The 2000s so far, the 90s, the 80s or for the older crowd, the 70s or 60s? which decade do you think spawned the best songs overall?

Probably the 80's, as Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann was first performed in 1881, although Offenbach had died the year before.

Did it have a clarinet in it?

For me, i find this almost impossible to answer. I mean, i'm still discovering great songs from the '40s through the '90s from artists i'd never heard before and music genres i've only begun to discover. I'll never be able to distinguish between the quality of great music per decade til i hear all i want to hear- and that ain't never gonna happen!

I do think this is currently the best decade for discovering great and best songs of all decades. The internet is a great service to us music lovers & hunters of recorded treasures.
Ok, it makes me poorer in the wallet but happier in the ear.

LOL @ Cool & snm! This is too wide a span for me but here goes. The 1880's because Johann Strauss composed "Kaiser Waltzer," early 1900 because had Puccini never seen the Belasco play he would have never written "Un Bel Di" for "Madama Butterfly." Of course these two ragged and futile attempts at musical composition cannot compare with the hi-toned "Flip, Flop and Fly" or "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window," but what can one do? As long as there's a clarinet or a flugelhorn, it's all good

No question for me... like, totally, the 80s!! (This is kind of embarassing to admit, but in 1983 I actually had one of those torn sweatshirt things that said "Flashdancer" on it)

70's is my vote. Music was shaped in this decade and so many styles were bought in and developed. Look at a 70's top 100 chart for any month, any year, and look at the variety of sounds. You could have The Doobie Brothers, Led Zep and the Carpenters in the top 5 at the same time.

All band members could write, they picked albums from 30 songs and gave you the best tracks. Bands would tour extensively and all be expert at their craft. Just listen to the radio these days. Every second song is a remix of the late 60's, 70's and early 80's. Nothing is sacred.

Oh, one last thing. There was nothing called 'sk8ter' in the 70's. Yay

I'll narrow it down even further. For me, the best period for music was between 1968 and 1972. The stuff that was coming out in those 4 years was just phenomenal.
If you want a decade, I'd plump for 70's, probably because that's what I grew up with. Funnily enough though, I've got more 80's albums in my collection than any other decade. I guess that was the only time I could afford to buy them!

Has to be the 50's, because Celine Dion wasn't born then.

Celine Dion "born"? Ever get a look at that face? How about "foaled"?

Classical stuff aside, I have to make the case for the 70's. This was the decade of Steely Dan, Led Zep and even some excellent stuff from the Doobs. (Yes, the Doobs-- every hear Kenny Loggins' original version of "What a Fool Believes"?) Disco was almost universally sneered at, but Donna Summer's records were extraordinarily well-produced, and for my money I liked the alleged Rod Stewart "sellout" album, "Blondes Have More Fun." Remember Motown? Remember R & B? The Allman Brothers? All basically creatures of the 70's. Everyone was covering great and neglected blues tunes, and you had to look hard for bands that DIDN'T have someone who could play a mean slide.

Contrast this with the 80's, which to many of us was basically the excellent "Graceland" album, and 19,000 forgettable pretty-boy bands.

Well damn Cool! That was unkind, to say the least. You may not like her but that certainly does not detract from her undeniable talent. Yikes!

OK, I'm gonna put a vote in for the 60's. Now, this is hard for me, because so much good stuff has come out since, but almost everything I have listened to and loved post-60s seems to have sprung from it to some degree.

The Beatles, The Kinks, The Doors, Roy Orbison, The Velvet Underground, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, The Monkees, The Animals, The Rolling Stones...

...I could go on...but I think I've made my point...

Quote:

---

Celine Dion "born"? Ever get a look at that face? How about "foaled"?

---

LMAO... Subtle as a smack in the head with a cricket bat as usual. Good form mate.

I'm rarely able to pick a decade that I prefer over another one, yet, I have to say that Dalgleish has pretty much hit the nail on the head, and that's the reason I have more in my collection from that era...spanning the sixties and seventies, yet I probably have more eighties stuff in my records, somewhere they're being kept for me...

However I have to disagree with some naysayers, or shall we say, ney whinny whinny sayers, Céline Dion, no matter what sort of criticism you heap on her, is a star, who gives her all for people and I also admire any woman who makes it in the business without unduly compromising herself...
Céline's got a voice, which is more than I can say for some stars...and she uses it, and her songs stand out in the world of pop. Call me sentimental, but I admire her...despite the numerous Réné Charles jokes we hear, and people mocking her accent who basically couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag in English like she does in song, well, I think she's a star...

THat's the one thing I admire most about some of the women of late, that didn't seem quite possible in the sixties.

I dont' think Celine is so unattractive. She certainly has a beautiful voice... I think she's just one of those singers who rose to fame so quickly that she automatically became "un-cool" to be a fan of. Did you guys like Sade? The band I was talking about, Weekend Players, has a singer from Nottingham who sounds a lot like Sade. Andy Cato from Groove Armada is the one who makes the music and produces Weekend Players. I guess it's not really a "band", but a duo. The music is really soothing, you should give it a listen - Weekend Players page

The 1740s, with the glory of Handel's oratorios and concerti.

Heather - that's not fair. You know I can't let any Celine compliments pass without mocking them.

Quote:

---

Céline Dion, no matter what sort of criticism you heap on her, is a star

---

I'd say more of a black hole.

Quote:

---

who gives her all for people

---

... and should therefore take a well deserved rest ...

Quote:

---

without unduly compromising herself...

---

... sticking only to artistically impeccable fora. Like the Eurovision song contest ...

Quote:

---

Céline's got a voice

---

... so did Captain Flint ...

Quote:

---

and her songs stand out in the world of pop.

---

... like bird mess on a dinner jacket ...

Quote:

---

.despite ... people mocking her accent

---

I would never mock her accent. If I can hear her accent, she's talking, and therefore not singing.

There, I feel better now.

... and probably talking about herself, and the absolute wonder of pregnancy, and her real earth-mother leanings, and how wonderful it is that the kid often calls Rene "great-grampa" , and what a family-oriented person she is, and how great it was growing up in Quebec with her 97 sisters and cousins and uncles and nieces, and how she's retiring from show biz, at least for the next few days,'cos she wants to raise her family now, on and on and on until sensible people (including Quebecois) either puke or throw the remote through the TV screen.

See? Nothing about her looks!

http://images.google.com

(Well, almost nothing!)

.

fixing width of post

The techno-pop of the 80s is unbearable to listen to nowadays and the infancy of video did not help the cause. Try listening to (or watching) A Flock of Seagulls or Thomas Dolby and you will see that time has not been kind to the 80s. I concede that some good music managed to escape that decade though I can't think of any off the top of my head.

The 70s however brought great music that still resonates in 2003. The variety and quality is truly amazing; from Chicago, Elton John, Billy Joel, The Carpenters, Santana, Carole King, James Taylor, to CCR, Foghat, The Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, to Kansas, Heart, Boston, Journey, The Eagles, The Doobie Brothers, and even disco and funk with The Commodores, Earth Wind & Fire, Evelyn "Champaigne" King, Bee Gees, James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone.....much of the 70s music has proven to be timeless.

"I Love the 80's". What more could you ask for? You got, Boy George, Cyndi Lauper, Wham, haha, yeah good era...

Cyndi Lauper does rate mention, because as far as I know the song "She Bop" is the first song dealing with the subject of, erm, female autoeroticism. Billy Joel did MENTION the topic generally in "Captain Jack", but he was talking about a "guy", and he kinda just skated over it, anyway.

Cyndi Lauper was also one of the few rock divas who purposely made herself LESS ATTRACTIVE for her audiences, for which I admire her. I've seen her in movies since her 15 minutes passed, and she is much prettier than she made herself out to be during her "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" stage.

Sorry for the apparent "lookism"; in fact it is quite the opposite.

I quite like big band music so the 40s are OK, I find most classic rock and roll is a bit dire so the fifties are out for me the pre-Beatles 60s are also pretty grim but the latter half was very good. The seventies started well then petered out but fired up again when punk hit its stride and that energy seemed to feed the music scene well into the 80s at which point nothing much up to the present. Boy bands, girl power, trance, ©rap and ageing rock star mega-tours.

So I agree with Dalgleish and stargroovin70 that the late sixties early seventies was the first high spot but I think there was a second in the late 70s early 80s.

"Cyndi Lauper was also one of the few rock divas who purposely made herself LESS ATTRACTIVE for her audiences", and I still had the hots for her!

IMO, the 80's were the best decade for music.