[nickfrye]

It's a general question. Most people would probably say the 70s. Your thoughts?

 

[Zanth]

I'd vote the present decade.

 

[West726]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickfrye /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's a general question. Most people would probably say the 70s. Your thoughts?

70s of which century?

 

[tintin47]

^really? Wow. I would vote the present as well, but I didn't expect anyone else to. The 00s have a bit of an unfair advantage for me because I have only really lived in two decades.

Also, everything really depends on what kind of music you listen to.

 

[SiriuslyCold]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd vote the present decade.

Live in the now, eh?

 

[Zanth]

Well, firstly, I get the advantage (as does anyone who wants to) of listening to ALL music that came before today as well as that music that was released today. Defining the best decade for music should take into consideration what is available to listen to.

Regarding outright talent, some of the best albums ever have been released this decade for rock. For Radiohead fans, we were treated to 4 albums plus a solo by Thom. For indie rock, no doubt for me this is the best decade yet, though of course there are gems from each decade.

If one were to argue based on all types of music I would get stuck. I'm a Baroque fan more than a Classical or Romantic fan, but there is more Classical that I like than Baroque, even though the Baroque I do like I prefer over all in the "classical" genre. For jazz I would be hard pressed to argue against the 50's, though the late 30's to early 40's would be prominent as well for me.

Electronic music would be the 90's for me when it was at its peak and rock...well sure I know plenty would say the 60's for the Beatles output, or the 70's for the true pioneers of the current trends in rock, but I could easily argue for the 90's, my "growing years" when grunge hit and bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Screaming Trees, Soundgarden, Neutral Milk Hotel and Radiohead were doing very interesting things that demolished the 15-20 years before them.

So, taking all that into consideration, I like to say this decade because I get the best from the past and the best from the present. Go over to www.SteveHoffman.tv and you will see a sure split between those that think music stopped in the late 70's and those that feel this is the best time to listen to music ever.

Jump outta the past and discover incredible bands that are recording cool music today!

 

[big_sound]

I would say 70's for sheer talented performing. But I would have rather been around for the 60's because of the British invasion.

EDIT: I forgot to say that I would have loved to be a bit older during the 90's to experience the grunge movement.

 

[Sherwood]

00's for sure. The rapidly falling barrier to entry to producing and recording music is making possible fantastic albums by gifted performers that could never had a career otherwise. It's also lowering the cost of truly excellent production and mastering, as more people buy good gear and teach themselves the craft. More songwriters, better songwriters, more selection, better technology, better technical mixing and mastering ability, and a more fragmented "niche" marketplace make for the best decade ever. The next should be even better.

Music is so fantastic, and it gets better every day. Hurray!

 

[Wmcmanus]

65'-'74

 

[krmathis]

'00-09 for me

 

[scytheavatar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth /img/forum/go_quote.gif Regarding outright talent, some of the best albums ever have been released this decade for rock. For Radiohead fans, we were treated to 4 albums plus a solo by Thom. For indie rock, no doubt for me this is the best decade yet, though of course there are gems from each decade.

Nonsense, this decade is undisputed second worst decade for music ever in the 20th/21st century, with the 90's being the worse. The quality has improved somewhat from the 90's, but today's music are generally still recycled from the old days. Some of the best albums ever have been released this decade for rock? For every good rock album you can name from the 00's I can name at least 5 good rock albums from the 70's. But more importantly, this is definetely the worst decade ever production wise and almost every album released this decade is a brickwalled piece of poo.

But in terms of sheer best decade ever for music it has to be in the 1820's, you have the bulk of Schubert's music plus the late Beethoven works.

Edit: Come think of it, maybe the 00's isn't that bad; besides the 90's (the ultimate low point of music) the 80's with their craptastic syn-fruitcake was quite bad a decade too. Still the best decades are definetely the 70's and 60's.

 

[nickyboyo]

It is almost shameful to say it, but the '80's gave us some great music.

The Smiths, The Cure, The Stone Roses, Joy Division, New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, Billy Bragg, Pulp, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, The The...... the list of great British bands from that era is too long to list. Some great acts from USA and Australia to. As kitsch as it may seem, the 80's were kicking.

 

[jjsoviet]

70's and 80's. I grew up listening to Earth Wind and Fire, America, Heart, Chicago and many of those guys.

 

[tru blu]

It floors me that anyone could laud a decade on the back of four albums by one band that I think is a yawn (not bad, mind you, just boring), but that actually says a lot about the current decade: A lot of ordinariness gets passed off as genius.

That said, I'm inclined to namecheck the '60s just for how much stretching was taking place in music across the board from pop to jazz to global to classical (though wmcmanus's bisected decade makes a lot of sense, and I also like '77-86). Just about everything you hear now is somehow rooted in the '60s, and the other thing that was clear about that time is that musicians from different genres were unabashed about learning things from each other. Creatively speaking, I think it translated into considerably more depth.

 

[intoart]

The 60's gave us The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, and Jimi Hendrix. Sorry, but no other decade can even begin to approach that, much less top it!