Good article i love this Stevie Wonder's classic period i would put there Hotter Than July, although not as great as the other albums.

Michael Jackson classic perio from Destiny 1978 to History 1995

Prince classic period from Dirty Mind to LoveSexy 1988 (just because of the great tour, not the album)

Sly and The Family Stone classic period from Stand 1969 to Small Talk 1974

Bob Dylan classic period from The Freewhelin 1963 to John Wesley Harding 1967

Madonna classic period from True Blue 1986 to Confessions On A Dancefloor 2005

NorthC said:

All of Dylan's albums from Time Out of Mind (1997) to Tempest (2012) have been excellent. I do agree about Michael Jackson: if you take 5 years to record an album, you're not on a "creative run". Which is also why I'm not including Kate Bush, who I really love, but she also takes her own sweet time to record an album. Although she had an amazing musical journey from her debut in 1978 up to Hounds of Love in 1985. [Edited 1/1/17 0:13am]

There are only 4 songs I really like on Time Out Of Mind. From '79 onwards, there's not one album of his where I like more than half the tracks. I seldom understand critics' end of year polls for best album either. Dylan often features.

Hounds of Love is an amazing album- I really need to go through everything she's done.

Romeoblu said:

fortuneandserendipity said:

Todd Rundgren. Runt The Ballad of Todd Rundgren Something / Anything A Wizard, A True Star Todd.

Exceptional--if often overlooked--artist.

fortuneandserendipity said:

Dylan (hasnt done a decent album since '78

The 1989 album, Oh Mercy?

The best tracks are Most of the Time and Where Teardrops Fall, maybe Ring them Bells but the rest of it I don't like that much. There's a lot of what I call endless cartwheeling and too many songs sound similar.

MotownSubdivision said:

fortuneandserendipity said:

1) Prince

2) Zappa

3) Bowie (83-87 period incredibly underrated; no decent album since)

4) Dylan (hasnt done a decent album since '78)

5) Lennon (died too soon, did some shit in the 70s tho)

Stevie Wonder hasn't done anything consistently good since '76.

Michael Jackson not prolific enough.

I strongly disagree. The Jacksons' CBS debut in 1976 to HIStory in 1995 is a very impressive streak of music.

To me is from Destiny to History

NorthC said:

Man In the Long Black Coat and Shooting Star are excellemt.

They really are, the best is Man but my favorite is Shooting Star.

[Edited 1/2/17 12:47pm]

fortuneandserendipity said:

Empress said:

fortuneandserendipity said:

1) Prince

2) Zappa

3) Bowie (83-87 period incredibly underrated; no decent album since)

4) Dylan (hasnt done a decent album since '78)

5) Lennon (died too soon, did some shit in the 70s tho)

Stevie Wonder hasn't done anything consistently good since '76.

Michael Jackson not prolific enough.

----Dylan - not true - Time out of mind and Love and Theft are beautiful albums. Prince could've learned something from Bob as far as releasing music went.

Indeed, they are Modern Times as well.

Empress said:

fortuneandserendipity said:

1) Prince

2) Zappa

3) Bowie (83-87 period incredibly underrated; no decent album since)

4) Dylan (hasnt done a decent album since '78)

5) Lennon (died too soon, did some shit in the 70s tho)

Stevie Wonder hasn't done anything consistently good since '76.

Michael Jackson not prolific enough.

----Dylan - not true - Time out of mind and Love and Theft are beautiful albums. Prince could've learned something from Bob as far as releasing music went.

Nah, most of the songs are bereft of melody. Mississippi is some tune though. When he's good he's really good.

fortuneandserendipity said:

Empress said:

fortuneandserendipity said: ----Dylan - not true - Time out of mind and Love and Theft are beautiful albums. Prince could've learned something from Bob as far as releasing music went.

Nah, most of the songs are bereft of melody. Mississippi is some tune though. When he's good he's really good.

You're wrong, how could you dismiss something as great as Not Dark Yet..

hers a band no one mentioned..Chicago

chicago transit Authority

chicag 2

chicago 3

chicago 5

chicago 6

chicago 7

chicago 8

all classics...chicago 4 was live so i didnt count it

214 said:

fortuneandserendipity said:

Nah, most of the songs are bereft of melody. Mississippi is some tune though. When he's good he's really good.

You're wrong, how could you dismiss something as great as Not Dark Yet..

I didn't. My favourite tracks off Time Out Of Mind are Standing in the Doorway, Trying to Get to Heaven, Not Dark Yet, Make You Feel My Love. The rest of it I don't like that much.

fortuneandserendipity said:

214 said:

You're wrong, how could you dismiss something as great as Not Dark Yet..

I didn't. My favourite tracks off Time Out Of Mind are Standing in the Doorway, Trying to Get to Heaven, Not Dark Yet, Make You Feel My Love. The rest of it I don't like that much.

Those are my favorite as well, and Lovesick. A good addittion would have been Red River Shore and Dreamin Of You.

Adorecream said:

206Michelle said:

Regarding Madonna, Ray of Light was very good. She had a lot of success with the album Music also. So I would add the years 1997-2001.

--

Regarding Prince, you are excluding Musicology?

[Edited 12/28/16 10:29am]

- perfect Madonna songs at the summit of her career. When I first heard Justify my love and saw the video I nearly DIED!

.

YAAASSS

Sorry, y'all, the author is right.

There isn't an artist in popular music that had a better creative run than Stevie did in the 70's, He was simply dominant.

A few, like Prince, Sly, Stevie, Dylan, etc. could rival Stevie in terms of creative achievement AND commercial success (many of those listed above have one or the other, but not both).

Even assuming you threw the bands in, Stevie was a band unto himself.

But none of them had runs that were better.

[Edited 1/6/17 21:07pm]

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Sly Stone 68-74

Ice Cube 90-93

If just goin by singles, James Brown 63-72

Sorry, LBC . . . Cube? He's one of my favorite MCs of all time. But his early run doesn't rank that high in the history of popular music overall.

MotownSubdivision said:

fortuneandserendipity said:

1) Prince

2) Zappa

3) Bowie (83-87 period incredibly underrated; no decent album since)

4) Dylan (hasnt done a decent album since '78)

5) Lennon (died too soon, did some shit in the 70s tho)

Stevie Wonder hasn't done anything consistently good since '76.

Michael Jackson not prolific enough.

I strongly disagree. The Jacksons' CBS debut in 1976 to HIStory in 1995 is a very impressive streak of music.

I prefer to examine his solo work separate from his group efforts for purposes of this discussion. In hindsight, he did record 4 during the period conventionally considered his prime, 1979-1991. One every 3 years ain't bad. Now doing an apples-to-apples comparison to Stevie's run is more daunting, but it's fair to say he was more prolific in his prime than we remember.

I agree with the sentiment that Michael Jackson wasn't prolific enough to qualify here, and this is not to imply that he wasn't great.

Prince 1928-1993 - Not only did this period typically include an annual acclaimed and successful album and Top 10 single (Prince was the first to do it 10 years in a row), this period also included perhaps the greatest decade+ of great unreleased songs and some of the most acclaimed tours of all time.

I agree that Stevie Wonder is up there.

Under-rated here is the entire U2 catalogue, especially 1980 to 1993. Despite being a band that many hated, all of their albums have received at least some critical favor and big commercial success. The 1980 to 1993 era included:

Boy

October

War

The Unforgettable Fire

The Joshua Tree

Rattle and Hum

achtung Baby

Zooropa

At least 3 were widely hailed as masterpieces (War, Joshua, and Rattle).

I don't think anyone here has mentioned the great run by REM, especially between 1983 and 1996. All of the albums received a high level of praise and at least some commercial success (alternative radio and college radio thrived on them!)

Murmur

Reckoning

Fables of the Reconstruction (brilliant)

Life's Rich Pageant

Document

Green

Out of Time

Automatic for the People

Monster

New Adventures in Hi-Fi

For me, I didn't like much of pop music during the 1980s but the music of Prince, REM, and U2 was aomong my favorite of all time.

Stevie Wonder definitely has a place in this discussion. Anyway, my choices (in sort-of chronological order):

.

The Beatles: 1962 to 1969 -- entire body of work, all 1st-rate. (As 'solo' artists, they continue at peak level in 1970 and 1971, but spotty thereafter.)

.

Joan Baez: 1960 to 1975 -- from age 19 to 34 she produced A LOT of good records; I really like her, and whatever happened this kind of (very white) singer? Obsolete style today, but she is still goin' strong.

.

Bob Dylan: 1962 to 1976 -- from his debut to Desire (1976), he's untouchable (almost). Thereafter, he's hit and miss, and most recordings are a mixed-bag (though I think his live peak was probably around 1981, but whatever). After the early 80s, his voice is shot.

.

Joni Mitchell: 1968 to 1976 -- I agree with the poster above who said everything from her first record to Hejira (1976) is unbeatable. When the dust settles, she is the greatest female songwriter (in English) ever, and probably 2nd only to Dylan overall.

.

Stevie Wonder: 1971 to 1980 -- (I'm tempted to end before Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants, but we'll give him a golf mulligan). Just amazing visionary + enormous talent.

.

Bob Marley: 1970(-ish) to 1980 -- hard to tell when to start with Bob, because the pre-'73 releases are a mess of multi-label out-of-print sketchy-copyright Jamaican-only issues, but anyway in the 70s he was outasight.

.

Prince: 1979 to 1991 -- a couple of minor duds in the late-80s, but this is an unprecedented (long) period of amazing genre-busting music basically written / played / produced by one guy.

.

U2: 1980 to 1993 -- mostly essential albums. They don't get enough credit for this period, really, because they've gone on so (too?) long and become a bit of a dinosaur-act. But history will remember them for this era of genius. Really unique music, too.

.

Honorable mentions:

Elvis c. 1954 to 1960 -- still some patchiness here, but mostly great releases up to Elvis is Back!

.

The Police / Sting c.1978 to 1993 -- I guess if we put these two together, then it's definitely up in the top-tier (above). Like U2, Sting has gone on a long time and become close to a self-parody, but his peak years are unbelievable.

.

R.E.M. c. 1983 to 1996 -- amazing period of fertility.

[Edited 1/8/17 19:52pm]

For everyone saying that MJ was not prolific enough to be qualified, the general public says otherwise as well as his incomparible stats. He deserves to be listed, without question.

ThePanther said:

Stevie Wonder definitely has a place in this discussion. Anyway, my choices (in sort-of chronological order):

.

The Beatles: 1962 to 1969 -- entire body of work, all 1st-rate. (As 'solo' artists, they continue at peak level in 1970 and 1971, but spotty thereafter.)

.

Joan Baez: 1960 to 1975 -- from age 19 to 34 she produced A LOT of good records; I really like her, and whatever happened this kind of (very white) singer? Obsolete style today, but she is still goin' strong.

.

Bob Dylan: 1962 to 1976 -- from his debut to Desire (1976), he's untouchable (almost). Thereafter, he's hit and miss, and most recordings are a mixed-bag (though I think his live peak was probably around 1981, but whatever). After the early 80s, his voice is shot.

.

Joni Mitchell: 1968 to 1976 -- I agree with the poster above who said everything from her first record to Hejira (1976) is unbeatable. When the dust settles, she is the greatest female songwriter (in English) ever, and probably 2nd only to Dylan overall.

.

Stevie Wonder: 1971 to 1980 -- (I'm tempted to end before Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants, but we'll give him a golf mulligan). Just amazing visionary + enormous talent.

.

Bob Marley: 1970(-ish) to 1980 -- hard to tell when to start with Bob, because the pre-'73 releases are a mess of multi-label out-of-print sketchy-copyright Jamaican-only issues, but anyway in the 70s he was outasight.

.

Prince: 1979 to 1991 -- a couple of minor duds in the late-80s, but this is an unprecedented (long) period of amazing genre-busting music basically written / played / produced by one guy.

.

U2: 1980 to 1993 -- mostly essential albums. They don't get enough credit for this period, really, because they've gone on so (too?) long and become a bit of a dinosaur-act. But history will remember them for this era of genius. Really unique music, too.

.

Honorable mentions:

Elvis c. 1954 to 1960 -- still some patchiness here, but mostly great releases up to Elvis is Back!

.

The Police / Sting c.1978 to 1993 -- I guess if we put these two together, then it's definitely up in the top-tier (above). Like U2, Sting has gone on a long time and become close to a self-parody, but his peak years are unbelievable.

.

R.E.M. c. 1983 to 1996 -- amazing period of fertility.

[Edited 1/8/17 19:52pm]

Prince should end at lovesexy he had good records after but they were very middle of the road song craftmenship rather than burst of creativity spontaneous genius. Also I think joni is equal to greater than dylan even though she doesnt get the credit.

ThePanther said:

Stevie Wonder definitely has a place in this discussion. Anyway, my choices (in sort-of chronological order):

.

The Beatles: 1962 to 1969 -- entire body of work, all 1st-rate. (As 'solo' artists, they continue at peak level in 1970 and 1971, but spotty thereafter.)

.

Joan Baez: 1960 to 1975 -- from age 19 to 34 she produced A LOT of good records; I really like her, and whatever happened this kind of (very white) singer? Obsolete style today, but she is still goin' strong.

.

Bob Dylan: 1962 to 1976 -- from his debut to Desire (1976), he's untouchable (almost). Thereafter, he's hit and miss, and most recordings are a mixed-bag (though I think his live peak was probably around 1981, but whatever). After the early 80s, his voice is shot.

.

Joni Mitchell: 1968 to 1976 -- I agree with the poster above who said everything from her first record to Hejira (1976) is unbeatable. When the dust settles, she is the greatest female songwriter (in English) ever, and probably 2nd only to Dylan overall.

.

Stevie Wonder: 1971 to 1980 -- (I'm tempted to end before Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants, but we'll give him a golf mulligan). Just amazing visionary + enormous talent.

.

Bob Marley: 1970(-ish) to 1980 -- hard to tell when to start with Bob, because the pre-'73 releases are a mess of multi-label out-of-print sketchy-copyright Jamaican-only issues, but anyway in the 70s he was outasight.

.

Prince: 1979 to 1991 -- a couple of minor duds in the late-80s, but this is an unprecedented (long) period of amazing genre-busting music basically written / played / produced by one guy.

.

U2: 1980 to 1993 -- mostly essential albums. They don't get enough credit for this period, really, because they've gone on so (too?) long and become a bit of a dinosaur-act. But history will remember them for this era of genius. Really unique music, too.

.

Honorable mentions:

Elvis c. 1954 to 1960 -- still some patchiness here, but mostly great releases up to Elvis is Back!

.

The Police / Sting c.1978 to 1993 -- I guess if we put these two together, then it's definitely up in the top-tier (above). Like U2, Sting has gone on a long time and become close to a self-parody, but his peak years are unbelievable.

.

R.E.M. c. 1983 to 1996 -- amazing period of fertility.

[Edited 1/8/17 19:52pm]

Prince should end at lovesexy he had good records after but they were very middle of the road song craftmenship rather than burst of creativity spontaneous genius. Also I think joni is equal to greater than dylan even though she doesnt get the credit.

mjscarousal said:

For everyone saying that MJ was not prolific enough to be qualified, the general public says otherwise as well as his incomparible stats. He deserves to be listed, without question.

.

He definitely doesn't. I realize you think the sun shines out of his behind, but try to be objective about it:

(a) He made only 2 universally critically-regarded albums (Off the Wall and Thriller). So, right there, that denies him entry to this list. And...

(b) He was notably un-prolific. In the 80s -- the decade he supposedly dominated -- he released 2 albums (you can made it 3 if you sneak in Off the Wall). Now compare that to other artists frequently appearing on this list -- even Michael's contemporaries -- in their greatest periods.

ThePanther said:

mjscarousal said:

For everyone saying that MJ was not prolific enough to be qualified, the general public says otherwise as well as his incomparible stats. He deserves to be listed, without question.

.

He definitely doesn't. I realize you think the sun shines out of his behind, but try to be objective about it:

(a) He made only 2 universally critically-regarded albums (Off the Wall and Thriller). So, right there, that denies him entry to this list. And...

(b) He was notably un-prolific. In the 80s -- the decade he supposedly dominated -- he released 2 albums (you can made it 3 if you sneak in Off the Wall). Now compare that to other artists frequently appearing on this list -- even Michael's contemporaries -- in their greatest periods.

The man was a genius and was blessed with God given talent and made great pop music, those are the facts. Michael did not release a lot of albums as a solo act but that does not reflect the creativity or quality of the music that he did make. Everybody across the globe knows all the lyrics to Off the Wall, Thriller and BAD (groundbreaking, iconic and important albums in the history of music and most importantly good quality and creative pop music). In fact, ALL of his albums up until History were solid. He had a good solid creative pop run, spanning 13 number one hits and classic gems that stand the test of time through out his run. AGAIN, don't take my word for it, his music and impact speaks for itself.

mjscarousal said:

The man was a genius and was blessed with God given talent and made great pop music, those are the facts. Michael did not release a lot of albums as a solo act but that does not reflect the creativity or quality of the music that he did make. Everybody across the globe knows all the lyrics to Off the Wall, Thriller and BAD (groundbreaking, iconic and important albums in the history of music and most importantly good quality and creative pop music). In fact, ALL of his albums up until History were solid. He had a good solid creative pop run, spanning 13 number one hits and classic gems that stand the test of time through out his run. AGAIN, don't take my word for it, his music and impact speaks for itself.

As does his image...

.

Look, maybe you're losing sight of the plot here -- the topic isn't "Who is great?". The topic is, "greatest creative run". To me, that implies a sustained series of releases that are (mostly) universally acclaimed. Michael Jackson had two great albums, separated by three years. That's it. I don't care how many copies his other albums sold -- they're not universally acclaimed. Most people today don't play them. They'll never end up on popular lists of the Greatest Albums. Because they're not. Even if you did count Bad (and you shouldn't) that gives him, at most, three such albums in eight years. In eight years, The Beatles recorded every note of their entire career. Stevie Wonder went from 'My Cherie Amour' to Songs in the Key of Life. On top of which, artists like them and Joni Mitchell -- in adulthood, anyway -- wrote all their own songs and played their own instruments. Michael Jackson wrote some songs, but had many written for him. He can't play an instrument. Over eight years, Michael Jackson's song got worse, his videos just repeated themselves over and over, and he managed to scare away the only sensible person who unequivocally helped him -- Quincy Jones. The only thing that showed any kind of development was his nose.

ThePanther said: