulNorthern soul · 1968 Cinematic soulCinematic soul · 1972 Smooth soulSmooth soul · 1975 Quiet stormQuiet storm · 1976 Retro-soulRetro-soul · 1998

Bright border: has its own pageDashed: sources that flowed inSolid line: documented stylistic originFaint dashes: grouped under soulHover a genre to see where it came from and went

Step 3

Pick a branch of soul

The 7 branches people play most. Each has its own 8 albums and lineage.

  1. 1950sSouthern soulRaw vocals over horns and tight Memphis grooves.Open on the genre map →
  2. 1960sFunkInterlocking guitar, bass and drums built on the first beat.Open on the genre map →
  3. 1960sPsychedelic soulSoul with fuzz guitars, effects and long jams.Open on the genre map →
  4. 1960sProgressive soulAlbums with a message and adventurous arrangements.Open on the genre map →
  5. 1970sQuiet stormSmooth, slow soul for late-night listening.Open on the genre map →
  6. 1600sGospel musicChurch singing with choirs, call and response and testimony.Open on the genre map →
  7. 1930sRhythm and bluesJumping Black pop of the 1940s and 1950s with a strong backbeat.Open on the genre map →

See soul on the genre map

Its place among more than 1,200 genres, next to its neighbors.

Open the genre map →

Keep digging soul in Cratto

Scan your records, light up your own genre globe, and see how much of your shelf is soul.

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All 14 subgenres of soulby decade

1600s

Gospel music

1930s

Rhythm and blues

1950s

Southern soul

1960s

Brown-eyed soulBritish soulBlue-eyed soulFunkProgressive soulPsychedelic soulNorthern soul

1970s

Cinematic soulSmooth soulQuiet storm

1990s

Retro-soul
Genres soul directly influenced44
Hip-hopSoul jazzLatin rockAdult contemporary musicGarage rockGo-goBoogalooSwamp rockRocksteadySamba rockSoul bluesAfrobeatBregaCantopopCity popSoca musicYacht rockJazz-funkLovers rockWest Coast hip-hopBoogie (genre)Mod revivalPost-discoContemporary R&BProgressive rapAustralian hip-hopGarage houseSmooth jazzDeep houseReggae fusionSophisti-popAcid jazzAlternative hip-hopDiva houseHip-hop soulMangue bitTrip hopShibuya-keiNu jazzSri Lankan hip-hopNeo soulLofi hip-hopSkweeeAmapiano

Genre names and classification follow Wikipedia (Soul / R&B, List of music genres and styles), CC BY-SA 4.0; lineage lines follow the stylistic origins each genre's entry records. Album artwork and previews come from Apple Music.