I'll give you a gross generalization of different time periods:

Medieval
Harmonic progressions did not exist as we know it yet. Music was all about melody
and eventually the coincidence of various melodies. This is a long period and
includes monophonic and polyphonic music. Two representative composers: Perotin and
Machaut

Renaissance
More accessible to the casual listener, but still not tonal. A ton of great choral
music to listen to. Two representative composers: Josquin and Palestrina

Baroque: 17C
Enter tonality and functional harmony. Lots more instrumental music, but also the
introduction of opera. The tuning system was vastly upgraded near the end so you
start to see music in more keys with more drastic shifts between keys. Two
representative composers: Rameau and Bach (because you gotta).

Classical: 18C
Homophony trumps polyphony. i.e. the idea of single melodies supported by a chordal
accompaniment. Also, string quartets, the early piano, symphonies are all new
things. Three representative composers: You named 2 of them, Mozart and Beethoven
(Beethoven transcended Classical and Romantic). Haydn was Beethoven's teacher. He
knows some shit too.

Romantic: 19C
There are some big splits here. Some composers miniaturized forms. Think most of
Chopin's output and Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words. Then you get the polar
opposite with Wagner and Brahms - two very different composers. But they wrote some
gigantic pieces. Huge orchestras and huge forms. Not for the faint of heart or the
impatient.

The 20th Century: 20C

Began with Debussy in 1894 with Prelude to "The Afternoon of a Faun." Really a
predecessor to the ambient aesthetic that is still around. Many equate the 20th
century to dissonance and randomness, but they are wrong. Dissonance is necessary
for any good music; composers just went seeking for extreme new ways to incorporate
it. If the highly organized styles of Schoenberg and Webern aren't for you, then
you can always explore Stravinsky, Ravel, Sam Barber, Orff, I could go on forever.
None of these guys sound remotely alike.

Contemporary: 21C
There are so many freaking aesthetic directions in music right now, it's impossible
to pin things down. A few people who got us here are Steve Reich, Ligeti,
Stockhausen, Eliot Carter, Piazzolla, dare I say David Del Tredici. You probably
won't like all of these composers.
Women shouldn't be left out of the mix. Check out Clara Schumann, Joan Tower, Chen-
Yi, Amy (Mrs. H. H. A.) Beach, just to name a few.