Click here to see the number of beats per minute, artist and genre by UK locations

Bristolians won’t shake a leg to anything more than a languid beat. In Dundee hardcore techno rules the dancefloor, while Londoners prefer higher-paced rap and R’n’B, but the beats are still relatively restrained.

The days when Britpop suggested a unifying UK soundtrack are gone as a new musical map of Britain has revealed a nation divided by a search for the perfect groove.

Regional analysis of musical tastes suggests that the beat becomes more rapid the farther north one travels.

The HMV sales survey, for Uncut magazine, found that the West Country is the most chilled-out region for music. Measured in beats per minute, used by DJs to pace their sets, the region nods its head to music at 70bpm, which is below the average heart rate.

The downbeat “trip-hop” scene, which produced the Bristol bands Massive Attack and Portishead in the mid-1990s, is still influential, according to HMV’s sales returns.

Vocals-free ambient music and dub reggae is also a seller in the West Country, where the whiff of marijuana hangs heavy over the favoured sluggish beats. Film soundtracks are most popular in Bristol.

Regions retain historic associations with folk styles or demonstrate the impact of immigration. Birmingham is still the stronghold of reggae and claims to be the birthplace of heavy metal, having spawned Black Sabbath.

The pace picks up as the music fan travels north, through the hedonistic dance and rock scenes of Manchester and Newcastle upon Tyne, with bpms reaching 160 — faster than the heart rate after an average fitness workout.

But Scotland is in thrall to an abrasive, high-speed form of dance music called happy hardcore, which touches the dial at 190 bpm. HMV found Scottish customers snapping up compilations of the genre called Bonkers, featuring tracks such as Neckbreaker and Frenzy, which their outlets in the South cannot give away. Whistle-blowing patrons pack into clubs such as Infexious in Glasgow for a musical experience more akin to being trapped inside a tumble-dryer with a power drill.

Scots not availing themselves of this genre are enjoying the anthemic Celtic rock of Runrig, the band that featured Pete Wishart, who is now an SNP MP.

Among the regional disparities uncovered was a dislike in Leeds for trend-led bands promoted by the London media, such as the NME favourites Klaxons. About half of HMV’s stock of classical and jazz is sold in two Central London branches. Northern Ireland is second only to Nashville in its love for country & western.

An HMV spokesman said: “The history and ethnic mix of an area shapes the music that’s made and consumed. But the map could soon change because the internet is also narrowing the difference between different musical tastes around the country.”

Explore Music

• CD Reviews

• Live Reviews

• Classical

Editor's choice

• The 100 Best Films of the Decade
• 70 facts you didn't know about Marvel
• The 50 Biggest Movies Of 2010