The best decade in music was

From the 1960s on up, which decade do you feel produced the best music, overall.

* Note: it's not a requirement for you to have been there.

My vote is the 80s.
Followed by the 70s. Followed by the 90s. Followed by the 60s. Last and definitely least, the '00s.

I'm with you all the way Chris.

The 60's brought us Motown, the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, basically the british invasion, The Doors, Led Zepplin, Hendrix, the Beach Boys just to name a few. The 80's were good music but can you name anyone that really influenced music and changed music in the 80's like the groups of the 60's did?

I say 80s because from that era came maybe not the GREATEST music but a LOT of great music:
Michael Jackson
Janet Jackson
Cyndi Lauper
Prince
Twisted Sister
Thompson Twins
Tears for Fears
Salt-N-Pepa
Men at Work
Kenny Loggins
Quiet Riot
Joan Jett
Pat Benetar
And the 80's was when there was more music coming from 70's greats like Queen and Charlie Daniels.

I think the best music came out of the '70s.

Said it before and I'll say it again, I think the best PERIOD in music was 1987-1993.
1994-2002 had peaks and valley's.
2003 to the present has been an abomination.

The 80's had some really good music, I mean really good. But what really changed music in the 80's, was it the Go Go's or Laura Branigan or Donna Summer's crossover into the 80's?? I can't think of any group from the 80's that had any kind of impact on music. To me the 60's was the decade of major change.

I love the "hair" bands.

Tony Marino wrote:The 60's brought us Motown, the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, basically the british invasion, The Doors, Led Zepplin, Hendrix, the Beach Boys just to name a few. The 80's were good music but can you name anyone that really influenced music and changed music in the 80's like the groups of the 60's did?

The 80's perfectionized music first and foremost to me. It's worldwide known as one of the best and most influencable decades around. The last one at that and probably the best from an overall quality perspective. These years showed us some of the highest standards ever seen in music history. Musical technology and artistry reached its peak. The majority of the all time best charts by people's choice are filled with music from the 1980's/ its early 1990's continuation and earlier. It is the pinnacle to modern music. Everything you know as it is was either in progress or started back then. The 1990's continued it and transited us to the dysfunctional industry we witness today.

The decade did many things for music. Van Halen started in the late 70's, but that style influenced Rock and Pop music all through the 80's until now. Heavy Metal evolved. Keyboards and synthesizers evolved in new types of sounds like Dance Pop, Synth Pop, Freestyle, New Wave, etcetera. New Age saw recognition, AOR became popular. Some of the best structured and effective songs were created. Catchy live instrumental blend, smart choruses, powerful vocals and all the etceteras are there to consider. 80's music captures the essence of sound in each genre and works it to perfection. R&B/Soul, Smooth Jazz, the list goes on. Then were there the political messages, aka the lyrcial content. Etcetera, etcetera.

The 60's and the 70's did their thing, they were great also. The 90's didn't do anything new, it brought us to the crap we experience now. It was a 50/50 decade. The first half was great for being continuation of the 80's artistry. The second half went into manufactured crap. The 00's/now regard a dysfunctional scam industry that doesn't sell. There's no recognition for art.

The 80's for me.Overall I find 80's music more fun to listen to, and many strongly influential artists became popular that decade. Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson, and Bruce Springsteen (he was popular in the 70's of course, but "Born In The USA" solidified him) come instantly to mind. I also feel artists in the 80's tried to push music into new and exciting directions. The 70's were great as well, and that decade is a very close second for me. The 60's were great as well, and the 90's were okay. The 00's had their moments, but as a whole the decade was pretty much "meh."

When it comes to 60s vs 80s, I think the 60s produced more iconic & socially relevant music than any other decade in history (though I think the 50s should have been included on the poll too) but I don't think most of what came out of it sonically held up well once the decade was over. The 70s started experimenting with computers and more advance music technology and the 80s just revolutionized it. Alot of 60's music sounds "primitive" as a result. Still good music, but it hasn't aged well commercially.

Let me put it this way, I think there are some songs that came out in the later 80s that still sound contemporary and could play on the radio today with newer music and still sound "like new". By 1989 I think anything that came out in 1969 sounded like "oldies" but I dont think anything that came out in 89 sounds like "oldies" today.

The 60s produced some good and iconic music but COMMERCIALLY I don't think 60s music held up well.

That's what happened alright. I'd call the 80's being musical perfection. It continued for a bit in the 90's, and then we saw an artistic decline.

Dated means nothing more than different to the current environment. The 00's/now sell Hip Pop. Hip for tuneless sound and Pop for shallow message; a scam. This stuff contributes nothing to the music business. It isn't artistry, it isn't music, and their performers aren't musicians. It's a scam industry selling crap products to make a cheap buck. So I conclude the 80's as the last revolutionary decade.

The 60's introduced us to the basics of a lot of new sounds, got a lot of social relevant messages. But the 80's took it, and created an ultimate form of modern Pop music that is the foundation to everything out today. Both decades are iconic to me. The 90's and 00's haven't improved on it, they went backwards instead.

I was just having a discussion with my best friend about this the other day.

When you think of the 80s in terms of music, you have SO many stand-out acts that will be listened to decades from now; Queen, Depeche Mode, AC/DC, Eurythmics...

I don't listen to a lot of 60s or 70s music, so I can't comment on them, but there are lots of great bands from those eras as well (The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Jefferson Airplane, Diana Ross & The Supremes, etc.).

The 90s is where things started to go downhill. We had some great acts in the early 90s (Ace of Base, Nirvana and a few others I can't quite recall the name of right now), but then dreck like Britney Spears, The Backstreet Boys and other assorted bubblegum pop and boy bands came along. Since the pop revolution of the mid-to-late 90s, there hasn't been a single band worth mentioning. When I look back on the last 15 years in music, I don't see a single band that's going to stand the test of time like the bands in decades before (aside from possibly Lady GaGa, but I only say that because her image may prove to be incredibly popular in years to come).

Tony Marino wrote:The 60's brought us Motown, the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, basically the british invasion, The Doors, Led Zepplin, Hendrix, the Beach Boys just to name a few. The 80's were good music but can you name anyone that really influenced music and changed music in the 80's like the groups of the 60's did?

Madonna.



Every pop star to come after her essentially modeled themselves after Madonna's career and style, particularly your Lady GaGa.

i chose 90's

If I went with just what I liked, I'd have to go with '90's, but from a historical standpoint I'd lean toward the '50's