Best Decades for Music After 1900

What is the best decade for music released in the 20th and 21 centuries?
The Top Ten
1 1980s

The 80s had it all. Whatever your favorite genre, you had artists who were making great music. The sounds created in this era truly stand the test of time as they are still fresh 30 years later. I remember as a kid in the 70s listening to my parents favorites of the 50s (great music too) but noticing how they seemed so dated at the time. I feel the songs of the 80s are beautifully melodic but with enough complexity to be appreciated even after countless technological advances since. No other decade of music is so varied while still capturing the essence of society's political, cultural and emotional tastes of the day. A great decade of music, and given the status of the industry today, may be the last great one for a while.

Like all decades, the 80s had its share of good and bad music. But overall, I consider it the best decade of music, across all genres. A lot of the great artists from the 70s had their best music in the 80s. The 80s was a time when the great music styles created in the 70s were perfected, and a lot of innovative new music styles came out as well. The best thing about 80s music, regardless of genre, was that the songs that were popular were extremely catchy! The fact that there are so many 80s songs still getting air play speaks for itself. Nowadays, most music is not catchy at all but rather quite bland and boring, whether it's pop music or underground music. I wonder how many songs of the 2010s will still be heard 30 years from now?

2 1970s

I strongly disagree that the 80s is number. Most good band that existed in the 70s were at their peak. Something about the technology and the time resulted in the best music out of that era. Once things became clean and digital in the 80s a lot of music lost...soul. Think Beatles, Kinks, Stones, Bowie, T. Rex (so many good 70s bands)...all had great content then. While many of those emerged in the 60s, they had a certain maturity then. Also, all the early post punk or interesting punk (which includes most modern rocks roots, new wave etc) began to form in the late 70s and had amazing roots. When I listen to african music it is os much more wild in the 70s. To me the 70s is, I'm guessing, the peak of the analogue era.

1960s laid the roots for some of the greatest music there is and spawned legends such as the Beatles and Bob Dylan. The 1980s created very refined and textured music that created new levels of stardom. But the 1970s, are by far unparalleled, in that it either greatly expanded upon or created every genre of music that is widely listened to today, while being simultaneously uncompromising in terms of quality. The augurs for the decade were laid quickly, as the late 70s saw the dissolution or death of some of the most famous stars and bands of the 60s. Most remaining ones either produced music of significantly lesser quality (McCartney and Dylan come to mind), reinvented their style (Fleetwood Mac and Jefferson Airplane/Starship), or pushed their sixties work to new heights (Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd), among many others. This change in musical style also allowed for new acts to shine in every genre. Bands such as Black Sabbath and Deep Purple created the dark, sludgy sound of hard metal. Others, like Lou Reed and David Bowie, pushed the boundaries of music while simultaneously creating a large enough body of commercial work to cement their positions as rock idols. While Elton John and Queen were hammering out hit after hit, country and southern rock idols were reaching mainstream audiences. Even the "Rock" genre itself was beginning to blur, with artists such as Miles Davis, Steely Dan, the Bee Gees, and Michael Jackson infusing rock with other genres, with brilliant effect. The beginnings of Hip Hop were also laid, thanks in part to well established acts such as the Sugarhill Gang and Blondie Even the commercial music being pushed was excellent, and for the most part the soft rock that dominated airplay still featured sharp songwriting and perfection. Also born was punk rock, which would forever change how and why we listen to music. There were no boundaries. And I need I mention that this was the last decade where albums with a unified concept and theme... more

3 1990s

Absolutely, hands down, the 90's is the best decade in music. The rise of grunge, the development of hip hop, and the polishing of pop all cement this decade as the best in history. Perhaps it was the sheer volume of music released, due to the enhanced availability of recording, that allowed quality music to be distributed. Perhaps it was due to the ability to edit and mix music using digital means, allowing errors to be corrected. Perhaps it was due to the relative economic prosperity in the nineties creating an environment for people to imagine and develope their abilities. Whatever the case may be, the 90's is the best decade in music based on the breadth, depth, and innovation of all musical genres.

All the best music today has its influence from the 90s. Indie/experimental music, alternative rock and grunge are rooted in the 90s, which resulted in pure yet innovative music unlike any other decade. This decade was the first with the ability to really lead people away from mainstream music, but still bands like Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers became immensely popular and the "mainstream" music of the 90s is still the best. Plus, modern hip/hop & rap originated in the 90s as did radio pop (even if we all hate it).

The 80s is probably one of the worst decades for music in the 20th century, and to me the 60s is a close second to the 90s because it cemented rock & roll into popular culture for the decades to come.

4 1960s

I can understand it a little if the 1970s are higher than the 60's, but It is beyond me how the 90's are ahead and how the 80's snagged 1st place.

Music from the 1960's is simply *MARVELOUS. * A study conducted by a group of Spanish scientists have proven that music's quality (in terms of lyrics, originality, and Instrumentals) was at it's highest peak throughout the decade. Mainstream music at that time was so versatile, ranging from folksy Bob Dylan songs to psychedelic Strawberry Clock songs.

The 70's were great, (although I'd bill them lower than the 60's by a thing margin) the 80's gave rise to countless one-hit-wonders and generic mainstream music, and I simply fail to find any appeal in 90's music.

" The 60s was the most innovative period of music that change the rest of the century. The Vietnam War was around along with civil rights movements and the music around the time truly represented the cultural ideas which helped unify our rebellious world. Even today the most iconic pioneers of music are all remembered from the 60s. Rap came from soul (James Brown), House originated from all the techniques bands did in the studios (Beatles, Who, Jimi Hendrix), and everyone knows The Rolling Stones contributed a whole lot to pop. There's no argument, the 70s and 80s were all continuations of the 60s. Finally, who could not forget the glorious beauty of psychedelia, our time has yet to bring that back."

5 2000s

2000s was a great year for music. The only year in recent memory where actually many genres were good. No annoying music or bad music was released. Hopefully we can get another decade in the future like this.-MrLH

Radiohead, the White Stripes, Animal Collective, Arcade Fire, Wilco, The Strokes, Kanye West, The Arctic Monkeys, Interpol, Fleet Foxes, LCD Soundsystem, Bon Iver, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Good stuff. At least there's more variety than the eighties. It's hard to rate this decade since despite the fact that there was so much great music, there was so much bad music, that it's hard to pick whether you liked it as a whole. Since it was so recent, we remember the bad stuff instead of like in the 60s and 70s. But if you read a top albums of the decade list for this decade, you will be impressed.

WOW, the 50's, 00's, and 10's are all pretty underrated compared to the 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's on here.

When it comes to musical variety, I have to say the 00's are the best. The #1 hits were kinda hit or miss but ignore that and you'll find lot's of really great music in this decade, ranging from boy bands, nu metal, emo, hip hop r&b, southern hip hop, pop, rock, alternative, undergroud, etc. Not everything was always good but that's not to say any decade is perfect.

Also, people need to grow up on 2010's music. Just because you are old and don't like modern music doesn't mean you can't try and find things you enjoy. There's plenty of garbage from the "Glorious" 60's to 90's that are just as bad if not even worse than what's being played on the radio today ( Sugar Sugar, Disco Duck, We Built this City, and MMMBOP ). And that's every decade: Some good song's, some bad song's.

6 1950s

Unacceptably dismissed decade in todays society. Without the 50s, you could might as well say goodbye to any decade afterwards. With artists such as Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, The Killer, Ritchie Valens, Little Richard, Eddie Cochran, Carl Perkins, The Big Bopper, Gene Vincent and many more, it doesn't make sense why this decade doesn't get the praise it deserves.
The 80s at #1 as well is an absolute disgrace, that was when Music became compressed and uninspiring. That decade is for wankers.

Ah, the '50s... The birth of rock 'n roll. I have tremendous respect for the rock singers like Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly (my all-time favorite singer) and Jerry Lee Lewis, but that wasn't the only music genre from this decade. There were singers like Pat Boone, Connie Francis, Bing Crosby... Plus, some really swell harmony groups (Drifters, Dion & the Belmonts, Coasters) too. Love it.

The time of drive-in movies, cruise-ins, chromed up slick cars, cruising the main street. Back when music was based on being a teenager, in love, or cars. Lyrics had a meaning that you could understand. The roots of rock n' roll. What a great decade!

7 2010s

Terrible shallow, hollow, pre-fab music. Auto tuned voices and cliche' lyrics about sex make it soulless. Even songs that are supposed to be "deep" actually come off as "shallow" in the 2010s. From Country Music to Pop, from Rap to Tech it is empty. It's like someone took all the elements of good music to make a fake copy with no soul. From the singers voice, the lyrics, the music, the stylings music of the 2010s seems like an Easy Bake Oven version of music. Formulated & Cold, soulless and without a life-force. I'm someone who disliked the 90s and 2000's but compared this this vacuous mess of the 2010's the 1990s and 2000's have more soul and depth in its metaphorical pinky finger than the 2000s ever could. And any soul or depth after the 2010's is so negligible it's scary. It's like all the real artists died off a long time ago and computers are writing the music for todays soulless zombies. But I can't say that all of todays people are soulless because a lot of younger folks are listening to 1980s music, which would explain the 80s Come Back. The 2010s is a hideous time for both music and even technology that plays it.

8 1940s

Are you kidding me? One guy said there was no music? Holy crap is he ignorant to the time period. There was so many artists like listed and even more like Glenn Miller Kay Kyser Bob Crosby, Bings brother etc. And music took a lot more talent than it did today. No auto tune, and also people had to know how to read music as well as play the instrument AND do it all in coordination with the rest of the band. That's hard, but in my opinion it was worth it. The sheer passion and care to the music flows through it and all that effort makes a better more realistic sound than today's crap music. And even for the vocal parts, still were better. Music to boost moral for was coming out left and right during the Second World War.

Why does everyone act like popular music didn't exist until the 1950s? The 1920s, 30s, amd 40s all have great music that's fun to listen to. Just because it's old and "vintage-sounding" doesn't mean it's bad. The music is lively and happy sounding which is more than I can say for a lot of music charting today (Just count how many dull, depressing sounding songs we got in 2016). Besides, we wouldn't even have rock music if it wasn't for the pioneers of jazz that created works in the pre-1950s. Rock was heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and jazz. I don't expect everyone to like the music from the 1920s, 30s, or 40s, but you should at least check out some of the most influencial songs from these time periods before you dismiss them as "old people music."

9 1930s

I would pick this decade, since I think it has one of the greatest selections of music. The 1940's comes extremely close, except it was a decline of the Big Bands by the mid-1940's. After that, I would pick the 1920's.

American songbook is before rock. Greatest American composers Gershwin,cole porter, Irving Berlin, Rogers and Hart and many others dominated the first half of the 20th Century. They are the Mozarts of American Music.

I really like that kind of music also since my one grandpa sang in a group. I like to play that kind of music on the piano also.

Jacqueline M. Roberts

10 1920s

Irving Berlin: Blue skies, Gershwin: Strike up the band, Rhapsody in Blue, Swanee, American in Paris, Girl Crazy (written in 20s, but published in 30s), Carmichael: Stardust, a lot of good songs created for the Great American Songbook in this Decade. An exciting time: economy booming, musicians playing.

I really like that kind of music because that's the music from when my grandparents were little kids. I like to play that kind of music on the piano.
Jacqueline M. Roberts

Super happy, fun music. Aged very well. Don't know how the 90s are above this because all that music is about drugs.

The Contenders
11 2020s

For the most part, the pop music of this decade has been pretty great, objectively speaking.

I've noticed a trend of pop songs nowadays reviving many elements of '70s/'80s aesthetics, using numerous '90s sampling techniques - much like how it was done in the actual '90s and early 2000s.

So, in a way, this decade is a kind of weird hybrid, recycling music styles from the 1990s and early 2000s. These styles themselves draw significant influence from the '80s and '70s, and I personally love it.

Songwriting and instrumental technology are pushing toward more experimental boundaries in recent years, which I like. Yes, it's often computer-generated music, but I've seen today's music genuinely trying something different, similar to what happened in the '90s.

Yes, there's still a lot of mediocre music out there that is popular, as every decade has had. In my opinion, no decade was as terrible as the late 2000s to early 2010s. I'm sure this comment will age poorly, given that many kids today enjoy listening to 2010 throwback playlists. EDM is just not my thing. I've always disliked it.

Over the years, I've grown more fond of trap music and believe that many songs, even in the mumble rap genre, are excellent. No, it is not "hip-hop" music, so traditionalists can spare me the criticism. But let's be honest, the formulaic "poppy female chorus plus a random popular rapper for the verse" approach makes me cringe harder than my high school relationships. What's worse is seeing older rappers, particularly Eminem clones, trying to trash today's rap. It's all just cringe-worthy gatekeeping.

Declaring yourself a "hip-hop" artist now is like saying you're "punk." The moment you say it, your music is forever associated with that genre, no matter what you try to experiment with or move on to.

Streaming has done a disservice to the music industry and culture, but many of those people were pretty... more

12 1910s

No. I guy called Harry Cooper.

13 1900s

There wasn't any recorded music before 1900 so...

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