MotownSubdivision said:

SuperSoulFighter said:

This is as good a time as any to go down memory lane. In 1987, I was 16 years old and everybody was waiting for the new MJ album, dying to hear it. And then the first single came, I Just Can't Stop Loving You. It raced to the top of the charts, only to be replaced by Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up, a total nobody from the Stock, Aitken & Waterman studios. Throughout 87-88 , Jackson had hits and Bad probably sold more copies than Sign o'the Times and Lovesexy put together, but there was this sense that Jacko was old news and Prince was really where it was at. Jackson, yeah, he was popular, he had hits, but it was Prince and U2 who really kept people fascinated in 87-88. That's what I experienced back then anyway.

I can't take away your personal experience but you're grasping straws here. 87- 88? That's only 2 years out of 10 that MJ would have been eclipsed (for lack of a better word) than Prince and U2 and as you said MJ was still popular so even if he necessarily wasn't the top artist at that point anymore, he was still popular and in years' passed he was more popular than both combined anyway so the changing of people's preference wouldn't do anything to turn the tide in U2's or Prince's favor anyway. This doesn't take away from Prince and U2; MJ was just monstrously popular. [Edited 8/21/14 17:19pm]

Said it before I could

60s The Rolling Stones, The Supremes, The Beatles

70s Stevie Wonder, Bee Gees, Elton John

80s Michael, Madonna, Prince

90s Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Nirvana

00s Britney Spears, Eminem, Beyonce

10s Rihanna, Adele, Taylor Swift---- so far this could change

If nothing else, these lists show how dramatically popular music has declined. Pretty effing sad.

thedoorkeeper said:

Where the hell are Al Green, Credence, Aretha, Beck, CSN&Y, Sly Stone, Pink Floyd, The Temptations?

They're well known, but I wouldn't say most of these are the biggest 3 acts of their decades. Only Pink Floyd could be considered out of the bunch.

mjscarousal said:

MotownSubdivision said:

SuperSoulFighter said: I can't take away your personal experience but you're grasping straws here. 87- 88? That's only 2 years out of 10 that MJ would have been eclipsed (for lack of a better word) than Prince and U2 and as you said MJ was still popular so even if he necessarily wasn't the top artist at that point anymore, he was still popular and in years' passed he was more popular than both combined anyway so the changing of people's preference wouldn't do anything to turn the tide in U2's or Prince's favor anyway. This doesn't take away from Prince and U2; MJ was just monstrously popular. [Edited 8/21/14 17:19pm]

Said it before I could

60s The Rolling Stones, The Supremes, The Beatles

70s Stevie Wonder, Bee Gees, Elton John

80s Michael, Madonna, Prince

90s Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Nirvana

00s Britney Spears, Eminem, Beyonce

10s Rihanna, Adele, Taylor Swift---- so far this could change

we kinda have thesame list.i guess everybody have a different view of the word 'big', its not about who you think was better, its about who was at the top of the game during that time period.i disagree with nirvana,sorry but they wasnt big where im from,whitney was everywhere.

60s: The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis

70s: Stevie Wonder, John McLaughlin, Joni Mitchell

80s: Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna

90s: Radiohead, Nirvana, 2pac

00s: Van Hunt, and then I stop giving a fuck

10s: Still not giving a fuck

jasminejoey said:

50s non rock n roll - Frank Sinatra (1950 -54 period he was huge), Perry Como (Right up to 1958), Doris Day (Had heaps of 1950s hits

.

50s Rock n roll (1955 -1959) - Elvis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry. I mention this a sits wrong to define 50s music as rock and roll, as it only really came out in 1955 (To me Bill Haley was not full rock and roll) the first true Rock n roll songs were Maybelline by Chuck Berry and Tutti Frutti by Little Richard released in July and September 1955.

60s - Beatles, Dylan, Stones

70s - Eagles, Elton John, Bowie

80s - Prince, MJ , Madonna

90s - Nirvana, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion or Whitney Houston

00s - A lot of crap in this decade, no acts really lasted out the whole decade, but possibly Beyonce/Destiny's Child, Kanye West and can't think of any rock acts

10s - Decade too small (4 and a bit years) to suggest so far, as the biggest stars like Gaga and Bieber both have not had a recent hit. Adele and Rihanna show most endurability and maybe Kanye again.

.

1940s - Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters, Frank Sinatra and possibly Louis Jordan for the Black artists

1930s - Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, Bing Crosby (Again)

1920s - Paul Whiteman, Rudy Vallee, Louis Armstrong

50s: Elvis , Sam Cooke, Miles Davis

60s: The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan

70s: Bee Gees, Elton John, Stevie Wonder

80s: Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna

90s: Nirvana, Mariah Carey, 2pac

00s: Eminem, Britney Spears, Kanye West

10s: Adele, Lady Gaga, ??

For the 90s, I'm thinking of replacing Nirvana with Whitney. Nirvana's debut in the music scene was explosive and while I'm sure Kurt Cobain's death raised interest in the band, it seems that their popularity was mainly relegated to the early 90s from their 1991 introduction up until 1994. Whitney was hot throughout the decade and accomplished more than they did overall during the 90s from what I remember. Whitney was huge in the 80s (though not on the level of MJ, Prince, and Madonna) and that carried over to the 90s where she was white hot so I think overall, she was bigger than Nirvana was at the time.

If I could have an expert help me out with this one please?

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For my picks for the 2000s, I want to withdraw Lady Gaga, because the real blow up happened when she dropped The Fame Monster in late 2009, and its lead singles really only made the rounds in 2010 and 2011.

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As a replacement for Gaga, and I know this will make some of you shake your heads, I'll put forward the Black Eyed Peas. They were pretty much everywhere since Elephunk in 2003, and will.i.am proved to be a prolific producer. I still think that Elephunk is a great album, even if I care a lot less about Monkey Business and subsequent releases.

.

jasminejoey said:

If nothing else, these lists show how dramatically popular music has declined. Pretty effing sad.

Agree.

I also think from the 60's -90's we have a bulk of artists that clearly were big during those periods to choose from unlike in the 00's. For the 00's you can pretty much count them on your hand. The milenium singers have the priviledge of being the most popular of that decade but they definitly don't have a lasting impact or a cultural significance as the previous artists of previous decades.

lowkey said:

mjscarousal said:

Said it before I could

60s The Rolling Stones, The Supremes, The Beatles

70s Stevie Wonder, Bee Gees, Elton John

80s Michael, Madonna, Prince

90s Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Nirvana

00s Britney Spears, Eminem, Beyonce

10s Rihanna, Adele, Taylor Swift---- so far this could change

we kinda have thesame list.i guess everybody have a different view of the word 'big', its not about who you think was better, its about who was at the top of the game during that time period.i disagree with nirvana,sorry but they wasnt big where im from,whitney was everywhere.

This entire thread is subjective. I love Whitney but Whitney was more popular during the 80's and had more hits during that decade, sold more, won more awards etc. She actually is a runner up after Prince in my opinion in terms of popularity in the 80's. She was HUGE in the 80's. That does not mean she was not successful during the 90's either but the 80's was at her peak.

mjscarousal said:

MotownSubdivision said:

For the 90s, I'm thinking of replacing Nirvana with Whitney. Nirvana's debut in the music scene was explosive and while I'm sure Kurt Cobain's death raised interest in the band, it seems that their popularity was mainly relegated to the early 90s from their 1991 introduction up until 1994. Whitney was hot throughout the decade and accomplished more than they did overall during the 90s from what I remember. Whitney was huge in the 80s (though not on the level of MJ, Prince, and Madonna) and that carried over to the 90s where she was white hot so I think overall, she was bigger than Nirvana was at the time.

If I could have an expert help me out with this one please?

I agree - Nirvana were only really dominant between late 1991 and early 1995, when the brouhaha over Cobain's suicide died off. In fact grunge itself itself pretty much died by 1995. Late 1994 saw a glut of mediocre quality grunge bands and albums - Vitalogy by Pearl Jam being one of them. Peoiple moved on and what was left of grunge moved into alternative (Smashing Pumpkins, Alanis Morisette, Radiohead) and Britpop sounds (Oasis, Blur). Also douchebag rock type acts like Green Day, Blink 182, Smashmouth, Sugarray dominated the mid to late 90s. By 1999 the whole glossy pop/rock and Idol boyband sound had taken over.

.

Seemed the majors signed a lot of grunge acts in the midst of Nirvana's success, but few really hit as big (Pearl Jam and Mudhoney being exceptions). By late 94, they realised that grunge was not going to be that big anyway. Morose music had no place in the get happy, ecstacy based dance filled 90s sound. Besides they realised too, that Nirvana were unique and pretty much the best of all the grunge groups.

.

I agree with Whitney though, she wa sthere through most of the decade, although her late 90s success was no where near the 1992/93 period. In 1990 she had 2 number ones off "I'll be your baby tonight" (Still a huge come down from the two albums). Then of course the Bodyguard in 1992 -93 and in 1995 she had the shoop shoop thing, 1996 with the Preachers wife and Step by Step era singles in the late 90s. Of course after 1999 she went way down into her crack period. - #3 of the 1990s

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Mariah Carey hit big in 1990 with 4 number one (Vision of love may have been #2 but it was 1 in the UK and New Zealand) hits off the first (1990) album and continued the big hits with Emotions (1991), MTV Unplugged and Xmas album(1992), Music box (1993 and into 1994), Daydream (1995 and 1996 scoring her biggest hit with 1 sweet day in mid 1996). Then 1997's Butterfly and 1999's Rainbow (Also a big hit with Whitney in 1998 - When u believe). Mariah's first flop was glitter in the next decade, Mariah ended the 90s with the smash - Heartbreaker a duet with the dominant act of the next decade - Jay Z. Yet Vision of Love arrived in July 1990!

Not only does she deserve her place, she is probably the number 1 act of the 1990s! #1 of the 1990s

.

Celine deserves her place too, her first big English hit was 1991's Where does my heart beat now, and she hit the big time with the Power of Love in 1994 and dominated 1996 -1998 with her albums Falling into you and Lets talk about love which included the mega smash hit - My heart will go on. In 1999 she had another biggie with "That's the way it is". She easily takes 2nd place as her career was not as consistent as Mariah's but darn close. #2 of the 1990s

I would not even put Nirvana in the Top 10, now thinking about, 4th place would go to Jacko and 5th possibly to Madonna or Toni Braxton or TLC. Prince would be Top 10 for the early 90s, but nowhere in the 1995 - 2000 period. Boyz II Men and Puff Daddy may also enter the Top 10 as well.

[Edited 8/24/14 15:42pm]

60's: Beatles, Supremes, Bob Dylan, I agree

70's: Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder maybe, I wasn't born lol

80's: the big three

90's: From what I remember looking at almost everyone, I would agree with Mariah and Celine. I want to throw in one of the teen acts too if we look at sales cause that was everywhere and there was no getting away from it. I agree that mj would have been #3 of 4 like the last poster said though even 5 is good, cause TLC sold more than him in the late 90's, just slightly.

00's: Eminem, Beyonce/Destiny's Child, Jay Z (or Kanye West since he was responsible for a lot of his hits too). Black Eyed Peas is a good choice though I don't know their sales numbers. I would put coldplay in there too somewhere

10's: I don't know anyone's sales numbers, so have no idea, but it seems like Rihanna, Beyonce and Jay Z are the big ones sales wise, Pharrell maybe?

[Edited 8/24/14 21:15pm]

Adorecream said:

I agree - Nirvana were only really dominant between late 1991 and early 1995, when the brouhaha over Cobain's suicide died off. In fact grunge itself itself pretty much died by 1995. Late 1994 saw a glut of mediocre quality grunge bands and albums - Vitalogy by Pearl Jam being one of them. Peoiple moved on and what was left of grunge moved into alternative (Smashing Pumpkins, Alanis Morisette, Radiohead) and Britpop sounds (Oasis, Blur). Also douchebag rock type acts like Green Day, Blink 182, Smashmouth, Sugarray dominated the mid to late 90s. By 1999 the whole glossy pop/rock and Idol boyband sound had taken over.

.

Seemed the majors signed a lot of grunge acts in the midst of Nirvana's success, but few really hit as big (Pearl Jam and Mudhoney being exceptions). By late 94, they realised that grunge was not going to be that big anyway. Morose music had no place in the get happy, ecstacy based dance filled 90s sound. Besides they realised too, that Nirvana were unique and pretty much the best of all the grunge groups.

.

I agree with Whitney though, she wa sthere through most of the decade, although her late 90s success was no where near the 1992/93 period. In 1990 she had 2 number ones off "I'll be your baby tonight" (Still a huge come down from the two albums). Then of course the Bodyguard in 1992 -93 and in 1995 she had the shoop shoop thing, 1996 with the Preachers wife and Step by Step era singles in the late 90s. Of course after 1999 she went way down into her crack period. - #3 of the 1990s

.

Mariah Carey hit big in 1990 with 4 number one (Vision of love may have been #2 but it was 1 in the UK and New Zealand) hits off the first (1990) album and continued the big hits with Emotions (1991), MTV Unplugged and Xmas album(1992), Music box (1993 and into 1994), Daydream (1995 and 1996 scoring her biggest hit with 1 sweet day in mid 1996). Then 1997's Butterfly and 1999's Rainbow (Also a big hit with Whitney in 1998 - When u believe). Mariah's first flop was glitter in the next decade, Mariah ended the 90s with the smash - Heartbreaker a duet with the dominant act of the next decade - Jay Z. Yet Vision of Love arrived in July 1990!

Not only does she deserve her place, she is probably the number 1 act of the 1990s! #1 of the 1990s

.

Celine deserves her place too, her first big English hit was 1991's Where does my heart beat now, and she hit the big time with the Power of Love in 1994 and dominated 1996 -1998 with her albums Falling into you and Lets talk about love which included the mega smash hit - My heart will go on. In 1999 she had another biggie with "That's the way it is". She easily takes 2nd place as her career was not as consistent as Mariah's but darn close. #2 of the 1990s

I would not even put Nirvana in the Top 10, now thinking about, 4th place would go to Jacko and 5th possibly to Madonna or Toni Braxton or TLC. Prince would be Top 10 for the early 90s, but nowhere in the 1995 - 2000 period. Boyz II Men and Puff Daddy may also enter the Top 10 as well.

[Edited 8/24/14 15:42pm]

These are all good points, I'm surprised Nirvana is mentioned for a whole decade by many when their peak was very condensed and they do not define 10 years of popular music.

Whitney's problem is that her releases were scarce throughout her career, she only had 2 studio albums and 3 soundtracks in the 1990s, while The Bodyguard OST was massive, the other two soundtracks only had a couple of "regular" Whitney tracks. Celine had 3 absolutely massive albums after several hits prior to The Power Of Love so I'd say she is more defining than Whitney.

I'm also surprised that only 1 person mentioned Garth Brooks in this thread, who is absolutely the biggest selling act of the 1990s in the US by a landslide. But he's a total local act and country surely does not define the various genres of pop music (in the 1990s apart from regular pop/rock, adult contemporary R&B and (euro)dance were the most defining in my opinion). In the UK Oasis would likely be the #1 act and yes in the top ten surely Boyz II Men, Puff Daddy, Toni Braxton and even Mary J. Blige could fit. And there is Shania Twain too, although before 1998-9 she was a local act but with Come On Over she scored the biggest solo female album ever...

LiveToTell86 said:

Whitney's problem is that her releases were scarce throughout her career, she only had 2 studio albums and 3 soundtracks in the 1990s, while The Bodyguard OST was massive, the other two soundtracks only had a couple of "regular" Whitney tracks.

The Bodyguard isn't entirely a Whitney album either. Half of it is songs by other acts.

LiveToTell86 said:

I'm also surprised that only 1 person mentioned Garth Brooks in this thread, who is absolutely the biggest selling act of the 1990s in the US by a landslide. But he's a total local act and country surely does not define the various genres of pop music (in the 1990s apart from regular pop/rock, adult contemporary R&B and (euro)dance were the most defining in my opinion). In the UK Oasis would likely be the #1 act and yes in the top ten surely Boyz II Men, Puff Daddy, Toni Braxton and even Mary J. Blige could fit. And there is Shania Twain too, although before 1998-9 she was a local act but with Come On Over she scored the biggest solo female album ever...

I don't think many people on this site follow country music, so might be unaware of the popularity of Garth & Shania. When Garth came out of retirement, there was a big demand for tickets to his Vegas show. People came from other countries to see it. Garth sold way more than Nirvana & Tupac for sure. It's like people who don't listen to new age might not know about the popularity of Mannheim Steamroller.

MotownSubdivision said:

SuperSoulFighter said:

MotownSubdivision said:

Kurt pretty much was Nirvana since hardly anybody talks about the rest of the group unless in reference to all of the band.

The drummer is the leader of the Foo Fighters, and I think they're kinda popular.

MickyDolenz said:

To me these lists should not refer to record sales, only to the artist's influence on popular music. That being said...

60s - The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Sly and the Family Stone

70s - Parliament-Funkadelic, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie

80s - Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince

90s - Nirvana, Dr Dre, Mariah Carey

00s - I stopped paying attention

[Edited 8/25/14 18:19pm]

UncleJam said:

Without Sly there would be no Parliament/Funkadelic, no Prince, no Red Hot Chili Peppers, and an entire generation of hip hop wouldnt have existed. Sly introduced the world to FUNK, and the ones that came after him took it and ran, to the point that you can still hear it today. We may say, "That sounds like Prince" when we hear TImberlake or somebody trying to be retro, but it all came from Sly (James started it...Sly added a hippie groove and perfected it). I hear you though...in all honesty, "The Big 3" only works from the 80s on...there were too many influential groups prior to the 80s that get left out when you try to list only three. In other words, the 80s ws the beginning of the end. AS for Zeppelin...they pretty much created heavy metal. Might just be a personal choice...when i think 'rock n roll', i think of Led Zeppelin.

[Edited 8/25/14 18:54pm]

UncleJam said:

I thought Black Sabbath is generally credited as starting metal.

UncleJam said:

MotownSubdivision said:

MickyDolenz said:

The drummer is the leader of the Foo Fighters, and I think they're kinda popular.

Well throw me in an oven and call me a brownie! I had no idea... is that why Foo Fighters are seemingly so universally loved?

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It plays a part in their popularity, but it also helps that Dave Grohl seems like a really friendly and all-around cool guy. Definitely one of the most charismatic rock frontmen of the last 2 decades.

.

For the 2010s based on the way things are looking so far, I guess I'll have to nominate Rihanna, Katy Perry, and *SIGH* Be(yawn)ce...

Looking dull af so far. I REALLY wanted to say Lady Gaga with how she burst into the scene in such a way and just in time for the start of the decade but she's fallen off BIG time since 2011 and it doesn't look like she's going to be regaining any momentum in the foreseeable future unfortunately. Kind of sad seeing this happen to the biggest star we've had in the last 5-6 years.

EDIT: Scratch Katy and replace her with Bruno. Somebody slap me with butter and call me a biscuit cuz I totally forgot about my favorite artist of this decade. Guess I got too absorbed in all the pessimism today's music inspires but it's looking a tiny bit better with my boy Bruno on the scene adding color to this dull, crappy music scene!

[Edited 9/2/14 11:32am]