This may seem like a senseless question, but bare with me. I'm referring to the culture, or spirit of a decade. A common approach to 20th century history is to examine it decade by decade, starting in the 1920s onward – as if each decade had its own character, shaped by the people, events, and culture which dominated it. Cultural and historical transformation obviously does not arise out of nowhere at midnight on January 1st nor does it end on December 31st either. So when would you say each cultural decade began and ended? I'd say they roughly go like this:

The (19)10's: 1914-1919 (Start of WWI to Treaty of Versailles)
The 20s: 1920-1929 (Prohibition Era to Wall Sreet Crash)
The 30s: 1930-1938 (Great Depression to Rise Of Nazi Germany)
The 40s: 1939-1945 (Start of WWII to V-J Day)
The Pre 50's: 1946-1953 (Baby Boom to Release of "The Wild One" movie)
The 50s: 1954-1963 (Malt Shop Era to JFK's Assassination)
The 60s: 1964-1972 (British Invasion to End of Main Hippie Era)
The 70s: 1973-1981 (Rise of Glam Rock and Disco to Ronald Reagan's Inauguration)
The 80s: 1982-1991 (Start of MTV's Popularity to the Gulf War)
The 90s: 1992-1998 (Grunge Era to Rise of Teen Pop)
The 00s: 1999-2008 (Teen Pop Explosion to Obama's election)
The 10s: 2009-present (Social Media Explosion and Rise of EDM Music to now)

We've had several threads like this in the past, but I'll give my two cents just because focusing on full decades going back to the 20s is a lot fresher than focusing on the petty differences between the early, mid, and late eras of each decade. Going by the hope that this discussion does not become overly petty and monotonous.

1920s: January 1920 to October 29, 1929.
* Begins with the commercial explosion of Al Jolson's "Swanee" (essentially the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" of its era) and Prohibition going into effect.
* Ends with the Stock Market Crash of 1929, as well as the replacement of silent films with talkies in Hollywood.

1930s: October 29, 1929 to September 1, 1939
* Begins with the onset of the Great Depression and standardization of talkies.
* Ends with the Nazi invasion of Poland.

1940s: September 1, 1939 to September 2, 1945
* Begins with the Nazi Invasion of Poland, breakthrough of Superman and Batman, transformation of fashion to a more 40s style, and the release of groundbreaking films like Stagecoach and Gone with the Wind.
* Ends with VJ Day.

Post-War Decade: September 2, 1945 to Early 1953
* Begins with the end of World War II and the start of the Cold War.
* Ends with the conclusion of the Korean War, the death of Joseph Stalin, the beginning of the Eisenhower administration, and the mainstream breakthrough of television.

1950s: Early-Mid-1953 to Late 1962
* Ends with the death of Marilyn Monroe, the release of the first James Bond film, the mainstream breakthrough of counterculture folk with Peter, Paul & Mary, as well as surf rock; the Cuban Missile Crisis, and fashion becoming unambiguously 60s.

1960s: Late 1962 to Late 1970
* Ends with Kent State, the disbandment of the Beatles, and the 27 Club onslaught.

1970s: Late 1970 to Late 1979
* Ends with Disco Demolition Night, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the standardization of new wave, the breakthrough of 2nd-generation video games, and the rise of neoliberalism.

1980s: Late 1979 to Late 1990
* Ends with the collapse of the Soviet Union and start of the Gulf War.

1990s: Late 1990 to Early 1999
* Ends with the full standardization of the Internet and millennials dominating popular culture.

2000s: Mid-1999 to Late 2009
* Ends with the Great Recession, the decline of rock, pop's full evolution into electropop with The Fame Monster and Animal, and the mainstream breakthrough of the iPhone.

2010s: Late 2009 to Present

I'm sure I love talking about this, since I'm really into history and also past popular culture. Also, it reminds me of when InThe00s used to have threads like this when I signed up. Thanks, dude.

1920s: 1919-1929
* The Volstead Act officially enacted by the Senate on October 28, 1919. Despite going into effect by January 17, 1920. (Start of the 1920s)
* The Stock Market Crash happened on October 24-29 1929, causing the Great Depression. (End of the 1920s)

1930s: 1929-1939
* The Great Depression affected the Western world, specifically the United States and Europe.
* Nazi Germany invaded Poland, which caused World War II. (End of the 1930s)

Pre-Baby Boom 1940s: 1939-1945
* World War II affected most of the world, especially with countries associated with the Allied and Axis Powers.
* The United States nuked Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the Second World War on August of 1945. (End of the pre-baby boom1940s)

Post-Baby Boom 1940s: 1945-1953
* VJ Day was celebrated among the Allied Powers, especially the United States. (Start of the post-baby boom 1940s)
* Harry Truman ends his last days as president in early 1953. (End of the post-baby boom 1940s)

1950s: 1953-1960
* Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower was inaugurated as the 34th president of the U.S. (Start of the 1950s)
* Martin Luther King Jr. gives his "I Have A Dream" speech near the Washington Monument on August 28, 1963. (End of the 1950s)

1960s: 1963-1969
* The Civil Rights Movement was all over the southern states, where it saw more national attention. (Start of the 1960s)
* The Beatles had their last concert at a London rooftop in 1969. (End of the 1960s)

1970s: 1969-1980
* The Beatles breaking up, Richard Nixon's inauguration and the Stonewall Inn incident soaring high. (Start of the 1970s)
* Controversy with Jimmy Carter, along with Reaganmania during the 1980 election. (End of the 1970s)

1980s: 1980-1989
* The inauguration of Ronald Reagan, along with the rise of slasher films. (Start of the 1980s)
* The 1988 election, which ended successfully for the Republicans. (End of the 1980s)

Pre-Clinton 1990s: 1990-1993
* The inauguration of George H.W. Bush, and the rise of grunge rock. (Start of the Pre-Clinton 1990s)
* The decline of slasher films, except for Candyman and the Puppet Master franchise. (End of the Pre-Clinton 1990s)

Post-Clinton 1990s: 1993-2000
* The inauguration of Bill Clinton, which causes tension with politics, despite having a good economy. (Start of the Post-Clinton 1990s)
* The 2000 election, which elected George W. Bush for the next 8 years. (End of the Post-Clinton 1990s)

2000s: 2000-2009
* The 9/11 attacks, which lead to the War on Terror in the Middle East. (Start of the 2000s)
* The Great Recession, in which it lead towards Obama's successful campaign in the late 2000s. Along with his inauguration in early 2009. (End of the 2000s)

Obama 2010s: 2009-2017
* Obama's presidency, which lead towards what we're dealing with today. At least for his second term. (Start of the Obama 2010s)
* The controversial 2016 election, in which it sadly elected Trump as our 45th president of the U.S. (End of the Obama 2010s)

Trump 2010s: 2017-2021
* Donald Trump's inauguration, in which it would lead to 4 years of hell (imo). (Start of the Trump 2010s)
* If he doesn't get reelected, Trump loses to the Democratic candidate in the 2020 election. (End of the Trump 2010s)

Honestly, I wish I went through pop culture more, but I guess it would be more than I'll put for this chart.

I'm very conservative when it comes to that. I agree with NYE in preferring to divide eras by political administrations, but if I were to divide by decades, they would end, with year inclusive, and the event that ended them in parentheses

1890s: 1901 (Queen Victoria's death)
1900s: 1909 (King Edward VII's death)
1910s: 1919 (Signing of the Treaty of Versailles)
1920s: 1929 (stock market crash)
1930s: 1939 (Germany invades Poland and starts WW2)
1940s: Split decade. 1945 (end of WW2) and 1950 (start of the Korean war)
1950s: 1959 or 1960 (Death of Maurice Duplessis or election of the Parti Libéral du Québec, I guess the election of Kennedy in the US)
1960s: 1970 (October Crisis)
1970s: 1979 (The Day Disco Died)
1980s: 1989 (start of the early '90s recession)
1990s: 1999 (New Year's Eve 1999)
2000s: 2009 (release of iPhone 3GS)
2010s: TBD

I just mention the years I see as more important in defining the decade in this chart. Missing years are too transitional or out-of-place so they don't get a mention and it's too much of a pain to pinpoint every little shade of grey. So in a big ol' retrospective: the regular chart is concerning pop culture/technology... roughly. The political/world events decade is in brackets.

1970's: 1972 - Mid 1979
(1972 - Jan 20th 1981)

1980's: Mid 1982 - Mid 1990
(Jan 20th 1981 - Dec 8th 1991)

1990's: 1992 - Mid 1997
(Dec 8th 1991 - April 20th 1999)

2000's: 2003 - 2008
(April 20th 1999 - Jan 20th 2009)

2010's: 2008 - present 
(There is no denying Trump has forced us into a new era so I stop here)

My list is pretty close to Jacqueline's('Infinity's ) but here goes!!! :o
P.S. I'm only doing the 50s to now...


1950s Part 1: 1947-1952: McCarthyism/Harry S. Truman era


1950s Part 2: 1953-1963: (Ike and JFK, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, beatniks, teenager rebel icons James Dean & Marlon Brando in The Wild One,  Leave it to Beaver & Ozzie and Harriet image, greasers, girls in poodle skirts.) This era came to a close on Nov 22, 1963 in Dallas.


1960s: 1964-1973(Sex drugs and Rock n Roll, British Invasion, MLK & Malcom X, Mowtown, civil rights, hippies, Manson, protests, rebellion, LBJ and Tricky Dick.) This era came to a complete end with Watergate, US pulling out of Vietnam, and one HELL of a hangover.


1970s: 1974-1981(Carter and Ford, gas prices, New Hollywood cinema, Norman Lear sitcoms, malaise, disco duck decade). The decade ended when a certain former actor took office.


1980s: 1981-1992(The Regean era, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, John Hughes movies, Nintendo boom, Cheers, Cosby Show, Dallas, Magmum PI, Big hair, New wave, hair metal, yuppies, Magic Johnson vs Larry Bird, Hulk Hogan etc.) This era came to a close with the collapse of the soviet union, LA Riots, early 90s recession, and finally the election of Bill Clinton.


1990s: 1993-2001( Clinton years, dot com boom, East coast vs West coast hip hop, Kurt Cobain, Tupac, Mariah Carey, Michael Jordan, Seinfeld and The Simpsons, grunge and early post grunge movement,flannel, baggy clothes, Nintendo vs SEGA, Playstation debuts, Beanie babies, WWF vs WCW wrestling wars, Power Rangers.) Y'all know where it ended.


2000s: Late 2001-early 2009(9/11, George W, social media starts to grow, emos, Glam Rap and crank rap completely takes over, Iraq war, Sopranos, The West Wing, Survivor, American Idol, baggy clothes, PS2, Wii, Spongebob, Tiger Woods, etc.) Ended with the economic crash of 2008, and the election of a certain brotha.


2010s: Part 1: 2009-2016(Obama years, recession and recovery, social media explosion, electro pop, Dubstep, Trap Rap, PS4, Game of Thrones, Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, House of Cards, Lebron James, Ronda Rousey, SJWs, hipsters, emojis, Katy Perry, Ed Sherran, Lady Gaga, Drake, One Direction, etc.)

          Part 2:2017- The Trump era begins

I'll stick with decades since the 50's.

1947-1952: - Transitional Phase between the 40's & 50's: Era of (Initial) Post WWII Expansion, creation of the United Nations, Core Truman Years, Korean War, McCarthyism

Definitive Year: 1948


1952-1958: Core 50's: Era of (Core) Post WWII Expansion with the creation of the Interstate Highway system, core 'Ike' Years, 'Leave it to Beaver' mindset, rise in Rock n' Roll, Doo Wop, & R&B, Brown vs Board of Education

Definitive Year: 1955


1958-1963: Transition between 50's & 60's: Era of (Later) Post WWII Expansion, Transition between 'Ike' & JFK, Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis, MLK's 'I Have a Dream Speech'

Definitive Year: 1962


1963-1969: Core 60's: Death of JKF & core LBJ years, Vietnam war & anti war protests, hippie movement, start of War on Poverty, rise of the Beatles, golden age of Spy Films, Woodstock, First Man Mission to the Moon

Definitive Year: 1968


1969-1972: Transition between 60's & 70's: Peak Vietnam war years, Nixon's presidency, flower power, formation of EPA, start of War on Drugs, Watergate Scandal, golden age of Film like The Godfather

Definitive Year: 1970


1972-1978: Core 70's: Post Watergate, Ford/Carter years, rise in Metal, Disco, & Punk, The Brady Bunch, Oil Shocks, The fist Star Wars

Definitive Year: 1976


1978-1982: Transition between 70's & 80's: Transition between Carter & Reagan, rise in Nu Wave, PCs start to hit the market, PacMan fever, Iran Hostage Crisis

Definitive Year: 1980


1982-1987: Core 80's: Core Reagan years, Reaganomics, Tail end of the Cold War, rise in Summer blockbusters like Back to the Future & Ghostbusters, video games becoming common place with the NES, PCs like the Commodre 64 & Apple Macintosh

Definitive Year: 1984


1987-1992: Transition between 80's & 90's: Transition between Reagan & Bush 41', Iran Contra Scandal, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Gulf War, LA Riots, rise in Gangsta Rap, New Jack Swing, Hair Metal, & Grunge, peak in popularity for NES

Definitive Year: 1989


1992-1998: Core 90's: Core Clinton Years, domestic terror like OKC & Waco, drafting of NAFTA, formation of modern internet, 3-D polygon technology and special effects advancing, Grunge, Post Grunge, Gangsta Rap (East vs. West Coast) & Brit Pop at peak in popularity, rise in risky cartoons like The Simpsons, post Cold War expansion

Definitive Year: 1995


1998-2003: Transition between 90's & 00's: Transition between Clinton & Bush 43', rise in paranoia thanks to Coulumbine, Y2K, & 9/11, standardization of internet, decline of VHS & rise of DVDs, peak in sci fi movies like The Matrix & the revival of Star Wars, gaming becoming a common place in culture for all ages, rise in Teen pop, Party rap, & Nu Metal

Definitive Year: 2001


2003-2009: Core 00's: Core Bush 43' years, Core War on Terror Years (especially Iraq) with subsequent anti war protests, Hurricane Katrina, Housing Bubble & and its collapse, rise in reality TV, HDTVs replacing CRTs, transition between Web 1.0 & Web 2.0 aka when the internet was officially a necessity, rise in social media like Myspace, Facebook, & YouTube, rise in Crunk/Snap Rap, Emo Music, & 'Dirty' pop

Definitive Year: 2006


2009-2013: Transition between 00's & 10's: Obama's first term, Waning War on Terror years with the death of Osama Bin Laden, Post Recession recovery (relatively slower than expected), smartphones replacing flip phones or 'dumb' phones, social media becoming standard with the rise of internet organized protests like the Arab Spring & Occupy Wall Street, Sandy Hook Tragedy, core Facebook years (among youth), rise in Electropop, indie, & dubstep music

Definitive Year: 2011


2013-Present: Core 10's: Obama's 2nd term (and into Trump's 1st term), rise in ISIS, neo Cold War, political turbulence, improving economy, smartphones becoming standard, 1080p transition into 4k, rise in wearable tech like smartwatches & VR, the hipster movement now at its peak, facebook still popular (but not among youth) with the new kids on the block being Snapchat & Vine, rise in EDM, modern teen pop, & 'Trash' Rap

Definitive Year: 2016

These are the absolute lengths of the early, mid, and late parts of a decade in terms of political/historical events since the beginning of the 20th century

Early 1900's: July 3, 1898 - November 2, 1903 (starts with the Battle of Santiago de Cuba and victory for the Spanish-American War, ends when the Elkins Act amended the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887)

Mid 1900's: May 12, 1902 - October 1907 ( starts with the Anthracite Coal Strike in Pennsylvania when miners wanted higher wages for their work, ends with the 1907 Roosevelt Panic)

Late 1900's: October 11, 1906 - March 25, 1911 (starts when San Francisco allows Asian students in their schools, ends with the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire)

Early 1910's: May 27, 1908 - August 15, 1914 (starts when the Aldrich-Vreeland Act was passed as a response to the Panic of 1907, ends when America opens the Panama Canal - which they would have until December 31, 1999)

Mid 1910's: December 23, 1913 - March 8, 1917 (starts when the Federal Reserve Act is enacted, ends with the start of the Russian Revolution)

Late 1910's: c. 1916 - c. 1920 (starts when Wilsonian Progressivism peaked with acts such as the Warehouse Act and the Adamson Act along with the fact that the US started sending troops to the Dominican Republic, and ends with the end of the Red Scare)

Early 20's: November 1918 - c. 1924 (starts with the foundation of the Weimar Republic and the inception of Armistice Day, ends with the Immigration Act of 1924)

Mid 20's: October 12, 1922 - May 18, 1927 (starts with the end of the Russian Civil War, ends with the Bath School Disaster - the deadliest act of school violence in American history)

Late 20's: c. 1925 - September 23, 1930 (starts when the US pulls their troops out of the Dominican Republic, ends with the Federal Farm Board starting the Grain Stabilization Corp. and Cotton Stabilization Corp)

Early 30's: October 29, 1929 - c. 1933 (starts with Black Tuesday/Stock Market Crash, ends with the Glass-Steagall Act)

Mid 30's: January 23, 1933 - Spring 1937 (starts with the ratification of the 20th Amendment, changing the start a presidency from March 4 to January 20, and ends with the Roosevelt Recession)

Late 30's: July 17, 1936 - September 2, 1940 (starts with the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, ends with the Destroyers for Bases Agreement with the Americans and the British)

Early 40's: September 1, 1939 - December 7, 1941 (starts with Germany invading Poland over the Polish Corridor, ends with the Bombing of Pearl Harbor)

Mid 40's: 1942 - November 20, 1945 (starts with the ideas of Operation Sledgehammer and Operation Torch, ends with the start of the Nürnberg Trials)

Late 40's: Spring 1945 - June 25, 1950 (starts with the suicides of Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, and Heinrich Himmler, knowing they were going to lose the war, and ends in the start of the Korean War)

Early 50's: April 4, 1949 - c. 1955 (begins with the formation of NATO, ends when the USSR formed the Warsaw Pact to go against NATO)

Mid 50's: August 19, 1953 - September 2, 1958 (starts with the CIA trying to protect oil in the Middle East, ends with the National Defense Education Act)

Late 50's: October 4, 1957 - October 14, 1962 (starts with the Soviets launching their Sputnik satellites into space, causing a space race with US and the USSR, and ends with the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis)

Early 60's: c. 1959 - August 6, 1965 (starts with Alaska and Hawaii officially becoming states in 1959 the ends with the Voting Rights Act of 1965)

Mid 60's: November 22, 1963 - April 4, 1968 (starts with the infamous assassination of John F. Kennedy, bringing us to the modern age of conspiracy, and ends with the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr)

Late 60's: c. 1966 - April 22, 1970 (starts with French president Charles de Gaulle ordering NATO off French soil, ends with the inception of Earth Day)

Early 70's: November 5, 1968 - April 30, 1975 (started with the 1968 Nixon vs. Humphrey Election, ended with the absolute end of the Vietnam War, coincidentally, the 30th anniversary of the deaths of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun)

Mid 70's: January 22, 1973 - May 25, 1977 (starts with the Roe v. Wade case and abortion being legalized, ends with the release of Star Wars)

Late 70's: November 2, 1976 -  December 8, 1980 (starts with the Ford vs. Carter election and Carter barely winning, ends with the assassination of John Lennon)

Early 80's: November 18, 1978 - July 18, 1984 (started with the People's Temple suicides/Jonestown Cult Suicides, ended with the McDonald's Shooting at San Ysidro)

Mid 80's: October 25, 1983 - October 19, 1987 (starts with the Invasion of Grenada, ended with Black Monday)

Late 80's: January 28, 1986 - January 16, 1991 (started with the Challenger Explosion, ended with the beginning of Operation Desert Storm)

Early 90's: November 9, 1989 - April 19, 1995 (started with the Berlin Wall Fall, ended with the Oklahoma City Bombing causing moral panic over domestic terrorism)

Mid 90's: March 31, 1994 - April 20, 1999 (started with the inception of Gun Free Zone Act of 1994 (a big part of the zero tolerance policies today), ended with the Columbine Shooting escalating the fear of school violence)

Late 90's: c. April 1997 - September 11, 2001 (started with the growth of the Dot Com Bubble, and ended abruptly with the 9/11 attacks)

Early 00's: November 7, 2000 - August 23, 2005 (started with the 2000 Election, ended with Hurricane Katrina)

Mid 00's: March 20, 2003 - c. December 2007 (started with the Invasion of Iraq, ended with the Great Recession)

Late 00's: April 16, 2007 - February 26, 2012 (started with the Virginia Tech Shooting and need for conceal and carry laws to question "zero tolerance", ended with the shooting death of Trayvon Martin)

Early 10's: January 20, 2009 - c. early 2014 (started with Obama's Inauguration, ended with the start of the Ukranian/Russian tension and the Crimean Crisis)

Mid 10's: December 13, 2012 - November 8, 2016 (started with the Sandy Hook shooting causing an even greater upsurge in shootings, ended with Trump's victory in the 2016 election)

Late 10's: June 2015 - TBA (starts with the Charleston Church shooting questioning over Southern values and the Confederate flag along with the legalization of same-sex marriage in June 2015. End date is to be discussed in future discussions)

Going to go just by years rather than get too specific with months:

1920s:
1919 (WWI is over, women becoming independent, the bob cut was becoming popular)
1929 (Stock Market Crash)

1930s:
1930 (a few months after the Crash)
1938  (a year before WWII)

1940s:
1939 (WWII begins, major motion pictures become popular such as Gone With the Wind)
1953 (aftermath of WWII, post-war baby boom was still happening)

1950s:
1954 (rock'n'roll on the rise)
1961 (the early years of JFK in office)

1960s:
1962 (early 60s with folk music, Bob Dylan, death of Marilyn Monroe, civil rights movement in full swing, Cuban Missile Crisis)
1964 (the year the 60s were coming into full swing with the British Invasion, Vietnam on the rise)
1970 (Vietnam still an issue, hippies were still commonplace)

1970s:
1971 (Vietnam waning, the movie Shaft, funk music becoming popular)
1980 (disco still heard in many of the top songs)

1980s:
1981 (MTV, Reagan)
1990 (perms still popular and so were glam hair bands)

1990s:
1991 (Nirvana, grunge, the cold war coming to an end)
2000 (the internet still seen as a phenomenon, still some grunge, little fear of terrorism)

00s:
2001 (9/11, W steps into office, grunge was over)
2008 (Facebook was at its peak)

10s:
2009 (smart phones become popular, first minority president)

1900s:
1899-1901 (TR becomes President, beginning of progressive era)

1910s:
1901-1914 (to the beginning of WWI)

WWI Era:
1914-1918

Red Scare Era (America):
1919-1922

Roaring 20s:
1923-1929

Great Depression:
1929-1939

WWII Era:
1939-1945

Post WWII Slump:
1946-1947

McCarthy Era:
1948-1953

Rock N' Roll Era:
1954-1959

Doo Wop Era:
1960-1963

Beatlemania:
1964-1966

Vietnam/Hippie/Watergate Era:
1965-1974

Disco/Malaise/Punk Era:
1975-1980

Early 80s:
1981-1983

Core 1980s:
1984-1986

Hair Metal Era:
1987-1992

Grunge Era:
1992-1993

Post Grunge/Early Internet Era:
1994-1996

Late 90s:
1997-2000

Early 00s:
2001-2003

Mid 00s:
2004-2007

Early 2010s era:
2008-2012

Core 2010s:
2013-2016

End of the 2010s:
2017-Present

I'll use exact dates, but there's a bit of play in the dates. It's not like flipping a switch, but major events ARE used to demarcate "decade" periods.

1900s January 22, 1901 - July 27, 1914 = The "Edwardian Era"
Begins with the death of Queen Victoria, ends with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and the beginning of WWI.

1910s July 28, 1914 - November 11, 1918 = The "Great War Era"
Starts with Serbia declaring war on Austria-Hungary thus starting WWI, ends with armistice day.

1920s November 12, 1918 - October 28, 1929 = The "Roaring Twenties"
Begins with the aftermath of WWI, ends with the stock market crash.

1930s October 29, 1929 - August 31, 1939 = The "Great Depression Era"
Begins with the stock market crash/onset of great depression. Ends with Germany invading Poland ushering in the start of WWII.

1940s September 1, 1939 - December 29, 1953 = The "World War II/Early Cold War Era"
Begins with the start of the second world war and ends with the release of "The Wild One".

1950s December 30, 1953 - November 21, 1963 = The "Fabulous Fifties"
Begins with "The Wild One" movie popularizing greaser fashion and malt shop culture. Ends of course with Kennedy's assassination.

1960s November 22, 1963 - January 26, 1973 = The "Swinging Sixties"
Begins with JFK's assassination as well as the British Invasion in '64. Ends with the Paris Peace Accords.

1970s January 27, 1973 - July 30, 1981 = The "Disco Seventies"
Begins with the US exiting Vietnam, ends with the debut of MTV.

1980s August 1, 1981 - September 23, 1991 = The "Ecstatic Eighties"
Begins with MTV's debut, ends with the release of Nirvana's "Nevermind" grunge album.

1990s September 24, 1991 - April 19, 1999 = The "Nifty Nineties"
Begins with Nirvana's breakthrough, ends with Columbine.

2000s April 20, 1999 - January 19, 2009 = The "Aughts"
Begins with commercial explosion of teen pop/millennial culture following the Columbine massacre, ends with Obama's inauguration.

2010s January 20, 2009 - present = The "Tensies"
Begins with the rise of electropop and social media and Obama becoming president.