It can be intimidating to dive into the Japanese music scene without a guidebook. A few terms to help get your ears on straight:

J-pop: Its biggest stars include Ayumi Hamasaki and Namie Amuro. So far, it hasn't crossed over to the United States, though Hikaru Utada, the U.S.-born star of J-pop, took a shot last year with an English-language CD.

Shibuya-kei: The term refers to the trendy Shibuya district of Tokyo and the hip bands influenced by its music, fashion and nightlife. Many bands tagged with this label have found fans in the United States, such as Pizzicato Five, Cornelius and Buffalo Daughter.

J-rock: Harder-edge that includes metal, goth and punk strains. Includes bands such as L'Arc~en~Ciel and X-Japan; many U.S. fans have discovered them and many of the punk and rock bands mentioned in the accompanying story through anime soundtracks.

Visual kei: The phrase means "visual style" and for bands such as Psycho le Cemu or Malice Mizer, it refers to a subgenre of J-rock in which elaborate costumes, hair and makeup are as important to many fans as is the music.