What do you think was the best decade for popular music?

[tpfkaw]

2010s left off since they've just started (also you're not right in the head if that was seriously going to be your answer).  I'm talking about popular music, obviously (sorry Mint).

I'm going to say the 80s.

My breakdown:

50s:  When pop music first became vaguely listenable.  The fusion of blues and country that would become known as rock and roll was a revelation compared to whatever big band jazz crap people listened to beforehand.  That said, 50s music still sucks, as popular music was still almost entirely made of of novelty songs and modern studio mixing techniques had not been invented.  It sounds extremely conventional and dull to the modern ear, and has little more than novelty value nowadays.

60s:  When you first had a distinctive "rock" sound, helped by the spread of the genre overseas and the liberal application of various narcotics.  The early 60s were mostly an extension of the 50s, but music started getting better around 66/67.  Even then, however, this was mostly confined to a few bands which pioneered more experimental sounds; most of the music being released was still pretty conventional.  Folk and R&B/soul become listenable in this decade.

70s:  First decade in which other genres surpass rock in popularity.  A lot of great songs released in this decade, but also a lot of cheesy crap, plus the widespread adoption of the drum machine and the synthesizer creates some seriously awful stuff in the pop charts, especially during the disco craze.  R&B/soul was best in this decade (which makes sense, since the dominant genre in black music shifted to rap in the 80s).  Going objectively, rather than looking through rose-colored glasses, I'd give the 70s second place.

80s:  Disco music continues to be popular through 83, though it's better than it was in the 70s.  Lots of synthesizer-based pop, but it was often genuinely innovative and interesting and there weren't many novelty songs compared to other decades.  Was the decade in which there was the greatest proliferation of bands who rocked hard and were actually melodic; in terms of average quality the 80s were the best decade for rock music.  Rap music moved into the mainstream and was generally of high quality.  In fact, although the mix of genres people listened to in the 80s were perhaps not as good as they were in other decades, just about any genre of music was at or near its peak in quality in this decade.  That makes sense, as the market for popular music was at its height with MTV and the cassette tape, and pre-Napster.  On a low note, this decade also marked the birth of the obsessions of a certain Minnesotan.

90s:  Early 90s started out fairly strong, though the better music was not always the most mainstream.  The mid-90s marked the beginning of a shift by the record companies to market their product mainly towards preteen girls, which led to a proliferation of absolutely awful bubblegum pop and formulaic ballads in the latter half of the decade, which has persisted to this day.  Rap peaked in both popularity and quality, despite some miscues (Vanilla Ice, anyone?).

2000s:  Early part of the decade was marked by a continuation of the trend of boy bands and female pop artists releasing awful bubblegum dreck.  Crappy formulaic ballads persisted in popularity and became crappier and more formulaic the entire decade.  In the latter half of the decade you had awful bubblegum dreck but now with people who can't actually sing, thanks to the magic of AutoTune.  Easily the worst decade in mainstream music since the 50s, if not the 40s.

[Eraserhead]

The 1960s were the best. Basically a no contest, despite there being plenty of good stuff from the other decades.

[tpfkaw]

The 1960s were the best. Basically a no contest, despite there being plenty of good stuff from the other decades.

I'd agree that the best music was produced in the 60s, the problem is that it was quite literally roses being plucked from the middle of the snowbank; for every "Light My Fire" there's a "Ballad of the Green Berets" to go along with it; plus you have to consider the first half of the decade (in which there was pretty much nothing produced that people still listen to) as well as the second.

[Boris]

I prefer the 90s, but I understand where people like Eraserhead come from. The 80s had some of the best underground music, but probably the worst popular music (beyond a handful guilty pleasure one hit wonders). The 00s account for ~47% of the music on my computer, but the entire decade was really hit or miss; it's definitely the least "definable" of the aforementioned decades.

[Boris]

plus you have to consider the first half of the decade (in which there was pretty much nothing produced that people still listen to) as well as the second.

That's an interesting point; ~98.2% of my music from the 1960s comes from 1965 or later.

[Gustaf]

I think some people are making the mistake of considering this a gustibus non est disputandum kind of situation, which is not the case.

The correct answer is the 1960s. In fact, you could just let the second half of the 60s compete against the other decades and count absolute output not average and it'd still win.

It's the one decade where popular music was seriously good. If you look at the other decades the popular music typically kind of sucks. That's why people always have to preface playing that music by saying "now some 80s nostalgia" or "I'm sorry, but I just love this song, I don't know why" and other such crap. You never see anyone excusing listening to the Beatles or Bob Dylan.

[afleitch]

I think some people are making the mistake of considering this a gustibus non est disputandum kind of situation, which is not the case.

The correct answer is the 1960s. In fact, you could just let the second half of the 60s compete against the other decades and count absolute output not average and it'd still win.

It's the one decade where popular music was seriously good. If you look at the other decades the popular music typically kind of sucks. That's why people always have to preface playing that music by saying "now some 80s nostalgia" or "I'm sorry, but I just love this song, I don't know why" and other such crap. You never see anyone excusing listening to the Beatles or Bob Dylan.

Essentially this. There was something online that I listened to that played a few seconds of each Billboard number one from the 50's to the 90's. I listened to it and it's amazing how you can (apart from novelty records or individual break out songs) see how music tastes changed in the US. I was listening to it and was falling half asleep until, and I really mean this, I heard how different I Want To Hold Your Hand/She Loves You/Can't Buy Me Love, the three back to back Beatles hit were in 1964. Then you got a final flurry of Motown and then you had the 60's. I could hum or even sing parts of just about every song right through.

Now I dislike 60's music in general but it was clearly the most impressionable.

It was also fun listening to every song have a Disco beat in the mid to late 70's and then BOOM; it stopped.

[Peeperkorn]

1965-1975.

[k-onmmunist]

The 1990s. The golden age of alt rock, hip hop and electronica.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Gustaf is correct, it is clearly (and perhaps even objectively) the 1960s. Though you could argue a twisted case for the second half of the 1960s, plus the first few years of the 1970s or something. After that point things get seriously patchy, if that.

Random note that proves something, perhaps: Fairport Convention's French-language (lol) cover of If You Gotta Go, Go Now stayed in the singles charts (peaking at 21) for nine weeks in 1969. This could not have happened in any other period.

[ilikeverin]

Option #1, of course.  Not sure which pre-1900 decade, though.  Sometime in the 1800s.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

90s, though really you should count only the first half. The second half was really bad for popular music, almost as bad as the 00s (key term popular music).

[Tetro Kornbluth]

1965-1975.

The correct answer.

[AndrewTX]

I'm more shocked to see that this thread was not created by either BRTD or Naso.

[tpfkaw]

I'd agree with 65-75 too, but that's not how decades are traditionally grouped.

(I'd actually say something like 55-65, 65-75, 75-83, 83-95, 95-)

[The Mikado]

For popular music?  The 1920s, definitely.

[dead0man]

60s, pretty obviously IMHO.

[AndrewTX]

Hey, where's the 2010s? It's been the best decade by far.

How? Well, let's look at some of the best albums:

• Lil Wayne's The Carter IV, Rebirth, and I Am Not a Human Being
• Eminem's Recovery
• Lupe Fiasco's Lasers
• Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday
• T.I.'s No Mercy
• Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
• Drake's Take Care and Thank Me Later
• T-Pain's rEVOLVEr
• Tech N9ne's All 6's and 7's

Must I go on? Yeah, the 2010s.

This list makes me want to swallow a gun.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

The truest answer is 1954-1972, but for a single decade I'll say the 1960s.

[courts]

'90s. Not even close for me, honestly.

[Eraserhead]

The 1960s were the best. Basically a no contest, despite there being plenty of good stuff from the other decades.

I'd agree that the best music was produced in the 60s, the problem is that it was quite literally roses being plucked from the middle of the snowbank; for every "Light My Fire" there's a "Ballad of the Green Berets" to go along with it; plus you have to consider the first half of the decade (in which there was pretty much nothing produced that people still listen to) as well as the second.

The first half of the 60s had some great early Dylan, Beach Boys and Beatles stuff as well as some classic doo-wop. There's plenty of stuff I enjoy from that period.

[RI]

Most of my favorite music was released from 1995-2005. I don't listen to anything from before 1980, and barely anything from before 1990. Since 2005 has been pretty milquetoast on the aggregate, but some of my favorite albums came out in that time too, but it hasn't been "popular" unfortunately; what is "popular" since 2005 has been atrocious.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

1965 to 1972/3 (the best cultural decade in history), although the 90s had the best hip-hop (Nas, Biggie, Common, the Roots, Black Star, Jay-Z etc) before the wave of failures that populate popular hip-hop currently.

The 60s also had fusion jazz.

[This user has not been convicted of 34 felonies]

90s > 60s > 70s > 80s > 50s > [every other year that music has existed since the beginning of time] > 2010s

[Peeperkorn]

Let's see....

Why 1965-1975...


Best Albums by:

- The Beatles
- The Stones
- The Who
- The Kinks
- Bob Dylan

+

The best of progressive rock (selling england by the pound; close to the edge)

+

First and best Cohen's and Springsteen's and Bowie's albums.