Which Decade Had the Best Music?

[dioxide45]

So I have been thinking about this for a while. About which decade had the best music. Generally the answer will be whatever decade in which you were a teenager. But looking back, ignoring the music we would have grown up with, which decade turned out the best music? Perhaps the most innovative, or most varied.

It has to be the 1990s!

• 1989 is the year when New County came to begin, so it really flourished in the 90s.
• No other decade churned out such a varied diversity of music; hip hop/rap, modern pop, grunge, the hair band (even though they died out in the early 90s)
• The 90s are really the last decade of truly transformative and innovative music. Music really hasn't been the same since the late 1990s.

 

[slip]

‘70’s by far and even further when you throw away all the Disco.

 

[dsmrp]

I'm no music buff but the iconic rock bands were in their prime in 70's. ( That was my generation's high school/college era).

The 90's did have innovative different types of music, but not really to my taste. But after disco why wouldn't there be emerging new styles in reaction to disco ? So toss up for me between 70's and 90's, but I voted for 70's

 

[Brett]

yeah, the '70's
or the decade 1964 to 1974

 

[Rolltydr]

I’d also have to go with the 70’s based on the original question. But, I don’t feel right not saying the 60’s and leaving out The Beatles (as a group) altogether. I’m with Brett on 64-74 being my favorite musical years overall. A lot of amazing music that broke the mold was made during those 10 years.

 

[jme]

"Generally the answer will be whatever decade in which you were a teenager."

Don't totally disagree with that, that tendency is there, but hold on........

Doesn't necessarily have to be when we were teenagers...the music of each generation was different, sure,
but many of us lived through ALL of the eras, and we listened to all of it, so I feel we can judge in an unbiased manner. I can.

 

[Troyrissa]

90s baby!!! Dioxide I’m totally with you. Music has NEVER been the same since the late 90s.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

"Generally the answer will be whatever decade in which you were a teenager."

Don't totally disagree with that, that tendency is there, but hold on........

Doesn't necessarily have to be when we were teenagers...the music of each generation was different, sure,
but many of us lived through ALL of the eras, and we listened to all of it, so I feel we can judge in an unbiased manner. I can.

Nope - I give the nod to 1870's, even before my grandfather was born. I like almost all types of music. I have nearly 15,000 tracks in my music collection. I have two folders of favorites that are kind of my best of the best. One is classical. The other is everything, else, including the music I loved as a teenager.

But if I step back and look, it's tough to beat a decade that produced the following:

• Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor
• Smetana - Ma Vlast
• Grieg = Peer Gynt Suite No. 1
• Verdi - Requiem
• Widor - Organ Symphony No. 5 in F minor
• Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake
• Brahms - Violin Concerto in D
• Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto in D
• Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition
• Verdi - Aida
• Bizet - Carmen

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

An interesting related question is what decade had the best cartooning???

Hard to beat the 1950s Warner Brothers Looney Tunes, Woody Woodpecker, Walt Disney, Hekyl and Jekyl?

 

[rboesl]

I voted the 1970s but the 60s set the stage. The transition from 50s rock 'n roll to a more sophisticated version of that style was what started that genre of music. You simply can't ignore the contributions of bands like the Beatles, Led Zeplin, Rolling Stones, Steppenwolf, Zombies, Buffalo Springfield, The Animals, The Who, etc. all showed where rock music can go and how varied it can be.

 

[Patri]

I like the 70s, of course. My generation. But I think music from the 50s or 40s were better long term. Nice stories, easy to understand lyrics, danceable. Refreshing to listen to.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Of course, it's also hard to overlook the 1930s for the emergence of jazz. A good case can be made that all of the stuff that people like in rock/soul is all built on what was done in the two decades between WW1 and WW2.

 

[Yellowfin]

There seems to be a consensus that not the 2000s and 2010s!

What surprises me at many newer songs, the sound is terrible even if they have access to better and more sophisticated sound equipment.

 

[TravelTime]

I voted for the 1970s even though I was only 5 in 1970. My mom was a young mom and I used to listen to her music so I grew up with it. On Sirius XM, the 70s is the only decade I have saved on my radio. I like lots of other music too from some 1960s all the way to current music. But when it comes to which decade, I vote for the 70s.

 

[TravelTime]

So I have been thinking about this for a while. About which decade had the best music. Generally the answer will be whatever decade in which you were a teenager. But looking back, ignoring the music we would have grown up with, which decade turned out the best music? Perhaps the most innovative, or most varied.

It has to be the 1990s!

• 1989 is the year when New County came to begin, so it really flourished in the 90s.
• No other decade churned out such a varied diversity of music; hip hop/rap, modern pop, grunge, the hair band (even though they died out in the early 90s)
• The 90s are really the last decade of truly transformative and innovative music. Music really hasn't been the same since the late 1990s.

What were the great bands of the 1990s?

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Or when McKinley Morganfield (aka, Muddy Water) left Mississippi for Chicago and started playing in clubs. And decided to add an amplifier to his guitar so that he could play above the noise, and thus was born the Chicago blues sound.

 

[jme]

What were the great bands of the 1990s?

I googled that and it said, "For great bands please refer to the 1970s."

 

[dioxide45]

What were the great bands of the 1990s?

It isn't just about bands. Plenty of great musicians came out of the 90s. Certainly not all inclusive;
Creed
Barenaked Ladies - Any decade that brings this band, has got to be good
Sarah McLachlan
Jewel
Third Eye Blind
Live
Dido
Lisa Loeb
Counting Crows
Nirvana
Pearl Jam
Dave Matthews Band
Green Day
Weezer
Backstreet Boys
NSYNC
Spice Girls
The Cranberries
TLC
Hootie and the Blowfish
Blink 182
Alanis Morissette
No Doubt
Boyz II Men
Savage Garden
Foo Fighters
Goo Goo Dolls
Slaughter
and Meatloaf had his first #1 hit

Those are all non country. If you look at country music, this is where you see where modern country music originated with many of the greats of the industry coming to prominence in the 1990s.

 

[dioxide45]

I googled that and it said, "For great bands please refer to the 1970s."

Sadly, so far, only three people have the question I asked in the original post correct.

 

[bluehende]

What were the great bands of the 1990s?

pretty good list here.

Top 30 American Classic Rock Bands of the '90s

A look at the Top 30 American classic rock bands of the '90s.

ultimateclassicrock.com

 

[LannyPC]

I was torn between the 70s and the 80s but the 80s got my vote by a very narrow margin.

 

[dioxide45]

I was torn between the 70s and the 80s but the 80s got my vote by a very narrow margin.

Yessss, the 80s gave us Twisted Sister!!!

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

I vote for the 1960's. It was a "Cambrian Explosion" of music.

What came from the '60s?

Soul Music.
The incursion of "World Music" into the US - Bossa Nova, Calypso, ect.
Surf Music.
The Beatles Revolution, which heralded a whole new view of pop music.
The birth of heavy metal music.
Psychedelic Music.
Folk music.
The mainstreaming of Bluegrass music.

That's a start. . .

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

By the way, I'm currently getting into electroswing music.

Check out Parov Stelar concerts on youtube.

 

[jme]

Sadly, so far, only three people have the question I asked in the original post correct.

Not.

How can any list compete with this from the 70s?
Most are heavyweights and definite members of the Greatest Of All Time,
and even the "seemingly" obscure (only by unfamiliarity of the readers due to age) were great!
OMG, NOTHING like the 70s!

Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Moody Blues, Eagles, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Queen, Chicago, Santana, Fleetwood Mac, The Who,
The Doors, Allman Brothers, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Steve Miller Band, Yes, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers,
Derek & the Dominos, Doobie Brothers, Grateful Dead, Kiss, Deep Purple, Emerson Lake & Palmer, The Cars, Bee Gees, Van Halen,
Black Sabbath, Electric Light Orchestra, Boston, Blondie, Styx, AC/DC, ZZ Top, The Police, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bad Company, Three Dog Night,
The Guess Who, Genesis, Steely Dan, Traffic, Dire Straits, Steppenwolf, Nazareth, Grand Funk Railroad, Uriah Heep, Kansas,
Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jethro Tull.



Pop Quiz on perhaps, to many, one of the "obscure" bands:
How many know the members of Derek & the Dominos ......remember the album "Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs"?

Answer: Eric Clapton, Duane Allman (two of the greatest guitarists of all time),
Dave Mason (guitar), Bobby Whitlock (vocals, keyboard), Jim Gordon (drums), Carl Radle (bass),
and George Harrison (of the Beatles, early on).