Best era of rock music?

Question

What would you consider it being the best era of rock music?

Answer 1

65' - 75'

It's more complicated than just when you were a teenager. It's related to the beginnings of each individual's formation of their own identity and the awakenings of their sexuality and whatever is popular at that time plays a role in that but there's more to it. I became a teen in 76' which in my view is when mainstream rock really began to take a turn for the worse with all the arena rock excess and the record companies beginning to try to create popular bands rather than discovering them. There was some philosophical redemption I suppose in the development of punk and new wave as it was called then but those are not styles that I'm drawn to. I very frequently hear my friends talk about how bad the current music situation is - and I've been hearing this for 20 plus years now - but there are probably more really great bands recording now than at any time in our history. The difference is you have to go out and find them yourself. If you're waiting on the radio and the TV to find the good tunes for you you're gonna be listening to a lot of crap. I spent a couple of years teaching music in a small high-school and I'm glad to report that the majority of the students were not content to just soak up whatever was popular at the time. They actively sought out music that they believed in and many of them looked backward and were really into Hendrix, Led Zep, Beatles etc. (the kids really are alright!!)
There is a also a very significant difference between the 60's and 70's and everything that followed and that is that there used to be a handful of identifiable subgenres - now there's dozens and dozens. So it's kind of difficult to discuss modern rock with any kind of defendable generalities. Popular music history hasn't evolved like a tree as much as it has grown like a bush.

Answer 2

I would say from the start of the British Invasion (The Beatles, February '64) until the end of '67 (when the drugs kicked in and garage bands checked out; also, Otis Redding's death that December). The AM radio of the era (especially if you lived in or close to New York or L.A.) was great because you could hear so many artists, and so many types of sounds, on top-40 radio stations back then, without everything being split and narrowcasted into "rock," "soul," "folk," etc: Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Animals, Beach Boys, Supremes, Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, The Byrds, Dylan, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, The 4 Seasons, The Ronettes, The Shangri-La's, Dionne Warwick, Paul Revere & the Raiders, The Monkees, The Bobby Fuller Four, Petula Clark, even Louis Armstrong ("Hello Dolly"). The playlists were a hell of a lot bigger and a hell of a lot more diverse -- and the music infinitely better -- than the processed crap being spoonfed to the kids these days.

Answer 3

The answer is: the 60s! The reason is that people made music for the sake of the music, not the money, as there was much less money going to the artists back then. Almost nobody went into the music field to make money, they "came to play". It wasn't until the 70s that huge money became available to musicians in general (bless you/curse you Bill Graham!). Just look at the music from that era- the British Invasion, the psychedelic sound, Motown, Stax, blues-rock, folk-rock, country-rock, etc., etc. And the artists! Beatles, Stones, Velvet Underground, Bowie, Doors, Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Otis Redding, James Brown, Supremes, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the list is endless. This music changed the world- what other era's music can make that statement.? Like it or not, the answer is clear.

Answer 4

Very very close race between the garage rock/psychadelic period in the early to late/mid sixties (you HAVE to own the 4 disc Nuggets set, it's mandatory for anyone who claims to like rock) or the original punk era ('75-'79 covers most of the goodies, or you could move it to '73-'79 and catch Iggy's Raw Power and the New York Dolls Doll's self titled album, but for the sake of a more focussed "era" I'll stick with '75-'79). '75 you have things like The Dictators "Go Girl Crazy" and Patti Smith's "Horses", then '76 you have the groundbreaking self titled and "(I'm) Stranded" by the Saints and '77-'79 had way too many great album to start to name.

Honorable mention goes to the early rock with Chuck Berry, Bo Diddly, Little Richard, Elvis etc. and to the '67-'73 period where you had so many great glam artists and underground pure rock bands like the Stooges and the Flamin' Groovies.

Answer 5

I agree that the late 60's early 70's were awesome even though I wasn't born yet. The late 70's and all of the 80's were godawful. I know people love 80's rock but I find it too showy with little or no influential bands.

Grunge in the early 90's was great too but it got played out too soon so it didn't have the staying power that the "classic rock era" had.

Answer 6

I personally love the 80's with bands like Def Leppard, AC/DC, Guns & Roses, Van Halen and many other awesome hard rock and metal bands. I was a child and started my teens in the 80's I think that's why I love this music so much till this. Even though the 70' had some great rock music as well.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

The 60's.. there was more change in sound and style and equipment than any other time.listen to rock music in 1960 and then listen in 69...its like night and day. if your talking strictly rock n roll then its the 60's.

Answer 9

the 60's and 70's

Answer 10

Whenever you were a teenager.

Seriously, everyone thinks that the music that was popular when they were 16 was THE BEST MUSIC EVER!

So, the 80s were awesome.