What do you think?

Gaga came out that year as well as Katy Perry
Economy tanked that year and lasted well into 2011.
Facebook beat Myspace  (altho myspace still was 2# social network at that point)
Last year of Aim
last season ever of TRL

2007 really, though it was bridge between peak of the 2000's and the end. Myspace was still big that year and there were no elections yet, plus most of the music played was the usual 2000's fare, not stuff like Katy Perry or Lady Gaga all around.

NO 2006!

What do you think?

Gaga came out that year as well as Katy Perry
Economy tanked that year and lasted well into 2011.
Facebook beat Myspace  (altho myspace still was 2# social network at that point)
Last year of Aim
last season ever of TRL


2008 was not just the last year of the classic '00s, it was the peak of decade.  Everything that the '00s had been working towards came to a head in 2008.  It was a truly incredible year long in the making.

Gaga debuted in the fall of that year but her rise is more associated with 2009.  '09 was the year that bridged the classic '00s with the '10s.

2008 was not just the last year of the classic '00s, it was the peak of decade.  Everything that the '00s had been working towards came to a head in 2008.  It was a truly incredible year long in the making.

Gaga debuted in the fall of that year but her rise is more associated with 2009.  '09 was the year that bridged the classic '00s with the '10s.

2008 I'd rank fourth among the most IMPORTANT years of the 00s decade my top five are 2004,2005,2001,2008. and 2003 is right behind them!

NO 2006!

This... 2006 was the end of the classic era 2007-2008 was the beginning of the modern tech/pop culture we see today

This... 2006 was the end of the classic era 2007-2008 was the beginning of the modern tech/pop culture we see today

thank you! :)

Yeah I'd say 2007 was the last "full" year but 2008 was the last one that felt pretty different from today.

Yeah I'd say 2007 was the last "full" year but 2008 was the last one that felt pretty different from today.

That. The late 2000's were still very much 2000's years, just not defining years or the peak of it anymore.

This... 2006 was the end of the classic era 2007-2008 was the beginning of the modern tech/pop culture we see today


Really?  No Lady Gaga in 2007 at all.  One of the biggest songs that year was "Crank Dat Soulja Boy."  Gaga was barely a thing in 2008.  There were no tablets/iPad in 2007.  The iPhone came out in 2007 but it was slow, clunky, and few people had it.  Most people still had flip phones.  MySpace was still popular and Bush was still president.  Scene/emo was still in during both years.  I see virtually no similarities between 2007 and today and very little similarities between 2008 and today.

2007 looks exactly as old as 1997 looked back in 2005. But 2009 looks still seems more recent than 1999 seemed in 2005...
There was definitely a change around 2008/09 towards the 10s.

And especially tablet PCs weren't that great either, when they just came out. They are more of a post-2011-thing.

2007 looks exactly as old as 1997 looked back in 2005. But 2009 looks still seems more recent than 1999 seemed in 2005...
There was definitely a change around 2008/09 towards the 10s.


I agree with this (mostly) because there was no distinct era between the decades like there was from 1998-2001.  That was a distinct era that was as far removed from 1995 as is it was 2005. The 2010s began more or less on time, in the fall of 2009 going into 2010. 


And especially tablet PCs weren't that great either, when they just came out. They are more of a post-2011-thing.


Most late '00s tablets still had Windows XP or Windows Vista Tablet PC edition.  They are heavy and were basically laptops with a screen that could be operated by a pen.  It wasn't until the iPad was released in 2010 that tablets as we know them today came on the scene.

Most late '00s tablets still had Windows XP or Windows Vista Tablet PC edition. 


I don't even remember a lot tablets being around before the iPad. I don't think they were ever really mainstream before 2010.

When it comes to mobile devices, netbooks peaked around 2009/2010 - at least, where I live. When I started university in late 2009, most students had netbooks... now, 5.5 later - I am still a student at the same university, and everybody uses tablets and smartphones during the lectures. Today, I would feel pretty old-school if I brought my netbook to university... well, netbooks even felt "wrong" already as early as 2012/13... It's an interesting development...

2007 looks exactly as old as 1997 looked back in 2005. But 2009 looks still seems more recent than 1999 seemed in 2005...
There was definitely a change around 2008/09 towards the 10s.

And especially tablet PCs weren't that great either, when they just came out. They are more of a post-2011-thing.

Tablets are all over the place, but now there are watches you can access the internet from and even text somehow. You can also call of course.

Tablets are all over the place, but now there are watches you can access the internet from and even text somehow. You can also call of course.


Yes, smartwatches, but I don't think they get the same popularity as tables or smartphones. The display is just too small. Personally, I also prefer larger smartphones like the Galaxy Note 3 or 4... and for surfing the web, a tablet is still the best choice. I guess, smartwatches will only be popular as an add on to another, larger device.

I go to university in Australia, and even today most people in my lectures/tutorials use netbooks/laptops for note taking. I'm probably one of the 10% that uses an iPad for notes lol.

This... 2006 was the end of the classic era 2007-2008 was the beginning of the modern tech/pop culture we see today



2007 started off classic tho lol
then in the middle of the year it turned weird AF lol

NO 2006!


2006 was as pure 2000s as u could get

altho 2008 as a culmination died in 2008

2007 was the last full year of classic 00's, first half of 2008 still had classic 00s and second half of 08' all the changes started happening from the new president, to the economic crash, to lady Gaga and electropop. Everything before 2008 was a completely different era in all ways. I see those years as old, not retro yet, but very old.

2007 was the last full year of classic 00's, first half of 2008 still had classic 00s and second half of 08' all the changes started happening from the new president, to the economic crash, to lady Gaga and electropop. Everything before 2008 was a completely different era in all ways. I see those years as old, not retro yet, but very old.


even as early 2008 you can feel ish was diffrent
but the classicness was still there,  and yeah I agree around nov of 2008
things flipped from classic 2000s that started after 9/11

I remember making a thread similar to this recently asking if 2009 was really a "2000s" year. Due to the drastic changes that happened and the sheer number of articles, youtube videos, etc from 2009 as opposed to other 2000s years. I think though, that all in all, not much changed until after the decade ended. Myspace was still king, like it or not. Facebook is simply a 2010s thing, not 2000s. Not sure about AIM since everyone I knew was on MSM messenger at the time. When MSN ended is when the 2000s ended for me.
This... 2006 was the end of the classic era 2007-2008 was the beginning of the modern tech/pop culture we see today

Those years have very little in common with today when you dig deeper.

Really?  No Lady Gaga in 2007 at all.  One of the biggest songs that year was "Crank Dat Soulja Boy."  Gaga was barely a thing in 2008.  There were no tablets/iPad in 2007.  The iPhone came out in 2007 but it was slow, clunky, and few people had it.  Most people still had flip phones.  MySpace was still popular and Bush was still president.  Scene/emo was still in during both years.  I see virtually no similarities between 2007 and today and very little similarities between 2008 and today.

The iPhone only sold 50,000 units in here in Canada by the end of 2009. Yes, an actual statistic, Lol.


Most late '00s tablets still had Windows XP or Windows Vista Tablet PC edition.  They are heavy and were basically laptops with a screen that could be operated by a pen.  It wasn't until the iPad was released in 2010 that tablets as we know them today came on the scene.

You mean PDAs right? The iPad was the first modern tablet. If you want to stretch the definition, advanced tablets existed since 1996 and could play music, make calls, surf internet over wifi, etc. I don't know if they could watch videos but they look pretty damn close to being able to do that.

2007 looks exactly as old as 1997 looked back in 2005. But 2009 looks still seems more recent than 1999 seemed in 2005...
There was definitely a change around 2008/09 towards the 10s.

And especially tablet PCs weren't that great either, when they just came out. They are more of a post-2011-thing.

Hmmm, this may sound like decadeology but I was thinking about something similar yesterday. About how different 1997 seemed to people in 2005 as opposed to how 2007 seems to us in 2015. It seems like very little technological progression has commenced between the '00s and the '10s compared to the '90s and the '00s. In the '90s you had PDAs with colourless screens, thick TVs(even flatscreens were thick), online video watching was clunky and hosting services no longer exists today, most social media sites/online gaming like Netscape, Sega channel, AIM, XBAND, Shareyourworld, etc from the '90s was defunct by 2005 whereas Youtube, Myspace, Facebook, Internet explorer, Xbox live, PSN, even MSN is still going today and prevents the '00s from feeling old because for how interconnected we are with people from 10 years ago.
2015
SUztTDegiho
2006
Ng6e2AZkl_o
1997
QZ87mYwjop4
Where is the 2010s replacement for these sites/services like how the '00s got updated replacements for '90s things? As far as I know, aside from Myspace, Google+ is the only one this decade who is trying to overtake Facebook and sort of succeeded through, lets say, unconventional means. Other technology like the iPhone has not seen major overhauls in the 2010s like how the iPhone brought major overhauls to the mobile space in the '00s(even if it was effectively just a '90s PDA taped to a cell phone). Think about how technology was in any given year in the '90s compared to 10 years later, then think about how technology was in any given year in the '00s compared to a decade later and you'll seem what I'm saying.

Hmmm, this may sound like decadeology but I was thinking about something similar yesterday. About how different 1997 seemed to people in 2005 as opposed to how 2007 seems to us in 2015. It seems like very little technological progression as commenced between the '00s and the '10s compared to the '90s and the '00s. In the '90s you had PDAs with colourless screens, thick TVs(even flatscreens were thick), online video watching was clunky and no longer exists today, most social media sites/online gaming like Netscape, Sega channel, AIM, XBAND, Shareyourworld, etc from the '90s was defunct by 2005 whereas Youtube, Myspace, Facebook, Internet explorer, Xbox live, PSN, even MSN is still going today and prevents the '00s from feeling old because for how interconnected we are with people from 10 years ago.
2015
SUztTDegiho
2006
Ng6e2AZkl_o
1997
QZ87mYwjop4
Where is the 2010s replacement for these sites/services like how the '00s got updated replacements for '90s things? As far as I know, aside from Myspace, Google+ is the only one this decade who is trying to overtake facebook and sort of succeeded through, lets say, unconventional means. Other technology like the iPhone has not seen major overhauls in thew 2010s like how the iPhone brought major overhauls to the mobile space in the '00s(even if it was effectively just a '90s PDA glued to a cell phone). Think about how technology was in a y given year in the '90s compared to 10 years later, then think about how technology was in any given year in the '00s decade later and you'll seem what I'm saying.

MySpace and MSN are definitely not going today.... Those things are dated and definitely not popular today. Don't you always hear how MySpace is dead? People have said this since 2010... Along with many other things from 2007 that are dated today. To me 2007 feels like a completely different decade just like 1997 felt in 2005.

MySpace and MSN are definitely not going today.... Those things are dated and definitely not popular today. Don't you always hear how MySpace is dead? People have said this since 2010... Along with many other things from 2007 that are dated today. To me 2007 feels like a completely different decade just like 1997 felt in 2005.

I mean defunct as in I cannot access the website by just typing in the url, I have to go to an archive. None of said sites are dated to that level.

Tablets are all over the place, but now there are watches you can access the internet from and even text somehow. You can also call of course.


and that's our future.

MySpace and MSN are definitely not going today.... Those things are dated and definitely not popular today. Don't you always hear how MySpace is dead? People have said this since 2010... Along with many other things from 2007 that are dated today. To me 2007 feels like a completely different decade just like 1997 felt in 2005.


MySpace is still around.  I don't know if anybody still uses it.  MSN was absorbed by Bing which is actually decent.  I haven't logged into the messenger though in years.

Last year of Aim

But that was my favourite brand of toothpaste

2007 was the last full year of classic 00's, first half of 2008 still had classic 00s and second half of 08' all the changes started happening from the new president, to the economic crash, to lady Gaga and electropop. Everything before 2008 was a completely different era in all ways. I see those years as old, not retro yet, but very old.

Yes, I agree that 2007 was the last FULL year of the classic 00s and that late 2008 was the start of the transition to the 10s.

But that was my favourite brand of toothpaste

I think he/she meant AOL Instant Messenger.

This song was pretty popular in the fall of 2008.

fsu4IvM4t7s

Overall; NO 2008 was not the end of the classic 2000s, in my opinion that belongs to 2006!!

IMO the last year of the classic 00's was 2007 or maybe early 2008, because it was the last year of the early internet culture, the last full year George Bush was still president, and the last year 6th generation games like Gamecube, XBOX, and PS2 were still relevant. Around mid-late 2008 is when 10's culture started phasing in, due to the election of Barack Obama and the Stock Market Crash. 7th generation games and online gaming started hitting its max popularity with XBOX 360, Wii, and PS3. Plus it was around the time I started noticing people with more iPod's and more technical devices, maybe I'm off by a little, but yeah, and it seems like music had took a huge shift around this time as well with electropop music and Lady Gaga.

From today's perspective, 2007 is the most recent year that feels clearly dated. Not old-school, yet, but very dated - especially at a technological level.

IMO the last year of the classic 00's was 2007 or maybe early 2008, because it was the last year of the early internet culture, the last full year George Bush was still president, and the last year 6th generation games like Gamecube, XBOX, and PS2 were still relevant. Around mid-late 2008 is when 10's culture started phasing in, due to the election of Barack Obama and the Stock Market Crash. 7th generation games and online gaming started hitting its max popularity with XBOX 360, Wii, and PS3. Plus it was around the time I started noticing people with more iPod's and more technical devices, maybe I'm off by a little, but yeah, and it seems like music had took a huge shift around this time as well with electropop music and Lady Gaga.


Bush was still President through all of 2008 though.  Obama wasn't inaugurated until January 20, 2009. 7th generation consoles came out in 2005 and peaked in 2008.  You are right in that Lady Gaga completely shook up popular music in the fall of 2008.  That was only the beginning of a transition though that didn't complete overnight. In 2008 and even in 2009 there was still plenty of hip-hop and r&b being released that sounded like it could have been released in 2005, and it still charted quite well.  The scene/emo/Bieber swoop was in with most guys age 13-25.  That is something associated explicitly with the late '00s and not the '10s.

I would say 2009 was the true transition year with 2008 belonging mostly to the '00s with hints of the '10s in the fall of that year.

No definitely 2009 on New Year's Eve.

I definitely agree with the sentiment that the latter half of 2008 was the official beginning of the cultural 2010s.  Even though there had been certain technological milestones in the previous few years, such as YouTube, Facebook, iPhones, and seventh generation video game consoles, it wasn't until about late 2008 time that these innovations truly began to reshape popular culture.  In 2006-mid-2008, Facebook and YouTube weren't even that groundbreaking yet, as the former was pretty much still mainly an alternative to MySpace, while YouTube was mostly just a convenient outlet to post web videos and memes, which existed several years prior to that.  From 2008 on, however, these phenomena were the predominant framework through which we communicated with each other, making them critical instruments of matters as diverse as political movements, media exchanges, and business transactions.

I think the main overarching themes of the noughties decade, which the latter half of 2008 killed off, were extravagant materialism, social paranoia, introversion, and all things large.  The Great Recession I think really destroyed the appeal of classy materials to the world's youth, and shifted them towards online entertainment and social causes instead.  The rise of social media and tablet phones hastened the spread of information, which shifted national attention away from the War on Terror and more towards social issues like LGBT rights, wealth inequality, gun control, sexual assault, and police treatment of African Americans.

This spike in social consciousness, which had really not been seen since the sixties, is highly reflected in other general forms of media, too.  Pop divas of the 2000s, such as Britney Spears and Mariah Carey, were very sexualized in nature and mostly promoted image over substance (don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Mariah fan, but the mid-2000s was definitely not her shining moment, in my opinion).  On the other hand, pop divas of the 2010s, including Lady Gaga, Kesha, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry are far less a striptease and much more a celebration of ethnic and sexual diversity, as perfectly reflected by their outlandishly colorful wardrobes and personal empowerment anthems.  It's not a surprise, either, that both rap and rock started to dramatically evolve beginning in late 2008, as well.  Hip hop in the 2000s was still overwhelmingly macho and materialistic, but gradually became much more cosmopolitan by the 2010s, as represented by the success of artists like Macklemore (who talks about thrift shop attire and gay acceptance) and Nicki Minaj (who's as much a flashing light show as Lady Gaga).  Most 2000s rap songs today would attract far more controversy for being misogynistic and/or homophobic than they would chart success.  Pop punk, post-grunge, and nu-metal alike, again all very commercialized, began fading from the mainstream during the same period, making way instead for synthesized and indie rock-influenced groups like Phoenix, Muse, and Neon Trees to take their place on the pop charts.  People were becoming much more interested in the synthesis of multiple sounds and lyrical themes as opposed to drawn-out guitar rock sub-genres that had their origins all the way back in the 90s.  Surviving 2000s rock bands, like Paramore, Fall Out Boy, and Coldplay, changed their musical styles to accommodate the present-day trends.

This being said, while I overall consider 2008 to be the true starting point of 2010s culture, I don't believe that the changes from then took full effect entirely overnight.  2009 was to the 2010s what 1992 was to the 90s - the definitive trends of the new decade were definitely prevalent and growing in influence fast, but the leftover culture from the previous decade was still on its way out.  Much as 1992 still saw some successful hair metal albums like Def Leppard's Adrenalize and FireHouse's Hold Your Fire competing alongside Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten, 2009 still had some popular 00s-style rock albums like 21st Century Breakdown and Love Drunk budding against Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and The Resistance.  I personally think the very last song with a genuine noughties flavor to make a significant impact on the pop charts was Orianthi's According to You, which was released in late 2009 and peaked in early 2010.

The transitional phase can be felt politically, too - as mentioned before, Dubya did not leave office until January of 2009, by which point Lady Gaga's Just Dance was the #1 song and the unemployment rate had already totally plummeted.  Similarly, Bush's father wasn't gone until 1993, despite the dramatic effects of the USSR's dissolution and the Gulf War.  For the 2000s, you could easily argue that the decade didn't truly end politically until 2011, which saw major shifts in the Middle East, particularly with the Arab Spring, the death of Osama Bin Laden, and the conclusion of the Iraq War.  I personally point more to late 2008, however, as the world had already grown very tired and disillusioned by the War on Terror by the time the Recession hit, and the Arab Spring was basically a continuation of social trends already seen in 2009, albeit not in the Middle East.

I definitely agree with the sentiment that the latter half of 2008 was the official beginning of the cultural 2010s.  Even though there had been certain technological milestones in the previous few years, such as YouTube, Facebook, iPhones, and seventh generation video game consoles, it wasn't until about late 2008 time that these innovations truly began to reshape popular culture.  In 2006-mid-2008, Facebook and YouTube weren't even that groundbreaking yet, as the former was pretty much still mainly an alternative to MySpace, while YouTube was mostly just a convenient outlet to post web videos and memes, which existed several years prior to that.  From 2008 on, however, these phenomena were the predominant framework through which we communicated with each other, making them critical instruments of matters as diverse as political movements, media exchanges, and business transactions.

I think the main overarching themes of the noughties decade, which the latter half of 2008 killed off, were extravagant materialism, social paranoia, introversion, and all things large.  The Great Recession I think really destroyed the appeal of classy materials to the world's youth, and shifted them towards online entertainment and social causes instead.  The rise of social media and tablet phones hastened the spread of information, which shifted national attention away from the War on Terror and more towards social issues like LGBT rights, wealth inequality, gun control, sexual assault, and police treatment of African Americans.

This spike in social consciousness, which had really not been seen since the sixties, is highly reflected in other general forms of media, too.  Pop divas of the 2000s, such as Britney Spears and Mariah Carey, were very sexualized in nature and mostly promoted image over substance (don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Mariah fan, but the mid-2000s was definitely not her shining moment, in my opinion).  On the other hand, pop divas of the 2010s, including Lady Gaga, Kesha, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry are far less a striptease and much more a celebration of ethnic and sexual diversity, as perfectly reflected by their outlandishly colorful wardrobes and personal empowerment anthems.  It's not a surprise, either, that both rap and rock started to dramatically evolve beginning in late 2008, as well.  Hip hop in the 2000s was still overwhelmingly macho and materialistic, but gradually became much more cosmopolitan by the 2010s, as represented by the success of artists like Macklemore (who talks about thrift shop attire and gay acceptance) and Nicki Minaj (who's as much a flashing light show as Lady Gaga).  Most 2000s rap songs today would attract far more controversy for being misogynistic and/or homophobic than they would chart success.  Pop punk, post-grunge, and nu-metal alike, again all very commercialized, began fading from the mainstream during the same period, making way instead for synthesized and indie rock-influenced groups like Phoenix, Muse, and Neon Trees to take their place on the pop charts.  People were becoming much more interested in the synthesis of multiple sounds and lyrical themes as opposed to drawn-out guitar rock sub-genres that had their origins all the way back in the 90s.  Surviving 2000s rock bands, like Paramore, Fall Out Boy, and Coldplay, changed their musical styles to accommodate the present-day trends.

This being said, while I overall consider 2008 to be the true starting point of 2010s culture, I don't believe that the changes from then took full effect entirely overnight.  2009 was to the 2010s what 1992 was to the 90s - the definitive trends of the new decade were definitely prevalent and growing in influence fast, but the leftover culture from the previous decade was still on its way out.  Much as 1992 still saw some successful hair metal albums like Def Leppard's Adrenalize and FireHouse's Hold Your Fire competing alongside Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten, 2009 still had some popular 00s-style rock albums like 21st Century Breakdown and Love Drunk budding against Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and The Resistance.  I personally think the very last song with a genuine noughties flavor to make a significant impact on the pop charts was Orianthi's According to You, which was released in late 2009 and peaked in early 2010.

The transitional phase can be felt politically, too - as mentioned before, Dubya did not leave office until January of 2009, by which point Lady Gaga's Just Dance was the #1 song and the unemployment rate had already totally plummeted.  Similarly, Bush's father wasn't gone until 1993, despite the dramatic effects of the USSR's dissolution and the Gulf War.  For the 2000s, you could easily argue that the decade didn't truly end politically until 2011, which saw major shifts in the Middle East, particularly with the Arab Spring, the death of Osama Bin Laden, and the conclusion of the Iraq War.  I personally point more to late 2008, however, as the world had already grown very tired and disillusioned by the War on Terror by the time the Recession hit, and the Arab Spring was basically a continuation of social trends already seen in 2009, albeit not in the Middle East.

Good post and I agree.

I can go with that.

2007 = 1990
2008 = 1991
2009 = 1992
2010 = 1993

Both 2007 and 1990 were arguably the peak of their respective eras.  After them came two years of monumental change until 1993 and 2010, both of which clearly began a new era.

I can go with that.

2007 = 1990
2008 = 1991
2009 = 1992
2010 = 1993

Both 2007 and 1990 were arguably the peak of their respective eras.  After them came two years of monumental change until 1993 and 2010, both of which clearly began a new era.


I take it you see 1990 and 2007 as the peaks of the "late" phrases of their cultural decades (1990 being far more of an 80s year)?  Because I think 80s culture was definitely fading fast by 1990; it's just that 90s culture hadn't really established itself yet, with a few exceptions (The Simpsons, Home Alone, Mariah Carey, and the Disney Renaissance).  Regardless, the Cold War was already over, Reagan was no longer president, new jack swing and hip hop had totally displaced synthpop, and the economy was declining, following the stock market crash of 1987 that eventually took yuppie culture down with it.  I think the entire period from roughly late 1988 all the way up to December, 1991 was sort of a distinct era of its own, with 1990 as its definitive year, and was represented by Bush the Elder, the fall of Soviet Communism, the Gulf War, the original NES, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, new jack swing, house music, power ballads, and old school hip hop.

2007 is part of the same conundrum.  Popular culture had certainly not yet taken a truly distinct identity compared to the beginning of the decade, but innovations such as YouTube, Facebook, Blu-Ray, and Seventh Generation Video Games were already starting to displace the decades's primary elements.  Geopolitically, the post-9/11 paranoia that had fueled the War on Terror was pretty much exhausted by this point, and people were already eagerly anticipating the change that Obama was to promise them.  2000s music, for the most part, was still pretty robust, but the definitive guitar rock genres were just starting to decline in popularity, while hip hop had certainly seen more colorful days earlier in the decade.

Other than than, I agree with your analogy.  1993 has a lot more in common with 1996 than it does with most of 1991.

I take it you see 1990 and 2007 as the peaks of the "late" phrases of their cultural decades (1990 being far more of an 80s year)?  Because I think 80s culture was definitely fading fast by 1990; it's just that 90s culture hadn't really established itself yet, with a few exceptions (The Simpsons, Home Alone, Mariah Carey, and the Disney Renaissance).  Regardless, the Cold War was already over, Reagan was no longer president, new jack swing and hip hop had totally displaced synthpop, and the economy was declining, following the stock market crash of 1987 that eventually took yuppie culture down with it.  I think the entire period from roughly late 1988 all the way up to December, 1991 was sort of a distinct era of its own, with 1990 as its definitive year, and was represented by Bush the Elder, the fall of Soviet Communism, the Gulf War, the original NES, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, new jack swing, house music, power ballads, and old school hip hop.


I do believe 1990 was about as 80s as you can get.  I see Bush the Elder's Presidency as for all intents and purposes Reagan's third term.  New Jack Swing was a very late '80s thing and didn't take on a more '90s sound until after 1990.  Hip-hop had emerged but it was by no means dominant at that point.  The Soviet Union fell on December 25, 1991 and I remember 1990 still had a "Cold War" feel to it.  I also remember Yuppie culture vividly from the 1990 era.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and original NES were all hallmarks of the late '80s.  The world of the '80s lasted until 1993, just as the world of the '00s lasted until 2010 or 2011 depending on how you want to define it.  I think in a few years it will be easier to put an exact date as its always easier to see cultural transitions the farther you get away from them.

I agree though that a few things had already emerged in that era that are associated more with the '90s than the '80s, most notably the Simpsons, Mariah Carey, Home Alone, and the Disney Renaissance as you mentioned.

I do believe 1990 was about as 80s as you can get.  I see Bush the Elder's Presidency as for all intents and purposes Reagan's third term.  New Jack Swing was a very late '80s thing and didn't take on a more '90s sound until after 1990.  Hip-hop had emerged but it was by no means dominant at that point.  The Soviet Union fell on December 25, 1991 and I remember 1990 still had a "Cold War" feel to it.  I also remember Yuppie culture vividly from the 1990 era.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and original NES were all hallmarks of the late '80s.  The world of the '80s lasted until 1993, just as the world of the '00s lasted until 2010 or 2011 depending on how you want to define it.  I think in a few years it will be easier to put an exact date as its always easier to see cultural transitions the farther you get away from them.

I disagree with Bush '41's administration being Reagan's third term because he was a much more moderate politician than his predecessor and didn't govern quite as idealistically, either, as represented by things such as his indifference to the fall of the Berlin Wall (very different from Reagan, who passionately decried it the product of an Evil Empire that he wanted to tear down), his notorious decision to raise taxes against his campaign pledge, and signing social protections like the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Also note how you repeatedly called most of what I mentioned late 80s, not simply 80s.  Yes, new jack swing, NES, and TMNT were much more representative of 80s culture than 90s culture, but they aren't really primary elements of what constituted the 80s as a whole.  They would all seem completely foreign in 1983 (a very definitively 80s year), for example, when popular music still had a slight disco edge, home video games were becoming unpopular, and television wasn't yet quite as carefree and non-PC as it would later come to be.

I think more holistic aspects of 80s culture would be musicians like Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Def Leppard (all of which were hugely popular in the early 80s, as well as the late 80s), flashy synthesizers in music (which first surfaced in 1979 and became ubiquitous by 1982, but which were being displaced by a hollower, more percussion-driven sound around 1988), early personal computers like the Apple II and Commodore 64, yuppies, and Ronald Reagan (NOT Bush the Elder!).

By 1990, most 80s culture, while still definitely alive, had already peaked and was beginning to fade in significance.  Even though grunge had not yet hit the mainstream, I doubt most people, when recalling songs that epitomized glam metal, would refer to songs from 1990 before bringing up Livin' on a Prayer, Pour Some Sugar on Me, Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Jump, or Welcome to the Jungle; the genre was clearly showing its age, leaving it vulnerable to the ascent of grunge.  Most of the year's 80s action movies were either unpopular sequels like Rocky V or rounded out by non-sequitur elements like the pseudo-philosophical Total Recall.  Referring back to Bush the Elder, his pragmatic administration reflected far more that the Reagan Revolution was rapidly dying, not that it was just as robust as it was in 1984.

I definitely agree with the sentiment that the latter half of 2008 was the official beginning of the cultural 2010s.  Even though there had been certain technological milestones in the previous few years, such as YouTube, Facebook, iPhones, and seventh generation video game consoles, it wasn't until about late 2008 time that these innovations truly began to reshape popular culture.  In 2006-mid-2008, Facebook and YouTube weren't even that groundbreaking yet, as the former was pretty much still mainly an alternative to MySpace, while YouTube was mostly just a convenient outlet to post web videos and memes, which existed several years prior to that.  From 2008 on, however, these phenomena were the predominant framework through which we communicated with each other, making them critical instruments of matters as diverse as political movements, media exchanges, and business transactions.
I'd say 2009 but, ok.


I think the main overarching themes of the noughties decade, which the latter half of 2008 killed off, were extravagant materialism, social paranoia, introversion, and all things large.  The Great Recession I think really destroyed the appeal of classy materials to the world's youth, and shifted them towards online entertainment and social causes instead.  The rise of social media and tablet phones hastened the spread of information, which shifted national attention away from the War on Terror and more towards social issues like LGBT rights, wealth inequality, gun control, sexual assault, and police treatment of African Americans.
But the recession in  the early 90s didn't result in people shifting from traditional culture to online soapbox. And I don't recall that happening until after the Hundreds('00s) decade ended.

This spike in social consciousness, which had really not been seen since the sixties, is highly reflected in other general forms of media, too.  Pop divas of the 2000s, such as Britney Spears and Mariah Carey, were very sexualized in nature and mostly promoted image over substance (don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Mariah fan, but the mid-2000s was definitely not her shining moment, in my opinion).  On the other hand, pop divas of the 2010s, including Lady Gaga, Kesha, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry are far less a striptease and much more a celebration of ethnic and sexual diversity, as perfectly reflected by their outlandishly colorful wardrobes and personal empowerment anthems.  It's not a surprise, either, that both rap and rock started to dramatically evolve beginning in late 2008, as well.  Hip hop in the 2000s was still overwhelmingly macho and materialistic, but gradually became much more cosmopolitan by the 2010s, as represented by the success of artists like Macklemore (who talks about thrift shop attire and gay acceptance) and Nicki Minaj (who's as much a flashing light show as Lady Gaga).  Most 2000s rap songs today would attract far more controversy for being misogynistic and/or homophobic than they would chart success.  Pop punk, post-grunge, and nu-metal alike, again all very commercialized, began fading from the mainstream during the same period, making way instead for synthesized and indie rock-influenced groups like Phoenix, Muse, and Neon Trees to take their place on the pop charts.  People were becoming much more interested in the synthesis of multiple sounds and lyrical themes as opposed to drawn-out guitar rock sub-genres that had their origins all the way back in the 90s.  Surviving 2000s rock bands, like Paramore, Fall Out Boy, and Coldplay, changed their musical styles to accommodate the present-day trends.
The 10s singers you listed are far more striptease than any in the Hundreds ever were. Have you seen the latest Nicki Manage videos? Even she had more dignified music in back in the late Hundreds.

Hiphop would largely depend on what you listened to as many of the local rappers on my radio at the time would rap about things like mental slavery.
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This being said, while I overall consider 2008 to be the true starting point of 2010s culture, I don't believe that the changes from then took full effect entirely overnight.  2009 was to the 2010s what 1992 was to the 90s - the definitive trends of the new decade were definitely prevalent and growing in influence fast, but the leftover culture from the previous decade was still on its way out.  Much as 1992 still saw some successful hair metal albums like Def Leppard's Adrenalize and FireHouse's Hold Your Fire competing alongside Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten, 2009 still had some popular 00s-style rock albums like 21st Century Breakdown and Love Drunk budding against Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and The Resistance.  I personally think the very last song with a genuine noughties flavor to make a significant impact on the pop charts was Orianthi's According to You, which was released in late 2009 and peaked in early 2010.
Agree, definitely '09-'10 ended the Hundreds.


2007 is part of the same conundrum.  Popular culture had certainly not yet taken a truly distinct identity compared to the beginning of the decade, but innovations such as YouTube, Facebook, Blu-Ray, and Seventh Generation Video Games were already starting to displace the decades's primary elements.  Geopolitically, the post-9/11 paranoia that had fueled the War on Terror was pretty much exhausted by this point, and people were already eagerly anticipating the change that Obama was to promise them.  2000s music, for the most part, was still pretty robust, but the definitive guitar rock genres were just starting to decline in popularity, while hip hop had certainly seen more colorful days earlier in the decade.
You mean like AIM and DVDs in the 90s?

thread is obvious decadalogy nonsense. and is locked