Which decade of rock is the best and why? 50s...60s...70s...80s...90s...00s?

Question

50s and earlier
60s
70s
80s
90s
00s

Answer 1

VERY subjective question. Naturally, most would end up picking the decade they grew up in.

But I'll try to look at each objectively:

50s: Rock is born. The innovators like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, & Buddy Holly get the flames going. Elvis puts it on the pop culture map for good.

60s: Beatles, "British Invasion", socially & politically aware songs, peace, love, the upbeat Motown songs, etc.. The 60s are a HARD act to follow in terms of idealism & overall innovation.

70s: rock fragments into many diff' sub-genres. Disco, 60s idealism is dead. It's all about escapism w/ disco, soft rock (James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac, et al) or hard rock (eg: Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath etc)

80s: MTV changes everything. For the worst to some. The scene more than ever before is all about image over substance. More & more producer-driven music. "hair metal" dominates airwaves. Hip hop gains mainstream popularity. By end of decade, making a video to get exposed is a must.

90s: After grunge, rock takes a back seat to hip hop, rap & pop. (Spice Girls, boy bands etc) Short shelf life pop tunes dominate.

Now: It's all about producer-driven music more than before. (w/ a HANDful of genuine singer songwriters) Just look at American Idol. Few are making groundbreaking music anymore, so we have to vote for our new music heros on tv. IMO, all the best, most refreshing new rock is indie rock. You sure won't hear it on MTV....


So which is best? Heh, well by MY standards, I'll take the 60s & 70s, w/ a HUGE deal of respect for the 50s, thank you...

Answer 2

The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced (1967) The Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow (1967) The Doors - Strange Days (1967) Forever Changes - Love (1967) The Velvet Underground and Nico - (1967)

Answer 3

Not necessarily picking my decade but from the music I hear now, compared to what music was like in the 60s and 70s, this age group is the best to me. It is amazing how many of these song from the era are being used in movies and in commercials now. Tells me something.

Answer 4

I would have to say the 80's because it was the beginning of Thrash Metal, my personal fave. Metallica released 3 of the greatest albums ever, Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets. Megadeth came out with Mustaine. Slayer brought 3 amazing albums Show No Mercy, South of Heaven, Reign in Blood. Anthrax combined new hip hop beats to their high powered thrash to help start groove metal. Iron Maiden came out with some of thier best work in the 80's including the # of the Beast album.

Answer 5

Obviously this is a question based upon personal preference but here is my thought

50's- Started the whole rock and roll genre w/ the likes of elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Hollie etc.

60's- was the beginning of the british wave including The Rolling Stones, Beatles, Hermans Hermits and Led Zepplin

70's- was the beginning of Arena rock with Boston, BTO, UFO, Thin Lizzy etc..The dual guitar assults etc.
It was also when rock and roll became diversified even more so w/ the more gloom acts like Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper etc

80's- where hair bands, melodic choruses became main stream with bands like Ratt, Poison, And a lil heavier with bands like Iron Maiden, Judas priest. Later in the 80s speed metal came into play w/ Metallica, Megadeth, Helloween.etc
90's- Grunge came out. A more gloomy style of rock w/ Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Sound Garden, Pearl Jam, et al..

00's- Rock and Rap mergerd w/ the likes of Limp Biscuit, and a more industrial sound emerged w/ my chemical romance, the used etc

Answer 6

50's and 60's. I love doo wap music. The 70's are great also. That's when I grew up.

Answer 7

definetely 90s because rock was still mating and having crossovers and becoming to be more than just rock n roll any earlier than '89 but all different kinds of rock the 00s are good but not as innovative as the 90s

Answer 8

I would have to say the 60's, just because a whole bunch of the later bands were influenced by many of the bands from this time. But I love pretty much everything before the 90's so thats a tuffy

Answer 9

I'de say that there were several good years in music
but 1968, 1969, 1972, 1975, 1979, 1992, 1995 were some of the best years for several reasons but mostly thats when the music was jammin

Answer 10

I'd have to say the 80's. I say this because there was so much going on in the 80's and music was so multi-flavored then. So many choices, and most of it was purely for fun and a good time.