What is your favorite music genre in the German-speaking world?

Difficult question.

Gothic (including post-punk, dark/cold wave, death rock…): There aren't enough German-language titles in this genre, but all the ones I know are good.

NDT ( Neue Deutsche Todeskunst ): It's a genre I love, but the bands and media don't seem to take the term very seriously. The term actually describes Gothic/Dark Wave in German with classical influences, but it's now used for many German-speaking black scene bands like ASP, Lacrimosa, L'Âme Immortelle, and others.

NDW ( Neue Deutsche Welle ): it's very difficult to classify, as the early NDW , which had strong influences from punk, post-punk, dark wave, krautrock, industrial and experimental/avant-garde areas ( think of bands like Kraftwerk, Schlager, kitsch and synth pop with soft rock/punk and sometimes slapstick (DÖF, Nena, Hubert Kah, Trio, Peter Schilling…). This stuff wasn't bad either, especially if you like the less dark variety of wave and synth pop, but it's just not as "good" as the early underground stuff.

NDH ( Neue Deutsche Härte ): Musically, not particularly sophisticated, but still more sophisticated than pop. Some bands in this genre score points for the sophisticated lyrics. Despite its simplicity, the music is beautiful, catchy, and dark.

(Pseudo-)Medieval and Folk (also MA and Folk Rock & Metal) : I have not heard a bad band in this area yet, but the authenticity is rarely present, even with the more serious bands, which in itself is not an exclusion criterion.

“Normal” rock: it's quite nice, but in German it's usually a bit too poppy and Schlager-like.

German punk: I really enjoy listening to it, but I'm a bit picky because too many newer bands have the typical assirap accent (even if some don't rap). Also, German rap has generally become too prevalent in German punk in recent years.

Folk music and traditional music: As long as it's not too kitschy and modern (pop, electronic), I enjoy listening to this genre, the more folksy the better. I simply love "world music." I love Heino's music, whether old or new. Although Heino has always had strong influences from "conventional" pop music.

Schlager : I enjoy listening to old Schlager , especially from the '50s and '60s, and the synthpop-heavy '80s, and generally many classics, every now and then. I stand by that, even if the music was never particularly sophisticated lyrically and especially musically.

I also love “ epic” hits like those by Kathy Kelly, Mary Roos… (at least I consider the few songs I know by them to be “epic” or, to put it another way, somehow “Shirley Bassey-like”).

But modern Schlager , which is even simpler, less demanding, and, above all, techno-bass-heavy (with its horrible electronic music), and the resulting Ballermann garbage, is a real nuisance. In terms of sophistication (lyrics, structure, musical complexity, instrumentation), some of this stuff is even below the level of trashy German rap, a genre I also hate for these shortcomings (plus the ridiculous, artificially hollow accents and the gangsta posturing).

Big Band (also known as Big Band Schlager or 20s/30s Schlager) : I love this music; it differs both musically and lyrically from the original American version. The lyrics are usually humorous, and the music clearly shows influences from cabaret and chanson. However, many of the lyrics have racist or sexist overtones. Well-known representatives of this genre include Willy Fritsch, Lilian Harvey, Otto Reutter, etc.
But more serious (albeit kitschy) performers like Zarah Leander and her "rival" Marlene Dietrich also belong in this category. I would even classify Kurt Weill and Ernst Busch in this genre.
Max Raabe in general and Nina Hagen with her albums “Big Band Explosion” and “Somewhere on the World” (which are a bit closer to “normal” swing, but vocally are very reminiscent of Zarah Leander and co.) are reviving this music.

Then there are smaller genres like industrial, EBM (real, not the modern stuff), krautrock, German-language metal (despite the larger metal genre, I only know a few bands that sing in German)… which I actually also like in German.

Genres that I don't really like in other languages, such as techno, house and aggrotech (which, for me, is no different from normal club electro except for the screaming), are no better or worse in German.

The exception to this is schmaltzy pop (like Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, James Blunt), as the German version also sounds completely unmusical and off-key (something as horrible as Mark Forster, Tim Bendzko or the song “Wannsee” by the Toten Hosen, which my family initially thought was Mark Forster or Cro), which becomes unbearable, especially because of the rather soft music.

Despite the very long text, I have probably forgotten countless genres.