For those not universally music-literate conversation can sometimes reveal embarrassing gaps in one’s genre knowledge. Thankfully there are resources for such pitiful souls. As with most things a Google search will take you far but here are a couple suggestions to get on on the path to knowing your New Wave from your No Wave.
For a complete list one can call on the font of all knowledge that is Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_genre

For an easier to navigate site check out Allmusic.com:
http://www.allmusic.com/

–John Rieman