New topic
Printable| Author | Message |
Favorite year of each decade? As far back as your tastes/knowledge goes, what is your favorite individual year for each decade?
The 60s were great but my real interest begins with the 70s so I'll start there: 1970s '78: A difficult choice considering there never really was a bad year this decade but when you got albums from the likes of Slave, The Brothers Johnson, The Jacksons, Parliament AND Funkadelic, Marvin Gaye, Billy Joel, Teddy Pendergrass, Heatwave, Maze (featuring Frankie Beverly), L.T.D., and Chic (to name a few) then it's hard to beat. Let's also shine some light on promising if not HOT debuts from legendary names like Chaka Khan (solo), Van Halen, Rick James, Prince, The Police and The Cars. Runner-Up: This one was also tough. I went back and forth between '73, '75, '76 and '77 but landed with '73 (The year of Let's Get It On (the song and the album), the year of Innervisions, the year of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, the year of 3 + 3, The Payback, Abandoned Luncheonette, Wild And Peaceful, Selling England By The Pound, The Dark Side Of The Moon...). 1980s '84: Surprise, surprise! [Pop] music's GOAT year forevermore. Runner-Up: '82, '83, '87 (All awesome for some of the same reasons but largely for the unique flavors each year had. '82 was perhaps the hottest year of the post-disco era and a firm foundation for what was to come in the following few years. '83 was probably the peak of the Second British Invasion in terms of the New Wave sound and was basically '84 before '84 itself outdid it. '87 was just fire: big albums, big songs and big presence from practically every artist the decade is synonymous with (MJ, Prince, Madonna, Whitney, George Michael, Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Def Leppard.) 1990s '94: My birth year (favoritism may be at play) and just an incredible year for music. Hip hop was in the thick of the East VS West Coast feud and was firing on all cylinders with classic, at best and very good, at worst albums from just about every cardinal direction. West: Snoop Dogg (Doggystyle), Ice Cube (Lethal Injection), Warren G (Regulate... G Funk Era), the Murder Was The Case soundtrack East: Nas (Illmatic), Biggie (Ready To Die), Gang Starr (Hard To Earn), Method Man (Tical), Beastie Boys (Ill Communication) Midwest: Da Brat (Funkdafied), Common (Resurrection), Bone Thugs (Creepin' On Ah Come Up) South: Outkast (Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik), Scarface (The Diary), UGK (Super Tight) Not to mention Janet killing the charts with the singles off her 5th album, Madonna still showing her stuff, TLC dropping CrazySexyCool, Aaliyah's debut, Boyz II Men's II, The Offspring's, Weezer's and Green Day's debut on the rock side, many memorable singles and chart presence across the board from The Pretenders to En Vogue and Salt N Pepa. R. Kelly, Ace of Base, Prince, Toni Braxton, Mariah, Celine Dion, etc., etc., etc... Some of these things listed I haven't listened to but LORD what a year! Definitely a worthy follow up to 1984 a whole decade in the making. Runner-Up: '97 2000s '06: Not a noteworthy year outside of personal reasons. Had been out of the hood and living in the suburbs for only a year and ironically, started getting into rap music and actually seeking it out. This would slowly, slowly manifest itself into the evergrowing love I have for music now. 2010s '15: The charts were mostly trash but the albums released and the artists who released those albums were another story. After a bottom of barrel, absolute scumfest of a year that was 2014, music trended upward, especially on the hip hop side with albums from Kendrick Lamar, Lupe Fiasco, Drake, Vince Staples, Travis Scott and a returning (if only for the time) Dr. Dre. Adele dropped her long awaited follow-up, Dâm-Funk showed out on his double LP and made the legends of funk's past proud, speaking of which, this was the year of "Uptown Funk" (Mark Ronson dropped a nice callback album to house the song), Alabama Shakes made their mark with Sound & Color and perhaps most monumental was the return of Janet Jackson after a long 7 year hiatus. Runner-Up: '12 (Once again, this one may be kinda biased since I graduated high school this year but 2012 was kind of the last gasp of monoculture in music. Through hits like "Call Me Maybe", "Somebody That I Used to Know", "We Are Young" and "Gangnam Style", it seemed like everyone was on the same page even if it would be for the final time before streaming began to change the way we take in music. I remember reading an article about that broached the idea and broke it down, even going so far as to compare 2012 to 1984 in that regard. Another way I'd compare it to '84 is through Adele's chart dominance with 21 being the first album to be Billboard's #1 album in back to back years ('11/'12) since Thriller did it in '83/'84. Far from being as colorful and as fun as '84 but being inferior to the best is hardly a criticism and you can see the parallels. There was still a good amount of both qualities in the form of some of the most memorable songs of the decade and to a much lesser degree, albums that hail from my graduation year.) [Edited 11/1/20 9:13am] [Edited 11/21/20 9:29am] [Edited 11/22/20 18:34pm] | |
- E-mail - orgNote -  Report post to moderator |
Bump | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
I don't really think of music in that way, but lemme give it a try:
1956: the birth of rock & roll! 1969 had Woodstock, that's hard to beat. 1970s is more difficult, lots of great music (also lots of shitty music, I mean disco) but I can't really think of one year that stood out. Oh well. My birth year was 1971, which had What's Going On, There's a Riot Going On (was Sly answering Marvin's Question?), Sticky Fingers by the Stones, Hot Pants by JB, the Concert for Bangladesh, which was the first benefit concert and had Bob Dylan and George Harrison sharing a stage... Not bad. From then it's mostly based on personal experience: 1987 is when I really discovered music: new albums by Terence Trent d'Arby, Prince, Michael Jackson, George Michael (even though I lost interest in those two later) and the breakthrough of Midnight Oil, who just released a new album. 1995 had lots of great new music and live shows by "The Artist", Lenny Kravitz, The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Plus there was a bit of a funk revival going on with acts like Bootsy going on the road again. And in the new millennium? I don't really know, the old acts keep making albums, sometimes there's a good new artist, but no year that stands out. Oh, alright, 2014 because the unthinkable happened: Kate Bush returned to the stage! [Edited 11/1/20 8:01am] [Edited 11/1/20 8:04am] If you take any of this seriously, you're a bigger fool than I am. | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
SantanaMaitreya said: I don't really think of music in that way, but lemme give it a try:
Hey hey hey... respect the disco, brother!
1956: the birth of rock & roll! 1969 had Woodstock, that's hard to beat. 1970s is more difficult, lots of great music (also lots of shitty music, I mean disco) but I can't really think of one year that stood out. Oh well. My birth year was 1971, which had What's Going On, There's a Riot Going On (was Sly answering Marvin's Question?), Sticky Fingers by the Stones, Hot Pants by JB, the Concert for Bangladesh, which was the first benefit concert and had Bob Dylan and George Harrison sharing a stage... Not bad. From then it's mostly based on personal experience: 1987 is when I really discovered music: new albums by Terence Trent d'Arby, Prince, Michael Jackson, George Michael (even though I lost interest in those two later) and the breakthrough of Midnight Oil, who just released a new album. 1995 had lots of great new music and live shows by "The Artist", Lenny Kravitz, The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Plus there was a bit of a funk revival going on with acts like Bootsy going on the road again. And in the new millennium? I don't really know, the old acts keep making albums, sometimes there's a good new artist, but no year that stands out. Oh, alright, 2014 because the unthinkable happened: Kate Bush returned to the stage! [Edited 11/1/20 8:01am] [Edited 11/1/20 8:04am] '71 is a good choice. That's the year the mom graduated high school. 1995 was also a hot year for hip hop; really from '93-'98, you couldn't go wrong as far as hip hop goes. [Edited 11/1/20 9:15am] | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
I don't really remember the specific year songs/records came out. There's certain records I know the year it came out, because I bought it and I've seen the copyright date on it from looking at the cover a lot. You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
I think the only decade that is debateable is the 00's because there are so many great years to choose from. Hard for me to choose betwee 2002, 2006 and 2009. 79 87 95 06 16 [Edited 11/1/20 15:50pm] | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
During my lifetime: 1970's -- 1977 2010's -- 2015 [Edited 11/2/20 7:56am] Good night, sweet Prince | 7 June 1958 - 21 April 2016
Props will be withheld until the showing and proving has commenced. -- Aaron McGruder | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
Good list. | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
80s and 90s cause I know the most music from those times though I’m into some 70s as well
1978 1984 1995 [Edited 11/2/20 16:57pm] | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
Good night, sweet Prince | 7 June 1958 - 21 April 2016
Props will be withheld until the showing and proving has commenced. -- Aaron McGruder | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
Prince said the musical "Golden Age" was the 60's and early 70's | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
Margot said: Prince said the musical "Golden Age" was the 60's and early 70's Do you agree with it? | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
MotownSubdivision said: Margot said: Prince said the musical "Golden Age" was the 60's and early 70's Do you agree with it? So did he count his own music out?  | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
1959 Jazz gets a shot in the arm with Dave Brubeck (Time Out), Mile Davis (Kind of Blue), Charles Mingus (Mingus ah um) and Kenny Dorham (Blue Spring), along with some good work by Wynton Kelly, Pete Fountain and Sonny Rollins. Vocal vamps keep things smooth with Julie London, Abbe Lane, Norma Bengell and Annie Ross releasing some great albums.
On the subject of great vocalists, Frank Sinatra, Blossom Dearie and Abbey Lincoln put out some nice depressing stuff. Dinah Washington, Della Reese and The Platters have albums built around key singles.
Rock & Roll reels from Buddy Holly’s death, and a number of posthumous albums of his are put out. The movement grows with the continued rise of Chuck Berry (Berry is on Top) and Ritchie Valens. Blues also gets some solid compilations from John Lee Hooker and B.B. King.
Robert Drasnin (Voodoo) and Tom Dissevelt & Kid Balton (The Fascinating World of Electronic Music) engage in strange instrumental experimentation, foreshadowing melodic noise.
1965 Brit Invasion: Rolling Stones (Out of Our Heads), The Who (My Generation), The Beatles (Rubber Soul + Help!)
Motown laid the foundation, now they were expanding the city: Four Tops (Second Album - many classics), More Hits by the Supremes, Marvin Gaye (How Sweet It Is…), The Miracles (Going to a Go-Go), Martha and the Vandellas (Dance Party), The Temptations sing Smokey, etc
Bob Dylan with 2 albums Wilson Pickett In the Midnight Hour A Love Supreme by John Coltrane and Juju by Wayne Shorter sombre us that the dominance of Jazz is drawing to a close Fun album by The McCoys (Hang on Sloopy)
And here’s some food for thought. The Righteous Brothers released 4 albums this year, spread across them were ‘Unchained Melody’ and ‘You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling’ among others. The Beach Boys released 3 albums, spread across those were ‘California Girls’, ‘Help me Ronda’, ‘Barbara Anne’, etc. Imagine if they cut the crap and put all their best material on one album, no filler, each might have released close to the best albums in their respective fields.
1972
Singer-Songwriter movement continues: Harvest (Neil Young), Still Bill (Bill Withers), Don Quixote (Gordon Lightfoot), For the Roses (Joni Mitchell) and Pink Moon (Nick Drake)
Classic albums with big singles like All Directions by The Temptations, Honky Chateau by Uncle Elton, Can’t Buy a Thrill by Steely Dan and Homecoming by America. Stevie Wonder gathers steam with two albums, including Talking Book.
Glam gets big with Ziggy Stardust, The Slider by T-Rex, Captain Beyond and Transformer by Lou Reed
Hard Rock: Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Uriah Heap, Jerusalem
Soul: Be Altitude: Respect Yourself (Staple Singers), Al Green with x2 brilliant albums and Bobby Womack
Miles Davis gets funky with On the Corner, and speaking of funk, two albums supporting Blaxploitation films that started to put interest into original soundtracks - Superfly by Curtis Mayfield and Trouble Man by Marvin Gaye.
1985
Bombast: Big sounds as career zeniths are released in the best year for Pop music. Tears for Fears (Songs from the Big Chair), Simple Minds (particularly with one ‘lil track that they weren't enthusiastic about recording or wanted to put on Once Upon a Time which ended up on The Breakfast Club soundtrack), Dire Straits (Brothers in Arms), Kate Bush (Hounds of Love), The Eurythmics (Be Yourself Tonight), Howard Jones (Dream into Actions), Prince (Around the World), Phil Collins (No Jacket Required), The Commodores (Nightshift), Models (Out of Sight Out of Mind) etc.
Sophisti-Pop: Bryan Ferry assembles the avengers for one of the best produced albums of the 80s in Boys & Girls, with Dave Gilmour, Mr Nile Rodgers, Mark Knopfler, Marcus Miller, Omar Hakim, etc all contributing. The genre is huge this year, with Prefab Sprout, Sade, Simply Red, The Style Council, The Dream Academy (ah-hey-ma-ma-ma-me), China Crisis, Thomas Leer, The Colour Field, The Twins, Belouis Some, Animal Nightlife, etc giving up the good stuff
Goth/Industrial/EBM taking rustic form: Skinny Puppy (Bites), Sisters of Mercy (First and Last and Always), Dead Can Dance (Spleen and Ideal), Einsturzende Neubaten (½ Mensch), Die Krupps (Entering the Arena), The Cure (The Head on the Door), Alien Sex Fiend (Maximum Security), Neon (Rituals)
Golden Palominos have Michael Stipe on Visions of Excess, taking post-punk into strange new levels. Clio closes out Italo-Disco with ‘Faces’. Solid Rock albums include Killing Joke’s Nighttime, The Cult with Love and Hoodoo Guru’s Mars Needs Guitars. Ratt’s Invasion of Your Privacy is a nice guilty pleasure.
1994
Alienation, Disillusion & Nihilism are prevalent across concept albums like The Downward Spiral and Illmatic. Shyheim releases Illmatic for 12 year olds, The Rugged Child.
Electronica: Big beats on Music for the Jilted Generation. EBM powers up with FLA (Millenium), Project Pitchfork (Io), Covenant (Dreams of a Cryotank), Die Warzau (Engine), Sister Machine Gun (The Tortue Technique) and Mentallo & The Fixer (Where Angels Fear to Tread). This shifts us into alternative, along with Soundgarden.
Trip-Hop: Golden Palominos’ Pure has a big fat titty on the album cover and there are some big fat beats inside. Then there’s Dummy by Portishead, Protection by Massive Attack and Semantic Spaces by Delerium. Seal follows up his masterpiece, Seal, with his second album, Seal.
Dreamy female vocals are on show with Vanessa Daou (Zipless), Milla Jovovich (The Divine Comedy), Des’ree (I ain’t Movin’), Miranda Sex Garden (Fairytales of Slavery), Loreena McKennitt (The Mask and The Mirror) and Crystal Waters (Storyteller). The just plain talented Tori Amos releases Under the Pink, Luscious Jackson with Natural Ingredients and Anonymous 4 compile Love’s Illusion.
Reinvention arcs come about with Johnny Cash (American Recordings), Gary Numan reinventing himself with Sacrifice, Killing Joke going full metal with Pandemonium and Pop Will Eat Itself signing with Nothing and producing their best, Dos Dedos Mis Amigos.
Soundtracks: The Crow, The Mask, Above the Rim, Macross Plus, Street Fighter, Jason’s Lyrics, A Low Down Dirty Shame, etc
2002
Future Pop: Project Pitchfork (Inferno, Trialog + View From a Throne), VNV Nation (Futureperfect), Covenant (Northern Light), Icon of Coil (The Soul is in the Software), Apotygma Berzerk (Harmonizer), Meat Beat Manifesto (RUOK?), Dismantled, Informatik (Nymphomatik)
Women driven dance pop: t.A.t.U., Kelli Ali, Amber, Holly Valance
Darkwave: Black Tape for a Blue Girl, Male or Female, Kidneythieves
Eclectic albums from Sixteen Horsepower (Folklore), Blackalicious (Blazing Arrow), Buckethead (Electric Tears), Mediaeval Baebes (The Rose), David Bowie (Heathen), Joe Bonamassa (So, It’s Like That)
2014
f(x) made one the best Kpop albums ever with Pink Tape, so naturally followed it up with a better one in Red Light. It helped to recruit some big guns like Thomas Troelson, Teddy Riley, Maegan Cottone, Dianna Corcoran, etc The Birthday Massacre do likewise with Superstition. Faun release Luna Synthwave: Timecop1983 (Childhood Memories + Journeys), The Midnight (Days of Thunder), Cybernetika (Solar Nexus), Trevor Something (Synthetic Love) Pop: Najwa (Rat Race), Tove Lo (Queen of the Clouds), Kiesza (Sound of a Woman), Mo (No Mythologies to Follow), Banks (Goddess)
[Edited 11/6/20 15:49pm] [Edited 11/15/20 4:45am]  I'm afraid of Americans. I'm afraid of the world. | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
Good night, sweet Prince | 7 June 1958 - 21 April 2016
Props will be withheld until the showing and proving has commenced. -- Aaron McGruder | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
64-69 70-76 Not a fan of disco or anything that came out of the 80-90 decade | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
hollygolightly said: 64-69
Just curious, why aren't you a fan of disco or anything from the entirety of the 80s?70-76 Not a fan of disco or anything that came out of the 80-90 decade [Edited 11/22/20 18:35pm] | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
He said he was glad he wasn't competing with musicians of that time period.
| |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
Margot said: Prince said the musical "Golden Age" was the 60's and early 70's You're talking about that George Lopez interview right? Because he also mentioned the 80s. Lol, but man he sure isn't wrong the 60s, 70s and 80s were perfect (I'd throw the 50s too) | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
The 50s: 1956 The 60s: 1968 The 70s: 1971 The 80s: 1984 The 90s: None because music died then The 00s: None The 10s: None RIP to music 1950s-1980s. Just like Prince once said 60s-80s golden ages. | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
MickyDolenz said:
I don't really remember the specific year songs/records came out. There's certain records I know the year it came out, because I bought it and I've seen the copyright date on it from looking at the cover a lot. I thought you grew up in the 70s as well, especially for music? | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
hollygolightly said: 64-69 70-76 Not a fan of disco or anything that came out of the 80-90 decade Disco... I personally liked it for Donna Summer and Bee Gees but overall... It was weird... Not the best type of music that's for sure. But as a teen then people would make fun of me for listening to those 2 disco acts specifically🤣 | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
namepeace said:
Prince didn't mean it in terms of formative years though. Type Prince and George Lopez interview 2011, he explains why the 60s-80s were the golden ages | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
1940s 1941 - The Andrews Sisters "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "Chattanooga Choo Choo" . 1950s 1959 - Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Santo and Johnny, The Flamingos, Jackie Wilson . 1960s 1969 - The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Tommy James and The Shondells, Chicago, Spiral Staircase, Blood, Sweat, and Tears, Santana, Rare Earth, Norman Greenbaum, The Rascals, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Credence Clearwater Revival, The Archies, The 5th Dimension, The Friends Of Distinction, Ike and Tina Turner, James Brown, Sly And The Family Stone, The Soul Children, The Temptations . 1970s 1979 - Donna Summer, Foxy, Chic, Lakeside, Shalamar, The Whispers, Fatback, Mass Production, Prince, Rick James, Michael Jackson, The Village People, Con Funk Shun, The Barkays, Lipps, Inc. . 1980s 1982 - Prince, The Time, Vanity 6, Rick James, Bobby Nunn, Bill Summers and Summers Heat, Cameo, Zapp, The Barkays, One Way, War, Sunrize, The Gap Band, Goodie, Trouble Funk, Stacy Lattisaw, Bootsy's Rubberband, New Horizons, Videeo, Libra, Shock, Patrice Rushen, Howard Johnson, Change, The Reddings, Skyy, Soul Sonic Force, Planet Patrol, The Jonzun Crew, Warp 9, Orbiit, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Attitude . 1990s 1990 - Black Box, C & C Music Factory, The 49ers, Jomanda, Lonnie Gordan, Madonna, Musto and Bones, Pat and Mick, Gino Latino, Deee-Lite, 2 In A Room . . .
[Edited 12/30/20 3:55am] Andy is a four letter word. | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
vainandy said: 1940s 1941 - The Andrews Sisters "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "Chattanooga Choo Choo" . 1950s 1959 - Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Santo and Johnny, The Flamingos, Jackie Wilson . 1960s 1969 - The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Tommy James and The Shondells, Chicago, Spiral Staircase, Blood, Sweat, and Tears, Santana, Rare Earth, Norman Greenbaum, The Rascals, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Credence Clearwater Revival, The Archies, The 5th Dimension, The Friends Of Distinction, Ike and Tina Turner, James Brown, Sly And The Family Stone, The Soul Children, The Temptations . 1970s 1979 - Donna Summer, Foxy, Chic, Lakeside, Shalamar, The Whispers, Fatback, Mass Production, Prince, Rick James, Michael Jackson, The Village People, Con Funk Shun, The Barkays, Lipps, Inc. . 1980s 1982 - Prince, The Time, Vanity 6, Rick James, Bobby Nunn, Bill Summers and Summers Heat, Cameo, Zapp, The Barkays, One Way, War, Sunrize, The Gap Band, Goodie, Trouble Funk, Stacy Lattisaw, Bootsy's Rubberband, New Horizons, Videeo, Libra, Shock, Patrice Rushen, Howard Johnson, Change, The Reddings, Skyy, Soul Sonic Force, Planet Patrol, The Jonzun Crew, Warp 9, Orbiit, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Attitude . 1990s 1990 - Black Box, C & C Music Factory, The 49ers, Jomanda, Lonnie Gordan, Madonna, Musto and Bones, Pat and Mick, Gino Latino, Deee-Lite, 2 In A Room . . .
[Edited 12/30/20 3:55am] I know you're old school like me and you also feel that 90s and 00s music sucked... But was house music in 1990 that good? I've never heard it in my life... So I'm willing to check it out. | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |