Your Favourite Decade In Music?

[Doug Gilmour]

A big question - a whole ten years of music and if you had a choice of only one, which would it be?

For me it would be (without a doubt!) the 1980s. It's got it all...

You've got the emergence of the stylistic Post-Punk (though this is really a late 70s thing as well) - Gang Of Four, Joy Divison (well, at least Closer...), The Fall, The Raincoats, PiL, Wire, The Jam, Scritti Politti, Pere Ubu

And the oh-so-beautiful Brit-Pop - The Smiths, The Stone Roses, The Farm, Happy Mondays, The Chameleons UK

The diverse and satisfying Alternative Rock - Hüsker Dü, R.E.M. (Murmur!), Dinosaur Jr., Violent Femmes (could also be considered post-punk), Sonic Youth, Pixies, My Bloody Valentine, The Pogues, Minutemen, U2, They Might Be Giants, The Jesus And Mary Chain, Talk Talk

The catchy and infectious New-Wave - Talking Heads, New Order, INXS, XTC (though they could go in either of the other three), Brian Eno/Roxy Music

Some of the best rhymes and beats from Hip-Hop - De La Soul, Grandmaster Flash, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, N.W.A., Eric B. & Rakim

And plenty of Other Stars - Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, Nine Inch Nails, Prince, Dire Straits, etc.

I know plenty is missing (especially in post-punk), but these are some of my favourites. I'd choose 90s as my next favourite, before kicking it back to the 70s as my third place decade. Pre-1900s is going to be for classic music and others; maybe someone here likes the Gregorian Chant!?

I'm interested in hearing what the rest of the iLounge populous chooses for their favourite decade....

-Dan

 

[dgstinner]

I also picked the 80's even though I have more music from the 90's (1209 songs, 3.5 days, 4.56 GB v. 1627 songs, 4.7 days, 6.22 GB)

 

[casa~la~rocka]

Pre- 1900? LOL.

I voted 70's. Classic rock and pop from that decade make up more than half of my library.

 

[papayaninja]

Hmm... I said 60's for zep, the beatles, hendrix... the who. etc...

 

[jedk]

Tough choice. I voted for the 1970s since I've been listening to AC/DC and Led Zeppelin a lot lately...

 

[melsmusic]

I think the 60's. There is so much music I like from that era to choose any other, although there are other decades I like a lot of music from too.

 

[bdb]

As Homer Simpson said, "its a scientific fact that music reached its pinnacle in 1974." The best decade so far would be 1965-1975. In that time, you have the Beatles best, Jimi Hendrix, BTO, Chicago, the Eagles, Kansas, Santana, Yes, Johnny Winter, Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Tower of Power, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, Bill Withers, War, and many more. Then music became corporate.

But that's not what I voted for. I see a new revolution taking place with independent labels getting more exposure than ever, thanks to the internet. Great bands are springing up all over the place, and creativity is thriving. The excitement is back!

 

[Kristiano]

1990s. Grunge and then alternative metal.

Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Rage Against the Machine and then Slipknot.

I also like the '60s era of Dylan, Lennon and Hendrix though.

 

[Ichijoe]

With Bands like Rush, Kiss, ELO, Foghat, BTO, Aerosmith, Queen et-al. How could One not vote for the 70's?!?!

 

[Emultion_Rawks]

Quite a few good bands have come out in the 2000s, but I agree with Ichijoe, the 70s was a great decade for music.

 

[bdb]

Yeah, the more I think about it I should have voted for the 70s. When you ask what rock is "classic", that is it.

Many of the people who grew up in that time - now the boomers - still listen to nothing but that music. That's why there are hundreds of classic rock stations. Personally, I got tired of listening to the same music for 30 years, and I'm really digging what's happening now.

 

[iMacc]

After reading your OP Dan i was leaning towards the 80's, but a lot of the bands you mentioned crossover into the 90's also.
Gang Of Four, The Jam, The Stone Roses, The Happy Mondays, Husker Du, R.E.M, Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth, Pixies, Sonic Youth, New Order, NWA, De La Soul, Public Enemy and Beastie Boys all released new material between 1990 - 1999.

For this reason(i know it's maybe considered cheating a bit) i vote 90's as my favourite decade.

You have all of the above,plus:
Oasis, Blur, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Queens Of The Stone Age, Nas, Jay-Z, Jurassic 5, Gang Starr, Green Day, Rage Against The Machine, The Prodigy, Ice Cube, The Libertines, Red Hot Chili Peppers and The La's to name a few.

Even my favourite band The Clash can't sawy my opinion. My vote is 90's music.

In second place i would take 80's music and then third would be 00's, purely because of the indie/alternative/rock resurgence in the UK.

 

[Doug Gilmour]

After reading your OP Dan i was leaning towards the 80's, but a lot of the bands you mentioned crossover into the 90's also.
Gang Of Four, The Jam, The Stone Roses, The Happy Mondays, Husker Du, R.E.M, Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth, Pixies, Sonic Youth, New Order, NWA, De La Soul, Public Enemy and Beastie Boys all released new material between 1990 - 1999.

I never ruled out their contributions in other decades, but for each, I see all of them making their best material in the 1980s, with the exception of possibly R.E.M, though I like Murmur better than Automatic For The People, but I will agree with you in regards to the 'Mondays, they peaked in 1990.

Gang Of Four - Disbanded in 1984, reunited in the mid-1990s (briefly), nothing too spectacular (when compared to Entertainment! (1979, but I'll count it ), and Solid Gold)

The Jam - Disbanded in 1982, released a few singles in the early-1990s, not much

Hüsker Dü - Disbaned in 1987, released a live album in the 1990s, not very significant to their '84-'85 glory days

Dinosaur Jr. - Green Mind was not bad, but Barlow was gone by this point, not as good as they were in the late 80s, in my mind

Pixies - I don't think Bossanova is as good as Surfer Nova/Come On Pilgrim or Doolittle, but I suppose that's arguable

N.W.A, De La Soul - Never matched their 1988 and 1989 efforts

Beastie Boys, Public Enemy - I agree, both made great 1990s albums (Fear Of A Black Planet is my favourite PE album) as well, comparable to their 1980s efforts

I think you get the point Though as I already mentioned I would go with the 1990s next..

-Dan

 

[Galley]

There will never be a decade as great as the 1980s in recorded history!

 

[bdb]

Just curious...is there anyone who was a teenager in the 70s that feels that the 80s was the best music? Most people my age (upper 40s) feel it was just an awful decade for music.

I get the feeling this question could just have easily have been "in what decade were you a teenager"?

 

[Doug Gilmour]

Just curious...is there anyone who was a teenager in the 70s that feels that the 80s was the best music? Most people my age (upper 40s) feel it was just an awful decade for music.

I think that depends on what part of the 70s you're looking at. I see 1976 - 1984 as a much more unified and flowing series of years than 1970 - 1979, similar to 1967-1974/5. The shift from punk to post-punk (for the most part) was not nearly as large as psychedelic and prog-rock to punk.

From '76 - '84 punk, post-punk, krautrock, new-wave, and alternative dominated, spanning both sides of the decade. I could see someone growing up in the late 1970s as a prime example of someone who loved 1980s music. Sex Pistols' punk to PiL's post-punk is a perfect example.

Whereas someone growing up in the first half of '70s would be more likely to think Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Cream, etc. and less of The Sex Pistols, Television, Elvis Costello, The Cure, etc. and probably not appreciate the '80s scene as much.

But that's assuming you buy into the "teenage" theory, certainly not applicable to me.

-Dan

 

[kevmakara]

Absolutely 60's.

 

[Galley]

I've read that the style of music you listen to when you are 20 is the style you will prefer the rest of your life. 20 years later, it has proven true for myself.

 

[bdb]

I was 20 in 1979 - looking at the top 40 for that year, there was some truely awful music that year. Disco was huge.

Other than some stuff by the Police, Blondie, & the Cars, I don't listen to anything from around that time. There may have been all this post-punk that Dan keeps talking about, but it wasn't on the radio and we didn't have any other way of hearing about it.

 

[Doug Gilmour]

Other than some stuff by the Police, Blondie, & the Cars, I don't listen to anything from around that time. There may have been all this post-punk that Dan keeps talking about, but it wasn't on the radio and we didn't have any other way of hearing about it.

That's an interesting point you bring up - location.

John Peel playing Cabaret Voltaire, Scritti Politti, and Delta 5 on the BBC was a major reason a lot of these guys were able to work in independent underground networks and labels while achieving cult status in the UK. Peel's influence was immeasurable on the underground scene, without him it would not have been nearly as successful. Besides fanzines (and local gigs) there were few other communication models. I doubt that such a thing reached Portland as it truly was an unique local experience.

-Dan