I know I'm gonna probably get ripped apart for this post by guys like xfear and stuff who know so much more about music then me, but this is just my view on each decade. I did use Wikipedia for a lot of it but I used my opinion a lot as well. And my opinion is only 14 years old. So don't kill me
In the last 60 years music has developed at a rapid pace as new instruments are invented and new trends are set. This thread asks the question- what decade was the greatest? We're nearing the 2010's where I'm sure a new type of music will emerge, and now we can look back at the last 6 decades and decide which was the best.
50's-We have such acts as Buddy Holly, Elvis, Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison and Fats Domino in the fast rising rock and roll scene in the decade that really changed music in the biggest way, with the introduction of electric instruments and amplification. Cello and violin were replaced by jazzy guitar licks and upbeat drum tracks. Artists began recording songs on a greater level with increased quality. Music became a part of pop culture and a huge influence on the youth of the day. It was around this time that music went from being at social gatherings and at rich homes to being listened to by teens and in high demand from society. It became a big part of life for kids, which really set the tone for the music-obsessed 60’s. This era is what started music in pop-culture.
60's-This is the decade of the British Invasion with big rock bands like The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Beatles, The Doors and Led Zeppelin, as well as artists like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. The decade started off with 50's blues influences but as we moved on we had early punk rock from The Who, acid rock from Jimi Hendrix and pop from The Beatles. Bands became differentiating themselves from eachother with more options to follow, and music became like a religion to the 60's generation. The decade was capped off with the incredible Woodstock, where Jimi Hendrix, Santana, Janis Joplin, Mountain, Grateful Dead, CCR, The Who, The Band, Jefferson Airplane and more showed the world what the psychedelic era was all about as they performed in front of 400 000 fans. This era completely changed the face of music.
70's-The 1970's had a huge variety of music, with Queen, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Kiss and Van Halen leading the way. Dance became a big part of music with genres like funk and disco becoming popular. Punk rock, glam metal and hard rock became popular with the rebellious youth as The Ramones, Blondie, The Sex Pistols and The Clash emerged on the scene. Country became more popular with the mainstream audience with Willie Nelson and Kenny Rogers achieving popularity. Near the end of the decade reggae made its way into pop culture with Bob Marley and the Wailers at the forefront. And of course rock continued strong with bands like Led Zeppelin and AC/DC satisfying all tastes. This was really the decade of variety of music and with many of the bands from then still playing today it’s influence lives on.
80’s-Though this decade mostly continued on with the many acts of the 70’s, the 1980’s were really defined by their hard rock, with bands like Metallica, Guns n Roses, Iron Maiden and Motley Crue. This was around the time the older generation of rock left to make way for the newer bands, with Led Zeppelin broken up, The Who on hiatus for most of the decade, Lynyrd Skynyrd gone after the plane crash that took most of its members lives and Pink Floyd leaving the spot light. Pop music became far more popular with Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna, and racial barriers in music were pretty much broken down in the music world with the release of Thriller in 1982. New soft rock bands like Journey and Bon Jovi became popular, with Aerosmith and ZZ Top continuing their streak. New wave groups like U2 and R.E.M become hugely popular with youth. Hip-hop began with acts like Run-DMC and The Beastie Boys. This was the decade of hard rock in a way, but it really had everything that someone could want.
90’s-The 90’s were the decade that replaced rock for the first time. This era had pop as its main source of entertainment, as the Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys and New Kids On the Block become huge with teens. Singers such as Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Bryan Adams become popular. It wasn’t all pop though. Alternative rock was on the rise with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins and Counting Crows finding success. Pop rock bands like Green Day, Blink 182 and Weezer became popular. Guns n Roses, Metallica, U2, Aerosmith and many more carried on their success from the 80’s. Probably the biggest genre of the early 90’s, however, was grunge, with Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots taking over the youth of the time. Hip hop gains popularity with MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice emerging and rap is introduced with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tupac. Other popular genres included ska, Britpop, Indie Rock and Skater Punk emerge. Blues are completely gone at this point after the death of Stevie Ray Vaugn and classic rock is essentially dead. This is the genre that essentially turned music into what it is today and was really the final step away from 50’s rock and roll.
00’s-The decade of hip-hop, with a huge number of artists and groups like Beyoncé, Black Eyed Peas, Akon, Chris Brown, Destiny’s Child, T-Pain and many more gaining popularity. Rap becomes a huge genre with Eminem, Lil’ Wayne, 50 Cent, Kanye West and others rising up. Post-grunge and alternative rock remains steady with Nickelback, Seether, 3 Doors Down and Hinder becoming popular. Pop punk is going strong with Green Day and Blink-182, and metalcore emerges with groups like Lamb of God, Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet For My Valentine and Killswitch Engage. Emo music becomes popular with the (idiot) youth, with groups like Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco and My Chemical Romance being labeled in this genre. Coldplay continues success following in the footsteps of bands like U2, and many older bands like The Eagles, The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi and AC/DC continuing their hits. Indie rock is popular with bands like Kings of Leon, The White Stripes and The Arctic Monkeys. Boy bands like N’ Sync and the Backstreet Boys remain popular at the start of the decade and The Jonas Brothers find success today. “Children’s music” goes strong with High School Musical and Miley Cyrus somehow entertaining them. Country music takes a more pop feel as Taylor Swift, Carry Underwood and Kenny Chesney emerge. This decade is almost the opposite of the rockin’ 50’s, and I can hardly imagine what we see come the 10’s.
So that’s my overview of each decade. Reading it over I have to go with the 60’s. The majority of my favourite bands come from this decade, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and, of course, The Beatles. This band wasn’t as “dull” as the 50’s but still had that classic rock feel that was slightly diminished in the 70’s and on. It was rock but there was something more to it. The 60’s had passion in their music, and I wish I was around then to feel the way they do. The 50’s were the decade of rock, the 70’s of variety, the 80’s of hard rock, the 90’s of change and the 2000’s of hip-hop, but I think the 60’s were the decade of just pure music, and that’s why it gets my vote. Share your opinions here and make sure you vote.
Edit:IC is right, I didn't clarify if I wanted your favourite or the best. The poll says favourite but I actually want the one that in your opinion was the greatest, but say what one was your favourite as well. I think most of the time they're the same anyway. If a mod could change it from favourite to greatest it would be appreciated. My spelling failed anyway. And could you maybe make the poll public?
In the last 60 years music has developed at a rapid pace as new instruments are invented and new trends are set. This thread asks the question- what decade was the greatest? We're nearing the 2010's where I'm sure a new type of music will emerge, and now we can look back at the last 6 decades and decide which was the best.
50's-We have such acts as Buddy Holly, Elvis, Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison and Fats Domino in the fast rising rock and roll scene in the decade that really changed music in the biggest way, with the introduction of electric instruments and amplification. Cello and violin were replaced by jazzy guitar licks and upbeat drum tracks. Artists began recording songs on a greater level with increased quality. Music became a part of pop culture and a huge influence on the youth of the day. It was around this time that music went from being at social gatherings and at rich homes to being listened to by teens and in high demand from society. It became a big part of life for kids, which really set the tone for the music-obsessed 60’s. This era is what started music in pop-culture.
60's-This is the decade of the British Invasion with big rock bands like The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Beatles, The Doors and Led Zeppelin, as well as artists like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. The decade started off with 50's blues influences but as we moved on we had early punk rock from The Who, acid rock from Jimi Hendrix and pop from The Beatles. Bands became differentiating themselves from eachother with more options to follow, and music became like a religion to the 60's generation. The decade was capped off with the incredible Woodstock, where Jimi Hendrix, Santana, Janis Joplin, Mountain, Grateful Dead, CCR, The Who, The Band, Jefferson Airplane and more showed the world what the psychedelic era was all about as they performed in front of 400 000 fans. This era completely changed the face of music.
70's-The 1970's had a huge variety of music, with Queen, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Kiss and Van Halen leading the way. Dance became a big part of music with genres like funk and disco becoming popular. Punk rock, glam metal and hard rock became popular with the rebellious youth as The Ramones, Blondie, The Sex Pistols and The Clash emerged on the scene. Country became more popular with the mainstream audience with Willie Nelson and Kenny Rogers achieving popularity. Near the end of the decade reggae made its way into pop culture with Bob Marley and the Wailers at the forefront. And of course rock continued strong with bands like Led Zeppelin and AC/DC satisfying all tastes. This was really the decade of variety of music and with many of the bands from then still playing today it’s influence lives on.
80’s-Though this decade mostly continued on with the many acts of the 70’s, the 1980’s were really defined by their hard rock, with bands like Metallica, Guns n Roses, Iron Maiden and Motley Crue. This was around the time the older generation of rock left to make way for the newer bands, with Led Zeppelin broken up, The Who on hiatus for most of the decade, Lynyrd Skynyrd gone after the plane crash that took most of its members lives and Pink Floyd leaving the spot light. Pop music became far more popular with Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna, and racial barriers in music were pretty much broken down in the music world with the release of Thriller in 1982. New soft rock bands like Journey and Bon Jovi became popular, with Aerosmith and ZZ Top continuing their streak. New wave groups like U2 and R.E.M become hugely popular with youth. Hip-hop began with acts like Run-DMC and The Beastie Boys. This was the decade of hard rock in a way, but it really had everything that someone could want.
90’s-The 90’s were the decade that replaced rock for the first time. This era had pop as its main source of entertainment, as the Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys and New Kids On the Block become huge with teens. Singers such as Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Bryan Adams become popular. It wasn’t all pop though. Alternative rock was on the rise with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins and Counting Crows finding success. Pop rock bands like Green Day, Blink 182 and Weezer became popular. Guns n Roses, Metallica, U2, Aerosmith and many more carried on their success from the 80’s. Probably the biggest genre of the early 90’s, however, was grunge, with Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots taking over the youth of the time. Hip hop gains popularity with MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice emerging and rap is introduced with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tupac. Other popular genres included ska, Britpop, Indie Rock and Skater Punk emerge. Blues are completely gone at this point after the death of Stevie Ray Vaugn and classic rock is essentially dead. This is the genre that essentially turned music into what it is today and was really the final step away from 50’s rock and roll.
00’s-The decade of hip-hop, with a huge number of artists and groups like Beyoncé, Black Eyed Peas, Akon, Chris Brown, Destiny’s Child, T-Pain and many more gaining popularity. Rap becomes a huge genre with Eminem, Lil’ Wayne, 50 Cent, Kanye West and others rising up. Post-grunge and alternative rock remains steady with Nickelback, Seether, 3 Doors Down and Hinder becoming popular. Pop punk is going strong with Green Day and Blink-182, and metalcore emerges with groups like Lamb of God, Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet For My Valentine and Killswitch Engage. Emo music becomes popular with the (idiot) youth, with groups like Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco and My Chemical Romance being labeled in this genre. Coldplay continues success following in the footsteps of bands like U2, and many older bands like The Eagles, The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi and AC/DC continuing their hits. Indie rock is popular with bands like Kings of Leon, The White Stripes and The Arctic Monkeys. Boy bands like N’ Sync and the Backstreet Boys remain popular at the start of the decade and The Jonas Brothers find success today. “Children’s music” goes strong with High School Musical and Miley Cyrus somehow entertaining them. Country music takes a more pop feel as Taylor Swift, Carry Underwood and Kenny Chesney emerge. This decade is almost the opposite of the rockin’ 50’s, and I can hardly imagine what we see come the 10’s.
So that’s my overview of each decade. Reading it over I have to go with the 60’s. The majority of my favourite bands come from this decade, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and, of course, The Beatles. This band wasn’t as “dull” as the 50’s but still had that classic rock feel that was slightly diminished in the 70’s and on. It was rock but there was something more to it. The 60’s had passion in their music, and I wish I was around then to feel the way they do. The 50’s were the decade of rock, the 70’s of variety, the 80’s of hard rock, the 90’s of change and the 2000’s of hip-hop, but I think the 60’s were the decade of just pure music, and that’s why it gets my vote. Share your opinions here and make sure you vote.
Edit:IC is right, I didn't clarify if I wanted your favourite or the best. The poll says favourite but I actually want the one that in your opinion was the greatest, but say what one was your favourite as well. I think most of the time they're the same anyway. If a mod could change it from favourite to greatest it would be appreciated. My spelling failed anyway. And could you maybe make the poll public?
) I also throw into this section the Chinese artist Dadawa- as she suits them in tone and style- an amazing powerful singer. If you want to be carried away by a wave of vocal power and energy- give Sister Drum a try. This leads nicely on to talking about other females.
