What was the best year, or at least period, in your opinion?
Feel free to be as subjective as you want (our tastes are all coloured by nostalgia), but do please give some examples of the songs and/or artists and/or genres that defined the year/period you regard as the best.
For best music, that is timeless, it would have to be the 70's. Pink Floyd and Led Zepplin? Need I say more. That is some of the best music ever made. It's the kind of music that we will still be listening to a 100 years from now, the same way we listen to Für Elise by Beethoven (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfF0zHeU3Zs), Nocturne in E Flat Major by Chopin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p29JUpsOSTE), and Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major by Mozart (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjk-YRuQZDE). Those pieces have stood the test of time. So will albums like the Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and The Wall.
As for nostalgia, it's the 80's and early 90's for me. That's when I was a teenager, so that era hits me in the feels.
I say 1955-1999...ending when the pedophile guy who died in prison (I can never remember his name...just Googled it, Lou Pearlman) started putting together the "boy bands" and pop stars started being more "manufactured."
There was so much "musical creativity" in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and most of the 90s that one just can't absorb it all. I don't really listen to pop music today...but what little I've heard, really doesn't impress me.
I've never been a huge fan of the music of a lot of the "pop music stars" over the years...e.g., Madonna, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, et.al. It's just not my cup of tea (although I do acknowledge that all 4 of the ladies I mentioned can sing, especially the last 3).
If I had to pick a favorite year for pop music, I'd go with 1964...the British Invasion. What a time it must have been to be alive. Not just The Beatles, Stones, etc., but a group like Gerry and the Pacemakers, for example..."Ferry Cross The Mersey" and "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying." That's great music right there.
It’s a decades long timespan for me, probably 60s to 90s.
In NO particular order:
The Beatles
Johnny Cash
Iron Maiden
Led Zeppelin
The Misfits
Metallica
The Rolling Stones
Foo Fighters
Dolly Parton
Judas Priest
Sex Pistols
Willy Nelson
Motley Crue
Van Halen
KISS
Kenny Rogers
Greenday
So many other acts!
I feel like rock and country peaked from the 60s to 90s but I listen to some older stuff too. Doo Wop and Motown were really great sounds.
I think the 80s and 90s.
But I’m more inclined for the 80s since many singers and bands of that era stayed relevant for 3 decades or if they weren’t able to stay relevant for more than the 80s they became music icons.
Madonna, Bon Jovi, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and so many others.
Madonna and Bon Jovi launched big hits in the 80s, 90s and 00s ending their cool period in early 2010s. Their last great year for both to be specific was 2013.
But hey they stayed relevant for 3 decades that’s crazy impressive. ReLlstaying constantly relevant in the music business for three decades it’s almost an impossible task but Bon Jovi and Madonna were able to make it
While Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston sadly fizzled at mid 90s but are highly thought of musicians.
Michael Changed videoclips forever and was one of the most important showmen ever..
While Whitney Houston is gonna be considered the Voice. She had such an incredible voice that people sometimes thing her good looks were underrated, crazy not ?
Her singing overshadowed her good looks to not other singer happens that.
Look at the Year-End Billboard Hot 100. You can view them on Wikipedia (scroll down to the bottom to choose a year) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_2022
I stopped being interested in the Billboard Hot 100 around 1988. My personal favorites are mid 1960s up to 1987. When I had a Tidal account I created a 70s, an 80s, and a 90s playlist. The 70s one has 391 tracks. The 80s one has 313 tracks. The 90s one has 28 tracks.
70s hands down.
shareGreat songs, vocalists (and instrumentalists), albums, creativity, engineering, production. Personalities. There's hundreds of books, and they're mostly from the 60/70s, which tells me there's a lot of interest. Even as I got older, the concert audiences remained young. Now with YouTube, you aren't limited to any bullshit at is "new" - usually fake noises. "Drum machines", auto-tune, and computers doing all the work.
60/70s
The Doors
Pink Floyd
Chicago
Led Zeppelin
The Who
Steely Dan
David Bowie
started with
The Beatles
The Rolling Stones
1970 - Black Sabbath (the only heavy metal I like.... Jazzy drummer with a guitarist playing awesome Middle-Eastern-like riffs, add Ozzy, and lyricist/bassist Geezer Butler)
70s prog
-Curved Air
-Illusion
-Carol of Harvest
-Mellow Mood
-Mother Superior
-Savage Rose
-Renaissance
and many more...
Psychedelic Soul (Temptations, Smokey Robinson and other Motown).. Philly Soul (Stylistics, Delfonics, Dramatics).
-Fairuz
-Sandy Denny
-Catherine Howe
-Roberta Flack
-Jane Relf
-Sonja Kristina
-Karen Carpenter
-Kate Bush
-Dionne Warwick
Grace Slcik
Rock, Jazz, Funk, Soul, R&B, Folk, Pop (ABBA, Bee Gees)
A lot of foreign bands, some which I named.. Nino Ferrer (70s+)
Lots of folk -- Jim Croce, Phil Ochs..
Singer-songwriters, as well...
The 70's truly had it all😎
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