Poll: '70, '80s Best Decades For Music

 YouGov polled more than 17,000 Americans about which time period they believe had the best music. 

Among US adults overall, the 1970s and 1980s prove to be the best decades for music, with 21% and 22% of the vote, respectively. Slightly fewer point to the 1960s (14%) or the 1990s (14%) as standout music decades, while even fewer choose the 2000s (6%) or the 1950s or earlier (6%). With apologies to the decade’s top artists like Drake, Taylor Swift, and Bruno Mars, just 3% of Americans believe that the 2010s had the best music of any decade. 

 But of course, there is some disagreement between generations when it comes to the best music.  

Generation Z — born in 2000 or later — put the 2010s (17%) and the 2000s (16%) at the top of the list, followed by the 1980s (14%), the 1990s (12%), and then the current decade (6%). Just one in twenty Gen Z-ers (5%) believe the 1970s had the best music.  

Among Millennials (born 1982 – 1999), about one-quarter (23%) believe that the 1990s were the best decade for music, followed by the 1980s (19%). About half as many say that either the 2000s (11%) or the 1970s (10%) were the best music decade.  

Two in five (38%) members of Generation X (born 1965 – 1981) think that the 1980s had the best music, far more than the percentage who believe either the 1990s (18%) or 1970s (17%) were the superior decades for music. 

Among Baby Boomers (born 1946 – 1964), 38% believe that the 1970s were the best decade for music. Another 28% believe the prior decade, the 1960s, was actually the best. Just one in six (16%) Baby Boomers think that the 1980s had the best music.   

The Silent Generation – born between 1928 and 1945 – is the only generation where a notable percentage (39%) believes the best music was made in the 1950s or earlier. Fewer members (32%) of this generation cite the 1960s as being the best decade for music.  

This data suggests a general trend around people tending to most prefer the music that was popular when they were young. Scientific studies have supported the idea that people’s brains have especially positive associations with the music that was popular during their adolescent years.