REVEALED- The Best Decade for Music

The Best Decade for Music has been Revealed 
  

• The 1970s has been revealed as the best decade for music, with releases such as Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” 

• The 1990s and 1960s both follow closely behind 

• The data highlights how different genres have been popular at different times 
 

A new study has revealed which decade is the best for music, with the 1970s coming out on top.  
 
Research by CasinoTop10 studied the top 200 albums of all time according to Rate Your Music to determine which decade has the most top-rated albums, according to listeners.  
 
Of the 200 highest-rated albums, 52 were released in the 1970s. Albums such as Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon”, David Bowie’s “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars”, and Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” all make it in the top 200. These albums have all been critical and commercial successes, in particular “The Dark Side of the Moon” which has sold an estimated 45 million copies worldwide.  
 
The second-best decade for music is the 1990s, with 45 entries in the top 200 albums. Albums including Radiohead’s “OK Computer”, My Bloody Valentine’s “Loveless”, and Nas’ “Illmatic” all feature in the list. “OK Computer” is ranked top of the list, with an average rating of 4.24 out of 5 against 74,000 ratings.  
 
Next is the 1960s, which has 36 albums in the top 200. Notable albums from this decade that feature include The Beatles’ “Abbey Road”, The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds”, and Bob Dylan’s “Blonde on Blonde”. The Beatles have six entries on the list alone, showing how popular and influential their music remains even decades later.  
 
The 2000s follows, with 26 entries in the top 200. Some of these albums include Bjork’s “Vespertine”, Kanye West’s “The College Dropout”, and Daft Punk’s “Discovery”. “The College Dropout” was West’s debut album and sold 441,000 copies in its first week and won Best Rap Album at the 2005 Grammy Awards.  

 
Next is the 1980s, which has 21 albums on the list. The Cure’s “Disintegration”, Pixies’ “Doolittle”, and Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love” all feature. These albums indicate that rock was especially popular during the 1980s, particularly alternative rock which first emerged in the 1970s.  

The 2010s follows, featuring 15 albums in the top 200. Notable albums on the list include Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly”, Frank Ocean’s “Blonde”, and Tyler the Creator’s “Igor”. RnB and rap are popular genres of the 2010s based on the albums which are featured in the top 200. These genres become more popular as the decades progress and they appear to really cement themselves in the 2010s. 
 
The 1950s is next with four entries on the list. These are Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue”, Charles Mingus’ “Mingus Ah Um”, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers’ “Moanin’” and John Coltrane’s “Blue Train”. It is clear from these albums that jazz music was very popular in the 1950s, and we can see how this has changed throughout the decades, with other genres such as rap and rock overtaking it.  

Rounding up the list is the 2020s, with just one entry in the top 200. This is Black Country, New Road’s “Ants From up There”, which was released in February 2022. Writing for the album began in winter 2020 following the announcement of a new lockdown to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. It was recorded in summer 2021 on the Isle of Wight and the band embarked on a socially distanced tour to test the new material.  
 
A spokesperson for CasinoTop10 commented on the research: “With the Grammys just a few weeks away, it is interesting to consider which decade has seen the best music releases. The 1970s sees the most success, with more than a quarter of the 200 best albums of all time being released in that decade. It is understandable to see the 2020s at the bottom of the list given that we are currently only in the third year of the decade. It will also be interesting to see which genres of music become the most popular in the future, and how this affects the top albums of all time.” 
 
This study was conducted by CasinoTop10, a comparison site for casinos and online games.