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Best and Worst Decades For Music

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Starting in the 1940's, how would you rank the decades for music?

Please vote for your favorite, and then vote for your least favorite. If possible, tell me how you would rate the other decades for music.

These votes will decide what the majority of the sites opinions on music era's are.

1940's (1 positive vote)

1950's (3 positive votes)

1960's (4 positive votes)

1970's (5 positive votes)

1980's (4 positive votes, 3 negative votes)

1990's (2 positive votes, 1 negative vote)

2000's (3 negative votes)

2010's

For me, it's usually a tie between the late 60's and the 70's. Some of the early 80's were good too.

The 90's had a handful of songs I liked, with the 00's having even less. So far, this decade has been terrible.

What about you?

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One positive vote for the 1980's. As for a negative vote, I don't really consider any decade bad.... If possible, give me another positive vote for the 1960's.

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Now when you say '50's', you mean 1956-1962, right?

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1980's best. 1990's worst. Everything else, average.

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No '40s love? LA Noire gave me an appreciation for then.

The 2000's are a lot better than most people give them credit for; unfortunately, most good "new" material comes from artists that date back from before then.

Over all, +1 on the '60s and -1 on the '80s. Mainly forgettable except for Van Halen and A-Ha's Take on Me.

A Goon in a Gaggle of 'em

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One positive vote for the 1940's.

One positive vote for the 1950's.

One positive vote for the 1960's.

One positive vote for the 1970's.

One negative vote for the 1980's. There are some gems in that era, but most of it is just awful.

One negative vote for the 1990's.

One negative vote for the 2000's.

<span style=“font-weight: bold;”>The Most Handsomest Guy on OT.com</span>

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Which decade does Rebecca Black belong to again?

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Best: 70's

Worst: Anything after 1989

There are 10 types of people in this world: those who understand binary, and those who do not.
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Best would probably be 63-73, but we'll count it as the 60's

Worst is a tough call between the 80's and 00's.  Yes, there was good music during those decades, but it's vastly overshadowed by 80's disco and 00's pop. 

I'll vote the 80's the worst though.

90's was pretty awesome, but part of that bias is because that's when I was growing up (and listening to grunge/alt/hip-hip).  I'm assuming that's why the frikin 80's are getting some positive votes...


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I vote the 80's simultaneously the best AND worst.

Hell, some songs were even the best and worst at the same time.

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TV's Frink said:

I vote the 80's simultaneously the best AND worst.

Hell, some songs were even the best and worst at the same time.

?? I'm curious.. name one! :)

 

I vote negative for the 90's and 00's

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Leonardo said:

TV's Frink said:

I vote the 80's simultaneously the best AND worst.

Hell, some songs were even the best and worst at the same time.

?? I'm curious.. name one! :)

Actually, pretty much everything on MTV in the 80's qualifies.

Come On Eileen

Too Shy (sorry 'bout the ad)

Funky Town (cover) (Keytar for the win :p)

The Final Countdown (GOB for the win)

 

I'll admit the videos take the songs to new heights and depths.  Nostalgia as well.

 

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Leonardo said:

TV's Frink said:

I vote the 80's simultaneously the best AND worst.

Hell, some songs were even the best and worst at the same time.

?? I'm curious.. name one! :)

Here's half a dozen:

We Don't Need Another Hero
I Wear My Sunglasses at Night
I Wanna Be a Cowboy
Holiday Rap
Danger Zone
Anything by Kiss

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Basically you could fill my "So Bad It's Good' thread with the 80's music scene.

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There was too much cocaine, nobody knew what they were doing!


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Perhaps we should change the thread title to Best and Worst Decades for Mainstream Music.

“It is only through interaction, through decision and choice, through confrontation, physical or mental, that the Force can grow within you.”
-Kreia, Jedi Master and Sith Lord

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Well...obviously the 2000's were best for non-mainstream music.

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I would imagine it's more of an 'overall' music.  Every decade has good underground stuff, but what matters is if it offsets the awfulness of the mainstream.

In the late 60's the Beatles, Stones, Zombies, Hendrix, Dylan, Doors, Zeppelin, Who, Cream, Pink Floyd, etc. were all mainstream.

In the 00's, thanks to the internet, there has been a much bigger underground music scene with a lot of quality music.  However, does that make up for High School Musical being on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine?  I vote no.


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Nyan Cat made 2011 the best year all by itself.

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Let's see ... having not grown up in the 60s, 70s, and most of the 80s it's hard for me to make an informed decision on the general music of those decades. That being said, I have a fondness for a lot of rock/pop from those eras, and New Wave is so bad it's good (the same with Disco, to a much lesser extent.)

I don't really remember "noticing" music on the radio until 1997. That being said, there were a few bands/singers that I love that came from/hit their stride in the 90s, and I don't remember there being any overwhelming amounts of bad music, so I have a fondness for the 90s.

As for the 2000s ... it seems there were some decent bands/songs out there at first (mostly from the post-grunge genre), but the decade quickly became overrun with shitty pop, rap/hip-hop, R&B, etc. At the end of it there was all that Rihanna/Lady Gaga/Black Eyed Peas shit and nothing more.

This decade is shaping up to be the worst I've ever seen in regards to music. 100.99% of the music is the shitty pop, rap, R&B, etc., the few "artists" out there that actually can sing can't write shit, and hypersexualized superficial Hollywood bullshit is the core of the shit they do write.

 

 

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DuracellEnergizer said:

This decade is shaping up to be the worst I've ever seen in regards to music.

I think this is less of a musical preferrence and more of a perspective problem.

Just like movies and the sense that "they used to make a lot of good ones, now most of them are just crap!"

The only music to survive getting old (let's just pick the 20-year mark) is the notable stuff.  Anything unnotable just ceases to exists.  Not all of the notable music is good but a much higher percentage of that music is good than the percentage of ALL music.

So, you inevitablty compare the highlights of previous decades with the mean average of this one.  Of course they won't compare.

However, I've reached that age/mindset that there was enough music in the world 5 years ago and I don't need to listen to anything new anymore.

 

Except Weezer...

 

And Flight of the Conchords.... 

 

And a few others.....

 

Okay, my point is that I don't listen to the radio hoping to hear anything new like I used to.  I'm much happier listening to music I already know I like.  So I couldn't really tell you if 2011 is the start of a good decade for new music or not.

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I love the 1960s!

The Monkees! The Archies! Petula Clarke! The Ballad of the Green Berets! My Way! These Boots are Made for Walking!