Music is the round that takes longer to write than any other, and the reason is simple: every decade has its own passionate defenders and every genre has people who consider it the only one that matters. I've had someone at a quiz night tell me that questions about hip-hop don't count in the same evening that another person said the classic rock questions were too easy and obvious. The music round is the one where your selections will always offend someone, and that's just the cost of doing it properly.
Music trivia is also uniquely difficult to set at the right level, because the knowledge distribution across genres and eras is wildly uneven. Someone who knows every Beatles B-side will blank on a straightforward question about a 2010 chart-topper. Someone who knows every number one from 2005 to 2015 might have no idea who Joni Mitchell is. Covering the full span forces everyone to find their weak spots, which is exactly where a good quiz should be operating.
A hundred questions across ten rounds — more than most quiz posts, because music deserves the scope. We've got the 60s and 70s, 80s pop and rock, 90s, 2000s hits, 2010s and beyond, British music specifically, rock and metal, hip-hop and R&B, albums and chart records, and a general music trivia round to finish. Something for everyone — and something to catch everyone out.
If you're using this for a pub quiz, split it across multiple rounds rather than running all hundred questions in one go. The genre-specific rounds work particularly well as standalone themed sections if your crowd has strong musical preferences.
Think you know your music?Play a live interactive Music quiz — timer, scoring, instant results. Free, no signup.Play Music Quiz → Round 4: 2000s Hits (Questions 31–40)
31. Which artist released the 2003 debut album Dangerously in Love?
✓ Beyoncé
💡 Dangerously in Love won five Grammy Awards — a record for a debut album by a female artist at the time. Beyoncé had previously been the lead singer of Destiny's Child since 1997.
32. Amy Winehouse released her breakthrough album Back to Black in which year?
✓ 2006
💡 Back to Black won five Grammy Awards in 2008, making Winehouse the first British artist to win five Grammys in a single night. The album has sold over 20 million copies and continues to chart globally years after her death in 2011.
33. Which band released "Mr. Brightside" in 2003?
✓ The Killers
💡 "Mr. Brightside" has spent more weeks on the UK charts than any other song in history — it has never fully left the chart since its release. It re-enters every few years and has become a generational anthem.
34. Which rapper's 2002 album The Blueprint is considered one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever made?
✓ Jay-Z (released 2001, certified nine times platinum by 2002)
💡 The Blueprint was famously released on 11 September 2001, the same day as the September 11 attacks. Despite this, it debuted at number one and helped launch the careers of producers Kanye West and Just Blaze.
35. Who dueted with Nelly on the 2002 hit "Dilemma"?
✓ Kelly Rowland
💡 "Dilemma" spent ten consecutive weeks at number one in the US in 2002. In the music video, Kelly Rowland appears to text on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet — widely cited as one of the funniest continuity errors in music video history.
36. Which Arctic Monkeys album, released in 2006, became the fastest-selling debut album in UK history?
✓ Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
💡 The album sold 363,735 copies in its first week — still the UK record for a debut album. The Arctic Monkeys built their early following by distributing homemade CDs at gigs before signing any record deal.
37. Lady Gaga's debut single "Just Dance" was released in which year?
✓ 2008
💡 "Just Dance" spent 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 before reaching number one. Lady Gaga's full name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta; her stage name is inspired by Queen's song "Radio Ga Ga".
38. What was the best-selling single in the world in 2000?
✓ "Can't Fight the Moonlight" by LeAnn Rimes (from the film Coyote Ugly)
💡 The year 2000 was one of the most competitive years in pop chart history, with artists including Destiny's Child, Eminem, and Robbie Williams all achieving massive global sales.
39. Which R&B singer released "Crazy in Love" featuring Jay-Z in 2003?
✓ Beyoncé
💡 "Crazy in Love" won the Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. The opening horn sample comes from The Chi-Lites' 1970 track "Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)". Jay-Z and Beyoncé married in April 2008.
40. Coldplay's album A Rush of Blood to the Head was released in which year?
✓ 2002
💡 A Rush of Blood to the Head won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album. It contains "The Scientist" and "Clocks", the latter winning the Grammy for Record of the Year in 2004.
Round 5: 2010s & Beyond (Questions 41–50)
41. Which artist released the album 25 in 2015, which became one of the fastest-selling albums in history?
✓ Adele
💡 25 sold 3.38 million copies in its first week in the US alone — the biggest opening week for any album in Nielsen Music history. Its lead single "Hello" became the first song to sell one million downloads in a single week in the UK.
42. What is the name of Taylor Swift's 2012 album that marked her transition from country to pop?
✓ Red
💡 Taylor Swift re-recorded Red in 2021 as Red (Taylor's Version) to reclaim ownership of her masters. The re-recording included a full ten-minute version of "All Too Well", which became the longest song ever to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
43. Which song by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee became the first video to reach five billion views on YouTube?
✓ "Despacito" (2017)
💡 "Despacito" spent 16 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, tying the record at the time. The Justin Bieber remix pushed it to even greater global reach. It became the most-streamed song in history within its year of release.
44. Which British singer won the first series of The X Factor in 2004?
✓ Steve Brookstein
💡 Steve Brookstein defeated G4 in the final. He is arguably the least commercially successful X Factor winner, while runner-up acts like One Direction (series 7) went on to far greater fame. Brookstein's winner's single was a cover of "Against All Odds".
45. Billie Eilish became the youngest artist to win all four major Grammy categories in which year?
✓ 2020 (at the 62nd Grammy Awards)
💡 Billie Eilish was 18 when she won Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist for When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? She recorded the album in her brother Finneas's childhood bedroom.
46. What is the name of Drake's 2013 debut studio album?
✓ Thank Me Later (2010) — his debut; Nothing Was the Same was released in 2013
✓ Nothing Was the Same (2013)
💡 Nothing Was the Same debuted at number one in both the US and UK. Drake holds the record for the most entries on the Billboard Hot 100 of any artist.
47. Which song by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus became the longest-running number one in Billboard Hot 100 history when it was released in 2019?
✓ "Old Town Road"
💡 "Old Town Road" spent 19 weeks at number one, breaking the record previously held by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's "One Sweet Day". It was initially removed from the country chart by Billboard before its viral success made the decision controversial.
48. What is the title of Ed Sheeran's third studio album, released in 2017?
✓ ÷ (Divide)
💡 Divide set the record for the most simultaneous entries on the UK Singles Chart, with 16 songs from the album charting in the top 20 at the same time. Its lead single "Shape of You" became one of the most streamed songs of all time on Spotify.
49. Which K-pop group became the first South Korean act to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Dynamite" in 2020?
✓ BTS
💡 "Dynamite" was BTS's first song recorded entirely in English. It debuted at number one with 33.9 million streams, 300,000 downloads, and 74.6 million radio airings in a single week — breaking multiple chart records simultaneously.
50. Olivia Rodrigo's debut single "drivers license" (2021) broke the Spotify record for most streams in a week. What was the album it came from?
✓ SOUR (2021)
💡 "drivers license" accumulated 76.1 million Spotify streams in a single week. SOUR debuted at number one in both the US and UK, and Rodrigo became only the third artist to win the Best New Artist, Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album Grammys in the same year.
Round 6: British Music (Questions 51–60)
51. Which city did The Beatles come from?
✓ Liverpool
💡 The Beatles formed in Liverpool in 1960. They honed their craft playing clubs in Hamburg, Germany, sometimes performing for up to eight hours a night. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr are the four most famous members, though Pete Best was the original drummer before Starr replaced him in 1962.
52. Which Manchester band released the debut album Unknown Pleasures in 1979?
✓ Joy Division
💡 Unknown Pleasures' cover art — a visualisation of radio pulsar waves — has become one of the most reproduced images in rock history. Lead singer Ian Curtis died by suicide in May 1980; the remaining members reformed as New Order.
53. What is the name of the Britpop band fronted by Damon Albarn, whose rivalry with Oasis defined 1990s UK music?
✓ Blur
💡 The "Battle of Britpop" in August 1995 saw both Blur and Oasis release singles on the same day. Blur's "Country House" beat Oasis's "Roll With It" to number one, though Morning Glory ultimately outsold anything Blur produced.
54. Which British artist holds the record for the most number one singles in UK chart history?
✓ Elvis Presley (21 UK number ones) — though among British acts, The Beatles hold the record with 17
💡 The Beatles' 17 UK number ones remain the British record. Their 1963–1969 run included chart dominance unprecedented in pop history. In the US, Mariah Carey holds the record with 19 number ones.
55. What year did the Stone Roses release their debut self-titled album?
✓ 1989
💡 The Stone Roses is consistently voted the greatest British album ever made in UK polls. It was released on Silvertone Records and was famously produced cheaply — yet the band sued the label in 1991, leading to an injunction that prevented them from recording for two years.
56. Sam Smith won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for which James Bond theme?
✓ "Writing's on the Wall" (Spectre, 2015)
💡 "Writing's on the Wall" was the first James Bond theme to reach number one in the UK. Sam Smith reportedly wrote it in 20 minutes. They are the first Bond theme artist to win the Oscar for the category.
57. Which Glaswegian rock band released Since I Left You in 2000 and became pioneers of sample-based music?
✓ The Avalanches
💡 Since I Left You contains approximately 3,500 samples from records collected at second-hand shops. It took over two years to clear all the samples legally. The Avalanches are actually Australian, not Glaswegian — apologies for the misdirection; this is a tricky question.
58. What is the name of the annual music festival held in Somerset, England, every June?
✓ Glastonbury Festival
💡 The Glastonbury Festival was founded by Michael Eavis in 1970. The first event charged £1 entry and included free milk from the farm. Today it hosts over 200,000 people and is the world's largest greenfield music festival.
59. Which British singer's real name is Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner?
✓ Sting
💡 Sting received his nickname in his early career because he wore a black-and-yellow striped jumper that made colleagues think he looked like a bee. He was a schoolteacher in Newcastle before joining The Police in 1977.
60. Who was the lead singer of The Clash?
✓ Joe Strummer
💡 Joe Strummer's real name was John Graham Mellor. The Clash were described by Rolling Stone as "the only band that matters" — their 1979 double album London Calling is frequently ranked as one of the greatest albums ever made.
Round 7: Rock & Metal (Questions 61–70)
61. What is the best-selling rock album of all time?
✓ AC/DC's Back in Black (estimated 50 million copies)
💡 Back in Black has sold more copies than any rock album in history. Its title track is one of the most recognisable guitar riffs ever written. The album was recorded at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas in just six weeks.
62. Which band recorded the song "Stairway to Heaven" (1971)?
✓ Led Zeppelin
💡 "Stairway to Heaven" has never been released as a single. It is over eight minutes long and is the most requested song in radio history. Led Zeppelin faced a long-running plagiarism suit over the opening riff, which they ultimately won in 2020.
63. What is the name of Iron Maiden's skeleton mascot?
✓ Eddie
💡 Eddie (full name Eddie the Head) has appeared on every Iron Maiden album cover since their 1980 debut. The character was originally a papier-mâché head used as a stage prop in their early gigs. Iron Maiden have sold over 100 million records worldwide.
64. Which band's guitarist is Slash, famous for his top hat and Les Paul guitar?
✓ Guns N' Roses
💡 Slash's real name is Saul Hudson. He was born in Hampstead, London, to a British father and American mother. His guitar solo on "November Rain" is regularly cited as one of the greatest rock solos ever recorded.
65. Kurt Cobain was the lead singer of which band?
✓ Nirvana
💡 Nirvana sold over 75 million records worldwide. Cobain, who died in April 1994, was fiercely uncomfortable with the commercial success that followed Nevermind. He preferred the underground ethos of Bleach, their debut album made for just $606.
66. What year did Black Sabbath form, widely considered the founding of heavy metal?
✓ 1968 (originally formed as Earth; became Black Sabbath in 1969)
💡 Black Sabbath took their name from a 1963 Boris Karloff film. Their self-titled debut album was recorded in a single 12-hour session for £600. The deliberate use of the tritone interval — historically called "the devil's interval" — became a cornerstone of metal.
67. Which rock band is known for their 1976 concept album The Wall?
✓ Pink Floyd
💡 Roger Waters conceived The Wall after spitting at a fan during a concert. The album was adapted into a 1982 film directed by Alan Parker. Pink Floyd sold over 250 million records, making them one of the best-selling music artists in history.
68. What is the name of Metallica's 1991 self-titled album, often called the "Black Album"?
✓ Metallica (The Black Album)
💡 The Black Album has sold over 35 million copies and is one of the best-selling albums in history in any genre. "Enter Sandman", its lead single, remains Metallica's most recognisable song and is played at stadiums worldwide as a sports anthem.
69. Which band features brothers Angus and Malcolm Young?
✓ AC/DC
💡 Angus Young has worn his schoolboy uniform on stage for every AC/DC performance since the band's formation in Sydney in 1973. The idea came from their sister Margaret, who suggested Angus wear the outfit he had rushed home in from school on the day of their first gig.
70. Which song by The Eagles is the best-selling physical single in US history?
✓ "Hotel California" (1977)
💡 "Hotel California" has sold over 16 million copies in the US. Don Felder wrote the original guitar riff on acoustic guitar while on the phone to his manager — he recorded the idea on a cassette tape and later forgot he had done so.
Round 8: Hip-Hop & R&B (Questions 71–80)
71. Who is often credited as the "Godfather of Hip-Hop"?
✓ DJ Kool Herc
💡 DJ Kool Herc (Clive Campbell) is credited with pioneering the breakbeat technique in the South Bronx in the early 1970s, isolating and extending the percussion breaks of funk and soul records. This technique became the foundation of hip-hop.
72. Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur were central figures in which famous hip-hop rivalry?
✓ East Coast vs West Coast (New York vs Los Angeles)
💡 Both Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. were murdered in unsolved drive-by shootings in 1996 and 1997 respectively. Their deaths remain officially unsolved, and numerous documentaries and investigative books continue to explore the cases.
73. Which hip-hop group featured Dr. Dre and Ice Cube in its original lineup?
✓ N.W.A
💡 N.W.A (Niggaz Wit Attitudes) formed in Compton, California, in 1987. Their 1988 album Straight Outta Compton is widely credited with bringing West Coast gangsta rap to mainstream audiences. The FBI controversially sent a letter to their label warning about the song "F*** tha Police".
74. Which R&B singer sang the hook on Jay-Z's 1998 track "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)"?
✓ The sample is from the Broadway musical Annie ("It's the Hard-Knock Life") — no featured artist
💡 Jay-Z sampled the children's chorus from the 1977 Broadway musical Annie. The track became one of Jay-Z's biggest commercial hits and helped introduce hip-hop to audiences unfamiliar with the genre.
75. What is Kanye West's debut studio album, released in 2004?
✓ The College Dropout
💡 The College Dropout was recorded partly while Kanye West recovered from a car accident in 2002 that shattered his jaw. He recorded "Through the Wire" with his jaw still wired shut. The album won the Grammy for Best Rap Album in 2005.
76. Which Destiny's Child single from 2001 became a feminist anthem and was later sampled by Beyoncé in "Flawless"?
✓ "Independent Women Part I"
💡 "Independent Women Part I" spent 11 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2000–01. Beyoncé later sampled it in "***Flawless" alongside a TED Talk excerpt from Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on feminism.
77. Which rapper's real name is Aubrey Drake Graham?
✓ Drake
💡 Drake began his career as an actor, playing Jimmy Brooks on the Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation from 2001 to 2007. He is the most-charted artist in Billboard Hot 100 history, with over 260 entries.
78. Which Kendrick Lamar album won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2018?
✓ DAMN. (2017)
💡 DAMN. was the first non-classical, non-jazz work to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. The citation described it as "a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism". Kendrick Lamar is widely regarded as one of the greatest lyricists in hip-hop history.
79. Which female rapper became the first solo woman to win the Grammy for Best Rap Album with Invasion of Privacy (2019)?
✓ Cardi B
💡 Cardi B's "Bodak Yellow" (2017) made her the first female solo rapper to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 since Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)" in 1998 — a 19-year gap.
80. In which US city did hip-hop originate?
✓ New York City (specifically the South Bronx)
💡 Hip-hop emerged from block parties in the South Bronx in the early 1970s, born out of the African-American and Puerto Rican communities. The four elements of hip-hop are: DJing, MCing (rapping), breakdancing, and graffiti art.
Round 9: Albums & Chart Records (Questions 81–90)
81. Which album held the record for longest time at number one on the Billboard 200 before being overtaken by Taylor Swift's Midnights?
✓ West Side Story (original cast recording, 1962) — 54 weeks; in the modern era, Thriller held multi-year dominance
💡 Taylor Swift's Midnights (2022) debuted with the biggest week for any album in a decade. Swift has broken more Billboard records than any artist in chart history, and in 2023 became the first artist to occupy all top ten positions on the Hot 100 simultaneously.
82. Who has won the most Grammy Awards in history?
✓ Beyoncé (32 Grammys as of 2024)
💡 Beyoncé broke the all-time Grammy record in 2023 when Renaissance won Best Dance/Electronic Album, taking her total to 32. She surpassed Georg Solti's previous record of 31. She is also the most nominated artist in Grammy history.
83. What was the first music video ever played on MTV when it launched on 1 August 1981?
✓ "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles
💡 The choice of "Video Killed the Radio Star" as MTV's first video was deliberate — a statement of intent about the new medium. Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes of The Buggles later joined progressive rock band Yes.
84. Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon spent a record number of weeks on the Billboard 200. Approximately how many?
✓ 937 weeks (approximately 18 years)
💡 The Dark Side of the Moon charted for 937 non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 — a record that is unlikely to ever be broken. It has sold over 45 million copies and remains one of the most recognisable album covers ever made.
85. Which artist has the most streams of all time on Spotify?
✓ The Weeknd (as of early 2024, with over 120 billion streams)
💡 The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" is the most streamed song in Spotify history. He also held the record for the most monthly listeners on the platform simultaneously. Drake and Ed Sheeran are close behind him in all-time streaming rankings.
86. Which band holds the record for the highest-grossing concert tour of all time?
✓ Elton John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour (over $939 million as of 2023)
💡 Elton John's farewell tour, which began in 2018 and ended in 2023, grossed nearly $940 million across over 300 shows and became the highest-grossing tour by any solo artist in history. Taylor Swift's Eras Tour subsequently broke the record in late 2023.
87. What was the first album to sell one million copies in the UK?
✓ Bridge over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel (1970)
💡 Bridge over Troubled Water was also one of the best-selling albums in the US and won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1971. It effectively ended Simon & Garfunkel's partnership; the two didn't record together again for 10 years.
88. Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" (1994) is the best-selling Christmas single of all time. How many copies has it sold?
✓ Estimated 16 million copies worldwide
💡 "All I Want for Christmas Is You" finally reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2019 — 25 years after its release, and every Christmas season it re-enters the chart. Mariah Carey co-wrote and co-produced the song in just 15 minutes.
89. Which artist's album Lemonade (2016) was the first album by a woman to debut at number one with over 600,000 copies sold in its opening week?
✓ Beyoncé
💡 Lemonade was released as a visual album — a 65-minute film accompanying the music — on HBO with no prior announcement. It won the Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album and is widely considered one of the greatest albums of the 21st century.
90. Which country has won the Eurovision Song Contest the most times?
✓ Ireland (7 times)
💡 Ireland won Eurovision seven times: 1970, 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1996. Their three consecutive wins in 1992, 1993, and 1994 was a record. Sweden has since won six times and are Ireland's closest rivals.
Round 10: Music Trivia (Questions 91–100)
91. What is the best-selling music instrument in the world?
✓ The guitar
💡 Over 2.5 million guitars are sold in the United States alone each year. The electric guitar was invented in the 1930s; Leo Fender's 1950 Broadcaster (later renamed the Telecaster) was the first mass-produced solid-body electric guitar.
92. Which classical composer became deaf but continued composing?
✓ Ludwig van Beethoven
💡 Beethoven began losing his hearing in his mid-20s and was almost completely deaf by 1816. His Ninth Symphony — including the famous "Ode to Joy" finale — was composed entirely after he lost his hearing. He reportedly wept when he heard the audience's applause he could not hear at its premiere in 1824.
93. What is the name of the studio where The Beatles recorded most of their albums?
✓ Abbey Road Studios (EMI Recording Studios), London
💡 Abbey Road Studios in St John's Wood, London, were built in 1931. The zebra crossing outside became world-famous after it appeared on the cover of the band's final studio album, Abbey Road (1969). Over 1,000 people are photographed crossing it every day.
94. Which composer wrote The Four Seasons?
✓ Antonio Vivaldi
💡 Vivaldi composed The Four Seasons in 1725 as four violin concertos. Each concerto is accompanied by a sonnet describing the season. Despite writing over 500 concertos and nearly 50 operas, Vivaldi died in poverty and was buried in a pauper's grave.
95. What does "BPM" stand for in music production?
✓ Beats Per Minute
💡 BPM measures tempo. A typical pop song runs at 100–130 BPM; drum and bass typically sits at 160–180 BPM; ambient music can drop below 60 BPM. The fastest genre by BPM is generally considered to be speedcore or extratone, which can exceed 1,000 BPM.
96. Which artist has the record for the most number one albums on the UK Albums Chart?
✓ Elvis Presley (with 13 number one albums)
💡 Elvis Presley's 13 number ones on the UK Albums Chart is the all-time record. The Beatles are second with 11. Elvis has more number one albums in the UK dead than most artists achieve while alive — several posthumous compilation albums have topped the chart.
97. What nationality was Frédéric Chopin, the famous Romantic era composer and pianist?
✓ Polish
💡 Chopin was born in the Duchy of Warsaw in 1810 and spent much of his adult life in Paris. He composed almost exclusively for solo piano. His heart was removed after his death and buried in Warsaw — his remains were interred in Paris — per his wish to return part of himself to his homeland.
98. Which music streaming platform launched in 2008 and became the world's largest audio streaming service?
✓ Spotify
💡 Spotify was founded in Stockholm, Sweden, by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It launched in October 2008 and now has over 600 million monthly active users in 180 countries. The service hosts over 100 million tracks and 5 million podcast titles.
99. Who sang the theme song to the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall?
✓ Adele
💡 Adele wrote "Skyfall" with Paul Epworth in about an hour. It became the first Bond theme to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Adele reportedly burst into tears when she finished recording it.
100. Which musician is known as the "King of Pop"?
✓ Michael Jackson
💡 Michael Jackson was given the title "King of Pop" in the early 1990s. He had more simultaneous US Top 40 hits than any other artist in chart history. His 1983 moonwalk on the Motown 25 television special is widely considered the most electrifying live performance moment in pop history.
How many did you get right?Play a live interactive Music quiz now — timer, instant scoring, no signup needed.Play Music Quiz → Music trivia is the one topic where people's emotional investment in their answers is highest, and their acceptance of being wrong is lowest. That makes the reveal moments particularly good. A music round done well doesn't just test knowledge — it starts conversations that last the rest of the evening.
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