Was the 1970's the best decade for music?

[-LEK-]

I keep thinking about which decade is the best for music. I think a great argument could be made for the 80s, maybe even 60s.

I was looking at all the albums from the 70s. Soooo many good ones.


Wire- Pink Flag
Gang of Four Entertainment
Nick Drake- Pink Moon
Stooges- Fun House
Rolling Stones Exile on Main St.
Can- Tago Mago
Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
Leonard Cohen- Songs of Love and Hate
Creedence- Cosmo's Factory
Clash- London Calling
Sex Pistols- Never mind
Elvis Costello- This Year's Model
Marvin Gaye- What's Going on
Fleetwood Mac Rumors
Suicide- Suicide
Pink Floyd- Wish You Were Here
Ramones- Ramones
Willy Nelson- Shotgun Willy
Funkadelic- Maggot Brain
Miles Davis- Live Evil

Hendrix, Kraftwwerk, Bowie, James Brown, the Who, King Crimson, the Buzzcocks, Joy Division, Big Star, the Cars, Eno, etc.

There are at least 100 albums that have all gotten extended play and are still in the loop.

 

[argubs2]

Mahavishnu Orchestra - Inner Mounting Flame, Birds of Fire
Return to Forever - Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy, No Mystery
The Beatles - Let it Be (although recorded in the late 60s)
Led Zeppelin - III, IV
Miles Davis - Bitches Brew, Jack Johnson, On the Corner
Derek and the Dominos - In Concert (earlier release of the Live at the Fillmore show)
Weather Report - Weather Report, Heavy Weather, 8:30

 

[General Bland]

Best decade for music and movies.

 

[cricket3]

AKA Let's talk about how the music I grew up with is the best.
AKA Kids today have no clue what good music is.

 

[General Bland]

No. That era is pretty much universally considered the best decade for music and movies with only the 60s being a legitimate challenger.

Of course if you have grown up post 1990 in the age of rap and chick flicks then you have no idea of what good music or movies are so they must appear strange and dated to your stunted palate.

 

[-LEK-]

AKA Let's talk about how the music I grew up with is the best.
AKA Kids today have no clue what good music is.

Im ok with that statement. What is the counter?

 

[WettCat]

If anyone with half an ear listens to music from the 70's and thinks the majority of currently released music is its equal...they are idiots. Especially when so much of today's music is electronically produced instruments with auto-tuned vocals.

Are there exceptions--absolutely. But not when compared to a large catalog of music.

IMO, the only music that would compare to the 70's would be the 60's.

 

[AustinTXCat]

Please add:

Electric Light Orchestra - A New World Record, Out of the Blue, Discovery.
Slade - Slayed?, Old New Borrowed Blue.
Don McLean - American Pie.
Aerosmith - Aerosmith.
Lynyrd Skynyrd - (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)

 

[argubs2]

90's - Golden Age of rap
70's - Golden Age of everything else other than jazz

 

[AustinTXCat]

Dire Straits - Dire Straits.

Many, many more later. I gotta get back to work.

 

[cricket3]

These arguments are solely based on what you grew up listening to 99% of the time, that's all I'm saying.

Now the part about the 70's being the best decade for movies is completely wrong.

Movies from the 70's in IMDB Top 100 - 10
Movies from the 90's in IMDB Top 100 - 23

 

[WettCat]

These arguments are solely based on what you grew up listening to 99% of the time, that's all I'm saying.

Not in this case. Even putting aside what you grew up with and your favorites, today's music doesn't come close to the overall quality of songwriting, vocals and instrumentation.

(I don't watch enough movie's to have an opinion one way or another.)

 

[General Bland]

Now the part about the 70's being the best decade for movies is completely wrong.

Movies from the 70's in IMDB Top 100 - 10
Movies from the 90's in IMDB Top 100 - 23

Gee, I wonder if that has to do with the technology age having more voters? The 1970s have 17 movies in the AFI top 100 moves of all time, that is more than the 80s and 90s combined so please stop trying to argue something you have no idea of. You lose.

3 THE GODFATHER 1972
15 STAR WARS 1977
19 CHINATOWN 1974
20 ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST 1975
28 APOCALYPSE NOW 1979
31 ANNIE HALL 1977
32 THE GODFATHER PART II 1974
46 A CLOCKWORK ORANGE 1971
47 TAXI DRIVER 1976
48 JAWS 1975
64 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND 1977
66 NETWORK 1976
70 THE FRENCH CONNECTION 1971
77 AMERICAN GRAFFITI 1973
78 ROCKY 1976
79 THE DEER HUNTER 1978
89 PATTON 1970

 

[General Bland]

90's movies in AFI top 100. All 8 of them:

9 SCHINDLER'S LIST 1993
65 THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS 1991
71 FORREST GUMP 1994
75 DANCES WITH WOLVES 1990
84 FARGO 1996
94 GOODFELLAS 1990
95 PULP FICTION 1994
98 UNFORGIVEN 1992

Not a terrible list but probably the weakest decade for movies and music. So you're totally wrong on pretty much everything.

 

[argubs2]

Surprised Shawshank isn't on the AFI list but overall, have to agree with Z here.

 

[DaBossIsBack]

Imdb is a terrible list of movies. Afi is a better list. Sight and sound is even better. It gets released once a decade. They also have the top 100 movies according to directors. Every decade for movies can be argued. The 70s was an incredible time for cinema and might be my favorite. The 90s was a great time as well. The nineties saw the rise of digital cinema and the 2000s saw it flourish. I still prefer the film look but digital is much easier to work with.

 

[General Bland]

The list I used was from 1998. Let me redo from 2007 as that means the 90s was missing Shawshank and Saving Private Ryan..

 

[DaBossIsBack]

90's movies in AFI top 100. All 8 of them:

9 SCHINDLER'S LIST 1993
65 THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS 1991
71 FORREST GUMP 1994
75 DANCES WITH WOLVES 1990
84 FARGO 1996
94 GOODFELLAS 1990
95 PULP FICTION 1994
98 UNFORGIVEN 1992

Not a terrible list but probably the weakest decade for movies and music. So you're totally wrong on pretty much everything.

Forrest Gump shouldn't be on any list. Total garbage.

 

[General Bland]

AFI Top 100 from 2007 list. Still a rout but I want to be fair:

2 THE GODFATHER 1972
13 STAR WARS 1977
21 CHINATOWN 1974
30 APOCALYPSE NOW 1979
32 THE GODFATHER PART II 1974
33 ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST 1975
35 ANNIE HALL 1977
52 TAXI DRIVER 1976
53 THE DEER HUNTER 1978
54 M*A*S*H 1970
56 JAWS 1975
57 ROCKY 1976
59 NASHVILLE 1975
62 AMERICAN GRAFFITI 1973
63 CABARET 1972
64 NETWORK 1976
70 A CLOCKWORK ORANGE 1971
77 ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN 1976
93 THE FRENCH CONNECTION 1971
95 THE LAST PICTURE SHOW 1971

8 SCHINDLER'S LIST 1993
50 THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING 2001
68 UNFORGIVEN 1992
71 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN 1998
72 THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION 1994
74 THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS 1991
76 FORREST GUMP 1994
83 TITANIC 1997
89 THE SIXTH SENSE 1999
92 GOODFELLAS 1990
94 PULP FICTION 1994
99 TOY STORY 1995

 

[General Bland]

Forrest Gump shouldn't be on any list. Total garbage.

I think SCHINDLER'S LIST is terribly overrated.

 

[cricket3]

You forgot "Get off my lawn".

Also, of course you originally used a list from 1998. [laughing]

 

[UpstateNYCat]

Yes.

 

[Anthony B]

The 80's was the best for music overall.
For country music, the best decade was the 90's

70's had good music too but the majority of the movies were mediocre. John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies were the exception of course. But generally speaking the quality of acting was vastly inferior as was picture and sound quality.

 

[DSmith21]

Before MTV the music was nearly all that mattered. After 1983, hit acts had to make catchy videos and look the part of rock star too. The quality of the music got watered down in a lot of cases in favor of looks/style of the artists.

 

[*CatinIL*]

I would add Boston's debut album to the list (1976).

 

[UKserialkiller]

Tom Jones.

/thread

 

[funKYcat75]

For country music, the best decade was the 90's

You should just go on and delete your account.

 

[*CatinIL*]

For country music, the best decade was the 90's.

What???

 

[DSmith21]

For country music, the best decade was the 90's

This disqualifies the 1990's from consideration:

 

[Anthony B]

I don't see anything outrageous at all about my statement about 90s country. I'd take the best of Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Vince Gill, Shania Twain, Clint Black, George Strait, Tim McGraw over the likes of Waylon, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, etc. I know they had some clever songs, but a lot of those old school guys were such heavy drinkers and smokers that they couldn't even sing that well. Waylon Jennings was very average. Not terrible, but not good either.

 

[-LEK-]

Waylon Jennings was a terrible singer.

:flush:

 

[funKYcat75]

I don't see anything outrageous at all about my statement about 90s country. I'd take the best of Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Vince Gill, Shania Twain, Clint Black, George Strait, Tim McGraw over the likes of Waylon, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, etc. I know they had some clever songs, but a lot of those old school guys were such heavy drinkers and smokers that they couldn't even sing that well. Waylon Jennings was a terrible singer.

Please don't reproduce.

 

[Anthony B]

Tough crowd round here. Good grief! I post an opinion and get nothing but insults.

 

[*CatinIL*]

Tough crowd round here. Good grief! I post an opinion and get nothing but insults.

Nah...we're just trying to help you see the light. [smoke]

 

[funKYcat75]

Tim McGraw:Country Music::Anthony B:The Paddock

 

[UKGrad93]

Tom Jones.

/thread

What's new pussycat? Whoa, whoa, whoa...

 

[UKGrad93]

Post an opinion that doesn't completely suck and you'll get different responses.

[roll]

 

[UpstateNYCat]

Tom Jones.

/thread

Just threw my bra at the screen. Love the Welsh Warbler.

 

[AustinTXCat]

Just threw my bra at the screen. Love the Welsh Warbler.

[laughing]

 

[DSmith21]

Tom Jones.

/thread

Tom was the inspiration for the Rick Roll: