There are two ways to listen to the three mainstream genres of rap/hip-hop, rock and pop: live in concert or the studio version from the album.

It’s easy to see the attraction toward live concerts. Musicians get paid more money and live concerts provide a chance for people to see their favorite musician in the flesh. Instead of a TV screen or radio speakers separating the musician from the listener, now only a few hundred screaming fans separate the musician from the listener.

Musicians from each genre go on tour every year, but which genre is better to see in concert?

I have been to a plethora of concerts throughout my life, rap, pop and rock, and through my experiences at all three, I have concluded which genre is the better investment. But in order to discover which concert is better there is a list of criteria that applies to all concerts: atmosphere, audience connection with the musician and music quality.

Now the atmosphere of the concert is not really controlled by the artist or genre but is dependent on how large, lively and interested the audience is toward the musician. So to decide which genre to see in concert based on atmosphere is tough because it changes depending on the audience as a whole. I have gone to the same artist’s concert two nights in a row and both nights the atmosphere was very different. Not because of the artist but because of the audience. The first night the audience was smaller, less energetic and seemed overall less interested in the music. The second night, a Friday, had a larger crowd that was overall much more interested in the music than the previous night.

Audience connection with the artist is a huge aspect of the concert experience. Even if it’s just saying the city’s name or saying this is the best city in the world with the most beautiful people, the audience goes insane. For some reason these white lies make the audience feel like they’re getting a more personal concert from the artist.

However important audience connection is, it changes so frequently that it’s hard to judge which genre is better to see live in concert. Audience connection relies on the artist and how they’re feeling the night of the concert. If the artist is hung over, experiencing jet lag or is tired from traveling then the audience connection might suffer. Then again if the artist is well-rested, happy to be touring, or just in a good lively mood then that’s when audience connection thrives.

With the first two criterion of a good concert being subject to change, its hard to tell which genre is best to see live in concert. That leaves the third and most constant criteria left to judge which of the three mainstream music genres is best to see live. That is music quality.

Music quality is always a constant at live concerts. Through my experiences at all three genres’ live concerts, the music quality at live rock concerts exceeds any other.

At rap concerts generally what occurs is the beat is played over the speakers with extra bass. From there the musician belts out the lyrics without the smoothness or clarity that is present on their studio version—the version most people are accustomed to hearing. And now with every rap artist using auto-tune it’s hard to reproduce that live and in concert.

Out of all the times I have gone to a pop concert I was not expecting to hear the artist’s real voice. Instead I am accustomed to see the artist prance around stage performing very aerobic dance moves that would make any pro athlete out of breath let alone be able to clearly yell out the lyrics to the chart-topping song.

Unlike pop or rap concerts, however, rock concerts music quality is generally phenomenal.

Sometimes it’s so good that the band releases a CD of their live concerts. Not many rap or pop artist release albums featuring their entire live concert. The music quality of rap and pop are poor in comparison to rock bands live in concerts.

Since bands in the rock genre perform live the same way they perform in the studio it is easier for them to make great-sounding music and are able to improvise and change their music.

By improvising and trying new musical ideas onstage, it provides a much more interesting and a better money and time investment for the audience member. The atmosphere or audience connection isn’t a guarantee. The music quality of rock concerts is generally top notch, sometimes resulting in recording the concert to put on a CD for everyone to enjoy.

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