What Was The Best Decade For Music In History?

[mudwhistle]

Having grown up in the '60s with The Beatles, and The Stones, and The Who et al, I voted the '60s.

But as far as actual musicianship goes, the '40s with the Big Bands would be number one by far.

Musicianship was maxed out during the classical period.
Originality was the 80s.

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

1. The 50s
2. The 60s
3. The 70s
4. The 80s
5. The 90s
6. 2000-2010
7. 2010-2020
8. Classical Music

Which one of the above was the best decade/period in history for Rock & Roll, Pop Music, or just music in general.
Take into consideration innovation....originality....artistry...or ingenuity.

I believe the 80s was the greatest when it came to popular culture. The Classical period was the most influential....but the 80s changed America.

If you vote....please post at least a short comment.

"Classical" is bigly vague. "Classical" what? It's an adjective. Sometimes it means "classic rock". Sometimes it means "dead white European males of the 17th-19th centuries".

In any case it is, to choose another adjective, amusing to read the concept that "all recorded history" dates back all the way to no further than "the 1950s", as if the world were invented at, I dunno, the 1939 World's Fair.

Given a list of this limited scope I would have gone for the 1930s.... recording technology was greatly improving and the record companies hadn't yet slavishly slotted everything into genres, simply putting out MUSIC on its own merits. And the field was W I D E open -- it would be another decade before Marketing started constraining the art by narrowing those veins like cardiovascular disease.

Second choice would likely be the '20s and/or a decade before that, wherein the foundations of what we now call Blues and Jazz respectively, which were and are the essential building blocks of so much that came later, including the "pop" and "rock" categories listed. Then going a bit further back to the turn of the century as the precursor to those, particularly jazz (called "the American Classical Music"), you had "ragtime" introducing the African idea of syncopation into the staid marchy paradigm of the European tradition where it hadn't existed. In Brazil you had the chôro doing the same thing. Those are all building blocks to the present, and YUGELY important ones.

Exactly what I was going to say. The 20s and 30s laid the foundation for most of the popular music we hear today.

Sometimes we forget where our culture comes from. The other day somebody at work was playing some rockenroll video from the early 1960s -- I don't remember what the song was but it was a live show with an audience, and I immediately noticed how the audience were all clapping on the "wrong" beat --- the one/three instead of the two/four. Nobody else had noticed. Some of these African elements took half a century to break out.

The birth of lip syncing!

 

[CrusaderFrank]

“All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff.” -- Frank Zappa

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Having grown up in the '60s with The Beatles, and The Stones, and The Who et al, I voted the '60s.

But as far as actual musicianship goes, the '40s with the Big Bands would be number one by far.

Musicianship was maxed out during the classical period.
Originality was the 80s.

Yeah... I'm gonna have to disagree.
80s was hair bands and flash bands like RATT, Whitesnake, Quiet Riot etc. etc. It all sounded the same. And they copied each other all the time. Most songs were... start off with a rythm riff, add some drums... sing about something that doesn't make much sense... and then fill the middle and the end with mindless lead riffs that looked impressive, but due to heavy distortion - anyone with a month of guitar experience can play.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

1. The 50s
2. The 60s
3. The 70s
4. The 80s
5. The 90s
6. 2000-2010
7. 2010-2020
8. Classical Music

Which one of the above was the best decade/period in history for Rock & Roll, Pop Music, or just music in general.
Take into consideration innovation....originality....artistry...or ingenuity.

I believe the 80s was the greatest when it came to popular culture. The Classical period was the most influential....but the 80s changed America.

If you vote....please post at least a short comment.

"Classical" is bigly vague. "Classical" what? It's an adjective. Sometimes it means "classic rock". Sometimes it means "dead white European males of the 17th-19th centuries".

In any case it is, to choose another adjective, amusing to read the concept that "all recorded history" dates back all the way to no further than "the 1950s", as if the world were invented at, I dunno, the 1939 World's Fair.

Given a list of this limited scope I would have gone for the 1930s.... recording technology was greatly improving and the record companies hadn't yet slavishly slotted everything into genres, simply putting out MUSIC on its own merits. And the field was W I D E open -- it would be another decade before Marketing started constraining the art by narrowing those veins like cardiovascular disease.

Second choice would likely be the '20s and/or a decade before that, wherein the foundations of what we now call Blues and Jazz respectively, which were and are the essential building blocks of so much that came later, including the "pop" and "rock" categories listed. Then going a bit further back to the turn of the century as the precursor to those, particularly jazz (called "the American Classical Music"), you had "ragtime" introducing the African idea of syncopation into the staid marchy paradigm of the European tradition where it hadn't existed. In Brazil you had the chôro doing the same thing. Those are all building blocks to the present, and YUGELY important ones.

Exactly what I was going to say. The 20s and 30s laid the foundation for most of the popular music we hear today.

Sometimes we forget where our culture comes from. The other day somebody at work was playing some rockenroll video from the early 1960s -- I don't remember what the song was but it was a live show with an audience, and I immediately noticed how the audience were all clapping on the "wrong" beat --- the one/three instead of the two/four. Nobody else had noticed. Some of these African elements took half a century to break out.

The birth of lip syncing!

Lip singing continued through the 80s. By the 90s, audiences would no longer accept it.

 

[QuickHitCurepon]

The 70's has the most good songs by far.

 

[Pogo]

Having grown up in the '60s with The Beatles, and The Stones, and The Who et al, I voted the '60s.

But as far as actual musicianship goes, the '40s with the Big Bands would be number one by far.

Musicianship was maxed out during the classical period.
Originality was the 80s.

You still haven't explained what you mean by "the classical period".
"The classical period" of what?

 

[Mr Natural]

Musicianship was maxed out during the classical period.

I’ve played in both classical orchestras and big bands and can tell you first hand that the big band charts are far more complex than the classical orchestra.

 

[Oz and the Orchestra]

The Sixties cos that's when all the seeds were planted and came quickly to fruition.
The Beatles, Stones. Free. Otis Redding. Marvin Gaye. Aretha Franklin. Jimmi Hendrix.
Janis Joplin. Mamma's & Pappa's. Motown. Desmond Decker.Yardbirds. Byrds. Animals. Cream. Bee Gee's. Amen Corner. Dylan. L. Wainwright. James Taylor. Kinks. Who. etc etc etc,

Seventies? First six years were pretty bland till Punk in 76.
Eighties - New Romantics and plenty of electronic bands brought a new sound.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

80s example - ZZtop... Pre MTV - their albums were imaginative, unique and solid.
After MTV - they went to hell in a hand basket. After that everything sounded the same. After eliminator - it was the same album over and over...but a little worse.

 

[boedicca]

The 80s are my personal favorite - mainly because this was the period of my "yout" and music was fun back then.

Classical music is a very broad cateogry. I'd consider the Mozart era to be incredibly influential, but also love Baroque music.

Added note: Most modern "Classical Music" is utter dissonant crap

 

[toobfreak]

1. The 50s
2. The 60s
3. The 70s
4. The 80s
5. The 90s
6. 2000-2010
7. 2010-2020
8. Classical Music

Which one of the above was the best decade/period in history for Rock & Roll, Pop Music, or just music in general.
Take into consideration innovation....originality....artistry...or ingenuity.

I believe the 80s was the greatest when it came to popular culture. The Classical period was the most influential....but the 80s changed America.

If you vote....please post at least a short comment.

It was really the period between about 1965 to 1975 driven mainly by the drug counter-culture and Timothy Leary, Dr. Richard Alpert and the LSD Movement, but I give my nod more to the 60s as the 60s was peaking at their end and started out stronger than the latter half of the 70s which by comparison then was fading.

All the best bands peaked in the latter 60s to earlier part of the 1970s.

Of course the kids here who were born too late will never understand that.

 

[Pogo]

Musicianship was maxed out during the classical period.

I’ve played in both classical orchestras and big bands and can tell you first hand that the big band charts are far more complex than the classical orchestra.

No doubt. Multitidinous counterpoint.

 

[mudwhistle]

For me, it isn't a single decade.... rather a period that spanned 2.
And that is the 1960s through the 1970's.
Right now, on radio stations across the radio/streaming spectrum - classic rock continues to be among the most popular. And not just by folks in their 50s and above. But folks in their 20s and 30s also listen to music from this period.
The exception is of course the brief Disco craze. It came and went with equal speed, and only a handful of those songs you will ever hear again.
The 1980s is probably the worst. And to note - that is when I was a teenager.
The 80s and 90s alike were plagued by "corporate bands". Plagued by MTV. Some of the worst bands that were HUGE back then - you never hear anymore. There is a reason for that. It sucked.

The 90s were the worst. Most of the decent bands came out during the late 70s and early 80s like Queen.
The 90s were Pearl Jam, Weezer, Devo, The Goo Goo Dolls.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

1. The 50s
2. The 60s
3. The 70s
4. The 80s
5. The 90s
6. 2000-2010
7. 2010-2020
8. Classical Music

Which one of the above was the best decade/period in history for Rock & Roll, Pop Music, or just music in general.
Take into consideration innovation....originality....artistry...or ingenuity.

I believe the 80s was the greatest when it came to popular culture. The Classical period was the most influential....but the 80s changed America.

If you vote....please post at least a short comment.

It was really the period between about 1965 to 1975 driven mainly by the drug counter-culture and Timothy Leary, Dr. Richard Alpert and the LSD Movement, but I give my nod more to the 60s as the 60s was peaking at their end and started out stronger than the latter half of the 70s which by comparison then was fading.

All the best bands peaked in the latter 60s to earlier part of the 1970s.

Of course the kids here who were born too late will never understand that.

You owuld be surprised.
I was born in 1965, and I am fully aware of bands that began in the 60s somewhere... and continued to even to the 2000s - there best stuff, and what radio stations play - is what they did back then, not after.
For instance... The Rolling Stones. In my opinion one one of the most over-rated bands in history, virtually every song you hear today by them, and the songs people think of when thinking of the Rolling Stones - is from the 60s and 70s. After that, they produced drivel for the most part.

 

[Mr Natural]

But I think we can all agree that the current crop of popular music is the worst of all.

 

[Orangecat]

Songwriting peaked in the 70s, before formulaic structures took over and anyone could record quality crap on a computer. At least that applies to the music I prefer.

 

[Pogo]

But I think we can all agree that the current crop of popular music is the worst of all.

The thing is, we could jump into the time machine and land virtually anywhere, with few notable exceptions, and the people of that time would agree with that assessment. Such a question can't be separated from emotional associations in one's own life at critical times of that life, as Boe said:

The 80s are my personal favorite - mainly because this was the period of my "yout" and music was fun back then.

One can think back to one's mid-teens and find all manner of schlock music that still strikes an emotional chord, not because it was musically superior but because one was so open to it at the time.

 

[Indeependent]

1960s For melodies and great solos.
Also the 1970s. you limited it to 1 decade.
The 1980s died by late 1985 with the Rap invasion.
I prefer melodies over slashers.

I think the greatest change was during the 80s.
Music went from something you listened to on the radio to something you watched on Friday night until Saturday morning.
Music videos was essentially the hay-day for musicians.
Now that is all gone.

I remember in the late 80s that many artists were upset that DJs were not announcing the names of the songs or the groups because they didn't want people to listen to records or DVDs instead of radio.
I used to go to The Record Hunter in MidTown NYC where they sold DVDs for $6.99.

 

[Pogo]

1960s For melodies and great solos.
Also the 1970s. you limited it to 1 decade.
The 1980s died by late 1985 with the Rap invasion.
I prefer melodies over slashers.

I think the greatest change was during the 80s.
Music went from something you listened to on the radio to something you watched on Friday night until Saturday morning.
Music videos was essentially the hay-day for musicians.
Now that is all gone.

I remember in the late 80s that many artists were upset that DJs were not announcing the names of the songs or the groups because they didn't want people to listen to records or DVDs instead of radio.
I used to go to The Record Hunter in MidTown NYC where they sold DVDs for $6.99.

That's a bizarre claim, I was literally playing music on the radio at that time and I would NEVER have failed to announce what it was. Nobody else I knew would either. If they did they'd get corrected pretty quickly.

I can even remember an automated station in the daze of "underground FM" that would play strings of psychedelic music, but even then the bot would back-announce what it just played. It's pretty much standard procedure in radio.