1930s and 1940s
este-American communities (for example: electric guitar Blues in Chicago and Texas), and Country coming also from "hillbilly music" of poor folk, white and black (Sun Records in Tennessee), which blended to become Rockabilly. The most important ingredient in early Rock n' Roll was, however, the type of Jump blues / R&B led by Louis Jordan who occasionally broke through into the pop charts. The music later on was mixed with gospel handclaps, boogie woogie and larger emphasis on backbeat, by artists such as The Treniers, which created Rock 'n' Roll. The rise of the crying and emotional singers in the late 1940s such as Mario Lanza began the pop music vocal style.

1950s
Early Western Pop music artists include Tommy Steele, Marty Wilde, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bobbejaan Schoepen, and Peggy Lee, but other artists like Bill Haley and his Comets, James Brown, Ray Conniff, Ray Charles, Everly Brothers, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley became popular with the younger generation. In Australia there was Johnny O'Keefe, Col Joy and Bobby Darin. Italian singers such as Mario Lanza sang tunes people could identify and sing along to.

 

1960s
Western pop music teen idols of the 1960s include The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Beach Boys. Other successful pop musicians of this era include Elvis Presley, Simon & Garfunkel, Neil Diamond, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and Peter, Paul & Mary. The 1960s also saw the emergence of bands created by the recording industry, the most famous from this era being The Monkees.

1970s
Bee Gees, ABBA and the piano-based pop of Billy Joel and Elton John become famous in these years. Other important musicians included Carole King, The Jackson Five, Olivia Newton-John, Michael Jackson with his 20 million selling album Off the Wall and Donna Summer.
During the 1970s in Britain, New Wave and Punk brought bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Talking Heads, Ian Dury, Elvis Costello, The Police and The Stranglers into the pop charts. A mod revival spearheaded by The Jam and Madness followed and opened the way for The Specials, UB40 and Dexys Midnight Runners.

1980s
Cover of Michael Jackson's Thriller, which became the best-selling album of all time, with sales of 104 million.Cover of Michael Jackson's Thriller, which became the best-selling album of all time, with sales of 104 million.
Highlights for pop music in the 1980s are Michael Jackson's second Epic label release, Thriller, which went on to become the best-selling album of all time. Jackson was the most successful artist of the 80s, spanning nine #1 singles in the United States alone during that decade, and selling over 136 million copies with only two albums — Thriller, and its follow-up Bad. Since the early nineties, Jackson has been often referred to and regarded as the "King of Pop".
Another important artist in the 1980s was Madonna. Considered the Queen of Pop Madonna have a unique style mixing pop music with different musical styles such as Techno, electronic and Hip-Hop. The albums Madonna, Like a Virgin, True Blue and Like a Prayer reached high positions in Europe and in the USA. The singles “Lucky Star”, “Like a Virgin”, “Material Girl”, “True Blue”, “La Isla Bonita”, “Like a Prayer” and “Cherish” also reached high positions in the USA and in the UK. She received a diamond certification for her album Like a Virgin by selling more than 10 million copies (Totally the album sold 20). MTV awarded her as the Artist of the Decade.
Madonna
Prince also made a popular impact in the 1980s, and he was particularly adored by music critics. A large number of his albums and singles topped or held prominent positions on the yearly Village Voice Pazz and Jop Poll including albums 1999, Purple Rain, and Sign "o" the Times. Songs like "When Doves Cry" and "U Got the Look" were hits for Prince, as were songs he penned for others such as "Manic Monday" (performed by the Bangles) or "I Feel for You" (performed by Chaka Kahn).
Other top-selling artists included Cher, Tiffany, Janet Jackson, Huey Lewis & The News, Cyndi Lauper, U2, Simply Red, Whitney Houston, and George Michael (and Wham). Pop music in the 1980s was heavily influenced by an electronic sound with synthesizers and drum machines, and dance type music.

1990s
Among the most successful pop acts of the 1990s were R&B-influenced pop acts such as Salt N Pepa, MC Hammer, and C&C Music Factory. Non-R&B artists such as Cher , Jewel, pop country singer Shania Twain, and Alanis Morissette were also successful. Mariah Carey became a popular artist of the 1990's, with many hits.
"Millennium", 1999.
Boy bands and girl groups such as New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys , Hanson, *NSYNC, and the Spice Girls. The late ninetys saw a resurgence of female bubble gum divas, most noticably Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera.
Britney Spears
Australia had Kylie Minogue. The Latin pop explosion with Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, and Shakira. The 1990s also saw the beginnings of a surgence in pop into the Asian market, known as J-pop, as originated from Japan.

 

2000s
Lindsay Lohan
In the 2000s, pop music chart-toppers included Black Eyed Peas, Justin Timberlake, and Usher. Robbie Williams recorded the biggest sales worldwide for a male artist, though with limited success in North America. The divas included Madonna and Mariah Carey. Other trends included Teen pop singers such as Disney Channel stars Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan. Pop punk acts such as Simple Plan and Fall Out Boy have become increasingly popular, as well as pop rock acts such as P!nk and Avril Lavigne.
The popular American reality program American Idol has produced many successful Pop artists, most notably Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Katharine McPhee, Chris Daughtry, R&B pop artist Elliott Yamin, and country pop artists Carrie Underwood and Kellie Pickler. In Latin America, multi-platinum pop group RBD has achieved a great commercial success becoming the best-selling Latin act on the 2000s. R&B and pop music blended in music from Nelly Furtado and the Pussycat Dolls.

By style: Baroque pop - Bubblegum pop - Country pop - Futurepop - Pop rock - Pop punk - Pop rap - Power pop - Synthpop/Electropop Indie pop - Teen pop - Traditional pop - Pop metal - Sunshine pop