Which has been the best decade for music?

Re: Which has been the best decade for music?

Look at it this way... would the music of the 80s been possible without the music of the 60s?

Re: Which has been the best decade for music?

If you were going to judge which decade I prefer purely by looking at my music collection then you would probably assume that it would go like this

1. 80's
2. 70's
3. 60's
4. 90's
5. 50's

and you'd be right. The trouble with the 50's is I only really like the Rock 'n' Roll part of the decade which was the last half of the decade.

Each decade had memorable songwriters/singers/musicians. And each artist from whatever generation they came from was directly influenced by someone else, either from a period earlier in time, or by their current "peers."

It's the "best decade" part of the question that bothers me the most. What do you want to base this on? Your personal favorites? Some listing in Rolling Stone magazine? Actual record or cd sales? Developments in technology? Of course, most base their answers on the music they grew up listening to. It's as simple as that. I grew up in the 50's/60's. It was an interesting time, that's for sure. Does that mean that I think that the 50's or 60's were the best decade? No--not necessarily. BUT, if you want to base the answer to your question on the actual sales aspect of music (i.e., most played by dj's, most played in jukeboxes, best sellers in stores), then it simplifies the question an awful lot: the answer would be the 1960's. 1966 still holds the record for the number of songs that hit the Billboard Hot 100 charts. 743 songs hit the charts in 1966. Now, compare that to, let's say, 1994. In 1994, 336 songs hit the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
Breaking down just those numbers by year:
1955--248
1956--500
1957--483
1958--525
1959--576
1960--601
1961--681
1962--676
1963--658
1964--714
1965--718
1966--743
1967--738
1968--684
1969--689
1970--634
1971--620
1972--584
1973--530
1974--492
1975--561
1976--527
1977--468
1978--451
1979--475
1980--470
1981--408
1982--424
1983--452
1984--434
1985--404
1986--397
1987--398
1988--386
1989--392
1990--375
1991--385
1992--370
1993--345
1994--336 (my records stop here)

Now, what do those numbers actually show? Well, in a way, they show the rise and fall of AM Top 40 format radio. And if you dig really deep into those numbers, you can find the advent of FM radio and so so many changes within the medium itself.

The 1950's was the time for Tin Pan Alley, Brill Building song writers like Leiber-Stoller, Carole King, Neil Sedaka, and so many more. This was their true hey-day. Then, in 1964, along comes this British band called the Beatles, who began writing their own songs. More and more artists began writing their own stuff as well. That's where the real money was. Yeah, you got paid for recording and selling records, but the REAL money came from writer credits. That really began a new phase with the Beatles.

In my lifetime, I've watched as music went from 78's to 45's to stereo (1957) to albums to quadraphonic to 8-track tapes to cassette tapes to reel-to-reel to cd's to mp3's and flac files and whatever else is out there today. But that's really getting off topic.

I guess it all boils down to this for me: I cannot answer your question. Each decade has shown us all some great music, as well as innovations in technology. Take Fleetwood Mac for example. I began listening to Fleetwood Mac in 1968. Look at the changes just that one band went through. Did I like them in 1968? Yes. Did I like them in 1975? Yes. Did they play the same style of music in 1975 that they played in 1968? No. Were they as popular in 1968 as they were in 1975? No. Even though they'd been around in the 60's, they really didn't catch their "mass appeal popular" groove until 1975. Hell, that in itself is a lifetime for some bands that have come and gone.

I guess if I had to answer your question, I would honestly have to say "all of them."

Edited by Kronosis - 7/4/2009 at 05:08 am GMT
Edited by Kronosis - 7/4/2009 at 06:43 pm GMT
Edited by Kronosis - 7/4/2009 at 06:53 pm GMT

But couldn't that also be a case against the previous decades; that there were more "disposable" songs making and then quickly falling off the chart? Not that I would inherently agree with that, just playing the flip side.

Of course. But I think more importantly, it's a statement that (in the 60's) there were an awful lot of record companies looking for the next "Beatles" or "Stones" or "________________" (fill in the blank with whomever you like).

And that's they key: it's a statement of how many records were once produced by Indie labels (independent record labels), as well as their demise. There were a HECK of a lot of Independent Labels in the 60's. I think that's part of the reason there were so many songs that hit the HOT 100 back then.

Edited by Kronosis - 7/4/2009 at 06:40 pm GMT

For me, I'd have to go with the 90's. I was in college at the time and so many great albums came out in the early 90's. Some highlights for me include:

RHCP - Blood Sugar Sex Magic
R.E.M. - Automatic For The People
Rage Against The Machine self-titled debut
Alice in Chains - Facelift and Dirt
Nirvana - Nevermind
Faith No More - Angeldust
Pearl Jam -Ten
Green Day - Dookie
Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger

And I could go on and on...

70's for me.

Floyd's best, Queen, gabriel Genesis

The 70s all the way.As my wife and daughter tell me:I'm  stuck in the 70s music wise.Era of some of the greatest music of all time by some of the all time greatest rock bands-Led Zeppelin,Neil Young,Deep Purple,The Clash,The Ramones,Pink Floyd,Genesis,Queen,Jethro Tull,The Who,Eric Clapton,Cheap Trick,ELP,Mott The Hoople,The Cars,Elvis Costello,The Rolling Stones,The Faces,Springsteen,Elton John,Aerosmith,The Eagles,Lynryd Skynrd,Black Sabbath,Bob Marley,Alice Cooper,The Allmann Bros etc... 

I'd have to say the '70's as well. If it were taken away from me I could do without the music of the 80's. Lots of great stuff came out in the '80's but I could survive. Same for the '50's but it would be a harder pill to swallow. I was born in 1959 and my sister was 9 years older than I so music has been around for as long as I can remember. Sad to say losing the '90's wouldn't be such a great loss to me. Not that there wasn't a lot of fine music released then, just that my interest in new music, for whatever the reason, started to wain. In fact, I think it was sometime in October of '93 when I realized that I was no longer "hip" . 

That leaves the '60's and '70's. Even though the '60's was far more important and there was a lot of junk (IMO) released in the latter part of the '70's, if push came to shove (and I'm glad it won't) and the fact that Classic and Progressive Rock are my favorite categories the nod would (but just barely)  go to the '70's. 

But I think I better throw on some Porcupine Tree before I re-fill the coffee cup (decaf   ) and ease back into the recliner.

I was a teenager in the 60's. The 60's must be the best decade, even though my favorite is the 70's. It all started going down hill fast in the 80's, & from the 90's on...forget it!

I think one interesting thing, is watching my 15 yr old daughter enjoy today's pop music. She listens to it nonstop and changes my radio when we are in the car. I believe that she can not stand my music (60s-80s) as much as I can not stand her music. I let her change the station so I can keep up a little with whats "in" as well as to see what she likes. Being as there is not much "music"  to it, only the beat, she enjoys and sings along to the lyrics. She changes through channels and chooses a 1 month or newer song over a 1 year old song, even though she really enjoyed that song when it came out. Where the music that I like, I will probably be listening to the same stuff until I die, she treats her music as a fad and it is disposable. She doesn't want music that will last a lifetime, so I don't think quality is that important to her. What I think is really strange is her favorite hobby is playing the French Horn and she is very active in the school band. So she in educated in "real" music and all of its intricate interactions between the instruments, but she chooses the music with the mindless beat. She plays classical, but never listens to it.

I have over 4,000 songs on my iPod, and since half of them are from the '70s, I'm going to guess that this is my favorite music decade.   

On the other hand, my wife listens to nothing but '80s music, which I never really embraced. 
Edited by Jeff F. - 7/17/2009 at 09:07 pm GMT
Edited by Jeff F. - 7/18/2009 at 11:31 pm GMT

 There are about 15,000 songs on my ZUNE.
A few from the 19th Century, the new Dead Weather album, EVERYthing from many people, Tom Waits, the Doors, Stones, John Prine, Hendrix, Jimmie Rogers, Bob Wills, The Donnas (really), Jerry Lee Lewis...I could go on. 

It's the 30s and 40s for me, the beginnings of what we call Western Swing, Django, the classic jazz, all that stuff is just endless fun.

While I don't own an iPod, I'd say half my non-classical music is from the 70s and it is my favourite decade.  My wife, as yours, heavily favours the 80s and I too never really embraced that era (there is music I like from the 80s, but most of it comes from artists who hooked me with their 70s work).

i'll go for the 80's...a lot of good music to listened to..still up to this day, im still listening to those kind of musics...

We skipped the light fandango
Turned cartwheels cross the floor
I was feeling kinda seasick
But the crowd called out for more
The room was humming harder
As the ceiling flew away
When we called out for another drink
The waiter brought a tray

And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale

Procol Harum

The 60's for me, the Beatles especially, though I'll always have a soft spot for 80's pop, girlfriends and going clubbing. By the late 90's I all but lost interest in pop music and have no idea who or whats popular today. Sadly I must be getting old, when my Sandra plays her music I tell her to 'turn down the friggin' noise', just like my parents did 30 years ago.

I agree and would add Roxy Music, Brian Eno, CCR, Split Enz, King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator, Cockney Rebel/Steve Harley, David Bowie, Patti Smith, Kinks (yes some of it was pretty good), Dylan (some of his was more than pretty good), Captain Beefheart, Hawkwind, The Jam, John Cale, John Lennon, Procol Harum, Stevie Wonder, T. Rex, Sparks and the Krautrock scene (Amon Duul, Neu, and Can).

Call me weird but the 3 bands I don't listen to from the 70s happen to be the decades most popular - Queen, Eagles, and Fleetwood Mac.

Despite not even being 30 yet, without a doubt for me it would be the 1960s. Or more exactly, about 1958-1968. So many great songs and artist from the period, such as the Everly Brothers, The Righteous Brothers, The Ronettes, Lulu, Petula Clark, Diana Ross & The Supremes, etc. Pretty much still like what I thought sounded good to me as a young kid whenever I'd hear something being played in the car by my parents.

Nothing before or since can compare to songs like Unchained Melody.

Oddly enough, I don't care for the music from the three artist/groups being most mentioned in this thread for 60s music. Highly overrated, give me stuff like Downtown by Petula Clark or California Girls by The Beach Boys anyday of the week over something like a Rolling Stones or Beatles song.

About the only thing I can stand about the Beatles is it made for a several cute tv episodes back then when they tried to cash in on the craze, such as on Petticoat Junction (When the Bradley sisters are transformed into the "Ladybugs" in a get rich scheme of Uncle Joe's), and a Dick Van Dyke episode.

Gotta go 70s myself, even though the 60s produced a wealth of amazing bands many of them, like Pink Floyd, Led Zep, the Stones, etc., produced their best work in the 70s.

Similarly a lot of the R&B artists such as Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder that started in the 60s really developed in a major way by the middle of the decade. 

Then you've got the whole funk movement with greats like George Clinton, Ohio Players and Earth, Wind and Fire.

Not to mention artists like Miles Davis, Weather Report, Mahavishu Orchestra and Return to Forever taking jazz in some exciting new directions. 

After that I'd rank the other decades that I'm familiar with like this:

90s
60s
00s
80s

The ten years from 1968 to 1977.
The era of "classic" rock music. After that came disco and the over-commercialization of the music.

I will agree with the statement about the music from your teenage years being the music you embrace.  I hated the music of the 70s when I was living it, and still do.  During the 80s, when I was a teen, I didn't care for much of the music on the radio either and found solace in the oldies channel.  While every one I knew was listening to Culture Club I was listening to Gary US Bonds, Freddie Boom Boom Canon, and the Penguins.  As I got older I rediscovered the 80s - the british side.  I found the UK 80s chart hits far more appealing than what I was hearing on American radio.  Much of this music never made it over to the US.

So, for me, the best eras of music are 1983-1993 (most of the bands i hold dear today were formed during this period), and 1957-1967.

There was a long period where I didn't care much for today's music - mostly when hip hop ruled the airwaves.  That's starting to change now that pop music seems to be coming back.  I watched the MTV Video Music Awards this past weekend and while my wife was completely lost, I found a number of the songs nominated I was actually familiar with and enjoy.  Even the performances were enjoyable.  I still prefer the BRIT Awards to the Grammies, tho.

Any decade that is not the nineties. It seemed like my favorite artists all hit a creative lull for that decade.

I believe the early 1980s had some of the best pop music, thanks to MTV, but it didn't last the entire decade. So I'd give it to the 2000-2010 decade, just for the diversity of music that arose with the demise of the major labels control.

Thank Heavens for Henry Gale (Post #12) and Tim Tucker (Post #20) for recognizing that there actually was popular music before 1950, strange as that concept might be. Mr. Tucker makes an excellent case for the 1920s, but I'd have to go along with Mr. Gale and vote for the 1930s.
Gershwin, Berlin, Rodgers and Hart and all their brethren on Tin Pan Alley were turning out classic after classic ... rich, romantic, sophisticated songs that have stood the test of time and continue to move me ... to tears, to laughter, to sheer bliss. Go ahead, folks ... try listening to something that was written before you were born. You might find yourself surprised!