Okay, if any of you remember my previous posts here, you would know that I like to talk about pop music and the change it had over time. I'm only 20 years old but I know a lot about the changes pop music had over the years. I'm going to list what I believe were the major changes in pop music that people pinpoint as the time it went bad. So here it goes:

1950s/1960s: I'll start at the beginning. The first big change. Rock n' roll in the 50's and 60's. When music changed from soft ballads to fast paced songs to dance to. Parents hated what the music stood for, a bunch of new dance moves, foundation of the pop idol, etc. I don't know if anyone here will say this is when it went bad, unless they are older...

Late 1970's: Disco/Beginnings of electronic music. I know when disco took over as the mainstream genre, there was a lot of backlash against it. Saying it wasn't rock, the fact that many music artists were including disco elements in their songs (even rock musicians), etc. I also included the beginning of electronic music because people say that electronic noises are not playing a real instrument, therefore require no talent. I expect some older members to call out this one as the time it went bad.

Early 1990s: Gangsta Rap emerges. I don't know if you guys are rap fans but rap changed from being about dancing and having a good time to vulgar and violent tendencies at the end of the 80's. Then gangsta rap became big in the early 90's, expressing concern about younger radio listener hearing these mature things. I expect a lot of people to say this one, but like I said, I don't know if there are rap fans on this forum.

Late 1990s/Early 2000s: Before I get into this one, I gotta say this. I believe this one is going to be the most picked time for when music turned bad. It's when music changed from rock being dominant to pop and rap. When music went mainstream. A LOT of people pinpoint the 2000's as when music went bad. Pop stars like Britney Spears and 'N Sync were bashed like crazy. Rap fans criticized the wave of pop rappers like P Diddy and Nelly who rapped about girls, jewelry, and living the good life. But even though I believe this will get the most votes, I have one more... My personal vote.

Late 2000s/2010s: I don't know if people will pick this or not. Because even though there is plenty of Bieber/Nicki hate (IMO more than Britney/N Sync hate), it's pretty much the same thing. However, there was a certain change in the charts that made this deserve my vote. It is the electro pop music craze that wiped out the pop/R&B songs from they early 00's. Like I said in a previous thread, all the pop singers are switching towards EDM now. They repeat words in their songs and sing monotonous like robots. Look at artists like Jennifer Lopez, will.i.am. and Pitbull, who all forgot their hip-hop/R&B roots. If anyone picks this, I bet it will be the younger members of this forum.

Please reply to this, because I really want to know the true time music became bad. People are always hypocrites about pop music, hating N Sync and Backstreet Boys back in the day, but now loving them and hating on Justin Bieber/One Direction. Are they going to say the same for Justin Bieber in 2020? Is it just a cycle? If so, when did music really go bad? That's what I want to find out in this thread. I hope this isn't a bad thread, because I REALLY want to talk about this.

For me, music really went bad after 1989. It started to go downhill in the early to mid 80s, but that's because I am a huge fan of 60s and 70s music, and I like many 80s songs too. The top 40 now is mostly filled with garbage, I'd rather listen to a baby cry on a public bus than most of these new songs.  That is just my opinion though. It counts for nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Honestly, there is no "true time" of when music went bad. It's all subjective, depends what you like and what you don't like. Everyone will have a different opinion, as we shall read in future posts here.

You listen to what you like, and don't listen to bands/genres/styles you don't like, it's as simple as that.

This is really a matter of opinion. Personally, I don't care for disco, so if I was alive in the late '70s, I'd probably be complaining about how music was going to s**t.

I also don't like this current electro-pop/autotune fad. I agree that it does sound very monotonous and superficial.

There's not a true answer, it's all depends on personal taste and what you like.

Well then, let's just share our opinions on when music went bad. I want to know which time is the most picked as when music went downhill. For me, like I said, music got really annoying in the late 2000's, it lost the previous emotion it used to have, like the pop/r&b songs from the early 00's used to have. But I'm really young on this forum (only 20), so maybe that has to do with it.

I guess it really is subjective BUT

I can appreciate most kinds of music. I have the capacity to. So, I like Proto-punk from the 60s, Disco, New Wave (80s), Reggae, Ska, Brit Pop (90s), Post-Punk Revival (00s) etc.

Basically, I appreciate and enjoy music from all times, so music to me never really deteriorates. However, I can see that when it comes to mainstream music, that is it's more generic, it really can become worse.

I dislike current mainstream music. I think the bulk of it is awful. I'm not that old, so I can't really compare and contrast mainstream music from many different decades. But, I think it's at its worst now. I think earlier decades had greater emphasis on actual musicianship unlike the way it is now.
Perhaps, even the subject matter of music was of a better grade, like you mentioned fun rap from the 80s, and classic pop rock from the Zombies which was sweet. "Michelle" from the Beatles, you don't get that anymore...

So, I pick late 00s/early 10s only when it comes to mainstream music. Indie music of this time, however, is highly creative and brilliant. It's wonderful but it never gets much notice which is a shame. This happens some times - Velvet Underground, Television etc. - that great music is for the most part ignored until much later BUT I think that this problem is a lot worse nowadays.

To sum up:
1. Mainstream music has worsened over time. Yes, this time is the worst so far.
2. But you can still appreciate some of it.
3. Indie/"underground" music is usually consistently good but fails to get notice.
4. Said indie music, although more prominent nowadays, is even more separate from the mainstream.

I guess it really is subjective BUT

I can appreciate most kinds of music. I have the capacity to. So, I like Proto-punk from the 60s, Disco, New Wave (80s), Reggae, Ska, Brit Pop (90s), Post-Punk Revival (00s) etc.

Basically, I appreciate and enjoy music from all times, so music to me never really deteriorates. However, I can see that when it comes to mainstream music, that is it's more generic, it really can become worse.

I dislike current mainstream music. I think the bulk of it is awful. I'm not that old, so I can't really compare and contrast mainstream music from many different decades. But, I think it's at its worst now. I think earlier decades had greater emphasis on actual musicianship unlike the way it is now.
Perhaps, even the subject matter of music was of a better grade, like you mentioned fun rap from the 80s, and classic pop rock from the Zombies which was sweet. "Michelle" from the Beatles, you don't get that anymore...

So, I pick late 00s/early 10s only when it comes to mainstream music. Indie music of this time, however, is highly creative and brilliant. It's wonderful but it never gets much notice which is a shame. This happens some times - Velvet Underground, Television etc. - that great music is for the most part ignored until much later BUT I think that this problem is a lot worse nowadays.

To sum up:
1. Mainstream music has worsened over time. Yes, this time is the worst so far.
2. But you can still appreciate some of it.
3. Indie/"underground" music is usually consistently good but fails to get notice.
4. Said indie music, although more prominent nowadays, is even more separate from the mainstream.


Funny that you mentioned indie music, because that something I was gonna add to the late 2000's/2010's section. (NOT saying it's bad, btw) But I think indie rock has crossed into the mainstream, with bands like Fun., Mumford & Sons, the Lumineers, Imagine Dragons, Neon Trees, Foster the People all getting big in the last two years. Indie doesn't fail to get noticed nowadays, just throwing that out there.

I'm going to have to say the early 1990's.

That is actually a difficult question for me to answer.
I would say that it's been getting gradually worse since...?
There was still plenty of good music around '05, and even back in '11 there were plenty of songs that I liked. But I seriously don't recall a single song that I liked from last year.

Like others have said, it is a matter of opinion and it is kind ironic to use this quote but it is like
someone said to the music industry: "Choose! Choose the form of the Destructor!" and someone
thought of the 80's.

http://i.imgur.com/BsUzIN9.gif

We've got this...

Funny that you mentioned indie music, because that something I was gonna add to the late 2000's/2010's section. (NOT saying it's bad, btw) But I think indie rock has crossed into the mainstream, with bands like Fun., Mumford & Sons, the Lumineers, Imagine Dragons, Neon Trees, Foster the People all getting big in the last two years. Indie doesn't fail to get noticed nowadays, just throwing that out there.


I suppose you're somewhat right, but I remember what Grizzly Bear said: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/justin-vernon-consoles-grizzly-bear-over-grammys-snub-20121206

Only a handful of indie music gets noticed whilst the vast majority fails to switch over into the mainstream.

There's also a disparity in wealth, sales, and airplay between mainstream and indie. I just don't think the two have fully aligned.

I also know of several bands that I like that will never get any mainstream acceptance because their music is too different. The mainstream stifles creativity which is why a large amount of indie music is ignored.

"How Popular Music’s Lyrics Perpetuate American Idiocy"

http://theantimedia.org/how-popular-musics-lyrics-perpetuate-american-idiocy/

There's not a true answer, it's all depends on personal taste and what you like.


Old post but I'm with you on this one 100%

All depends on age and perspective. My Dad who was born in 1959, thinks music hasn't been good since the early 80s. He says it started going downhill in 1986. He misses the 60s-80s. He thinks music went to sheesh in the 90s. My grandma thinks it hasn't been good since the early 80s. My mom thinks it's sucked since 1991, when the grunge movement started and when gangsta rap was starting to become even more mainstream.


Personally for me music hasn't been good to me since 2010. That was the LAST year where I truly enjoyed most of the music being played. 2011-2013, I liked a decent amount. Since 2014, I've been kinda losing interest in the musical product. So yeah music hasn't been THE SAME since the early 10s. lol  ;D It depends!

He thinks music went to sheesh in the 90s.

I'm going to have to agree with him and after it went to crap, I started listening to internet radio to get back my nostalgia, so once in a while I'll listen to the radio but other than that I will listen to internet radio.

Music started to go bad in the late 1970s.
The 80s music was god damned awful, but the 1990s until today was far worse than the 1980s.

I've read stories about people of the Ragtime/WWI generation saying that the proliferation of Jazz and Blues music in the 1920s lead that to being the "devil's music".

In terms of mainstream music, I'd say near the end of the '90s. While mainstream Top 40 was a lot more pigenholed, there were many more outlets that people discovered that decade, from modern rock, to alternative, to urban R&B, contemporary country, and on TV VH1 at its best, and the beginnings of satellite radio with a variety of choices. Unfortunately, the very late '90s was when autotune (Cher's Believe), image-focused (most Teen Pop acts), bling-bling/ringtone rap, metal focused too much on loudness started to weigh in on music's main purpose about having fun, and although since then of course there are exceptions, the talent/promotion just doesn't seem as professional now as it did prior to the late '90s.

For me, and only me, starting in 2001. It went downhill fast!  8-P

For me, and only me, starting in 2001. It went downhill fast!  8-P


music wasn't the same after that.

silly devil aside for a minute here,  I seem to have songs I like that go up to 88.  There are a few groups with some music in the 90's I like.

Whenever it fell out of fashion for music to have an actual MESSAGE behind it.

I always found the eras when music is catered to only one demographic or style to be the bad eras or (lack for a better word) lacking years for music. Examples I could think of would be the Y2K Era from circa 1997-2002, and the current era that started around late 2013. Now the only reason why I personally like the former is because it brings back a lot of nostalgic memories for me, but if I was a teen or an adult at the time there's no mistaken it that I would probably hate that era of music. Right now as we speak, theres still tons of good music out now, but its mostly underground though

I will admit it must have felt like a huge step backwards to a lot of people for music to have gone from Biggie, Pearl Jam, 2Pac, Oasis, Alanis Morissette, and the like in 1996 to the pretty-faced Backstreet Boys, Savage Garden, Hanson, and 98 Degrees, plus other cheesy acts like Mase, Aqua, and the Spice Girls in the course of just one year.  I only became familiar with popular music right as late 90s groups were becoming dominant, so I'm familiar with and nostalgic for all of these Generation Y-targeted music acts, but even I far prefer the Generation X era of music (dominant circa late 1982 through 1996) over the Millennial Generation period of 1997 through 2011 (although the years 1997, 2009, and 2010 are right up there with the majority of Gen-X years).  Regardless, in spite of its commercialism, at least the whole 1997-2011 era period had a broad range of different genres, something the Z era of 2012 to present cannot lay claim to.

I will admit it must have felt like a huge step backwards to a lot of people for music to have gone from Biggie, Pearl Jam, 2Pac, Oasis, Alanis Morissette, and the like in 1996 to the pretty-faced Backstreet Boys, Savage Garden, Hanson, and 98 Degrees, plus other cheesy acts like Mase, Aqua, and the Spice Girls in the course of just one year.  I only became familiar with popular music right as late 90s groups were becoming dominant, so I'm familiar with and nostalgic for all of these Generation Y-tartgeted music acts, but even I far prefer the Generation X era of music (dominant circa late 1982 through 1996) over the Millennial Generation period of 1997 through 2011 (although the years 1997, 2009, and 2010 are right up there with the majority of Gen-X years).  Regardless, in spite of its commercialism, at least the whole 1997-2011 era period had a broad range of different genres, something the Z era of 2012 to present cannot lay claim to.


I agree with this

music wasn't the same after that.


Pretty much.

I will admit it must have felt like a huge step backwards to a lot of people for music to have gone from Biggie, Pearl Jam, 2Pac, Oasis, Alanis Morissette, and the like in 1996 to the pretty-faced Backstreet Boys, Savage Garden, Hanson, and 98 Degrees, plus other cheesy acts like Mase, Aqua, and the Spice Girls in the course of just one year.  I only became familiar with popular music right as late 90s groups were becoming dominant, so I'm familiar with and nostalgic for all of these Generation Y-targeted music acts, but even I far prefer the Generation X era of music (dominant circa late 1982 through 1996) over the Millennial Generation period of 1997 through 2011 (although the years 1997, 2009, and 2010 are right up there with the majority of Gen-X years).  Regardless, in spite of its commercialism, at least the whole 1997-2011 era period had a broad range of different genres, something the Z era of 2012 to present cannot lay claim to.


Now I feel conflicted, because I like every act you named, man. I know I lead the ticker tape parade for the Jacksons, but I really do like good music from good talent and outside of the said family, GOOD genuine music suiting my tastes have been few and far between. It's almost like that movie Multiplicity, where the further time progresses, the more humanity kind of degrades and we're starting to witness it in music today. Just yesterday I spoke with a nurse saying I liked this particular song called "I Do" by that band I keep kicking about and it literally is a song about meeting "the one" falling in love and being married. No cheating, no divorces, no side bitches, etc. Just a real, honest to goodness love song. And the nurse looked at me and was like she didn't know anyone still made songs like that. I looked her dead in her face and I said that band is probably one of the last with that kind of sentiment.
And I constantly worry. What the hell will my future kid listen to. I mean I can throw Michael Jackson or 3T at her all I like, but ultimately kids are influenced by their friends. That's how I was on TLC and Usher and the Black Eyed Peas as a kid/teen, because of my friends. I was raised in a house with Gospel Blues and Motown. LOL
I mean I'm 29 and I sit with my friends and we literally worry about where music has fallen to.
IT's a shame.

Funny, back from 1979 to 1982, the music industry was in a slump record sales-wise. Albums sales went down.

Then with the help of MTV, good music, people getting used to the new technology of music, and Michael Jackson's Thriller videos, and singles, music sales went back up again.

It's almost a creepy foreshadowing of what was to come roughly 2001 and after. But this music slump has lasted a lot longer than the one back in the late 70s/early 80s. And back then it was Disco that was blamed, instead of teen stars, rappers (modern ones), and the dance music of today.

History really does rhyme.

I like some disco. I feel it's been given a bad name because of the more novelty-oriented stuff ("Disco Duck", for one).

I remember back then when music was special and it had a message in the lyrics, You don't really hear it anymore these days.

I think it depends on age.  Most people prefer what was popular during their teen years and early twenties.  This isn't just true for the current generation but every generation going back to the jazz age.

For me, 2013 hands down.

It never went bad. There is good music and bad music throughout the ages. Every period has its bad trends, as well as bad songs of good trends, and divisive trends. Good music is found in every year. Yes, even 2012 has it's own handful of good music. Even the teen-pop heavy late '90s had mostly great music (the teen pop was bad, everything else was good) and there was plenty to work around.

However, I do think that mainstream music hasn't really been able to reach its former glory in the past. 2002 was an incredibly bad year for music. It was the skid mark of the modern music paradigm. We haven't really been able to reach 2001-earlier levels of good music since (in upwards of 70+ songs). 2011, 2014, and 2015 have come really close but they stopped just short of it, especially 2015. I think 2016, however, will break that glass ceiling. Music has been getting better, and I have faith that next year will be excellent.

It never went bad. There is good music and bad music throughout the ages. Every period has its bad trends, as well as bad songs of good trends, and divisive trends. Good music is found in every year. Yes, even 2012 has it's own handful of good music. Even the teen-pop heavy late '90s had mostly great music (the teen pop was bad, everything else was good) and these was plenty to work around.

However, I do think that mainstream music hasn't really been able to reach its former glory in the past. 2002 was an incredibly bad year for music. It was the skid mark of the modern music paradigm. We haven't really been able to reach 2001-earlier levels of good music since (in upwards of 70+ songs). 2011, 2014, and 2015 have come really close but they stopped just short of it, especially 2015. I think 2016, however, will break that glass ceiling. Music has been getting better, and I have faith that next year will be excellent.


I do not like nu metal, which was also probably popular in the late 90's. I personally thought that music went downhill before 2002 though (based on listening to music on the radio and on YouTube I thought music went downhill in around 1998/1999).

I think we're just burnt out from such a long string of Top 40 music from the 50s to the 90s.

I do not like nu metal, which was also probably popular in the late 90's. I personally thought that music went downhill before 2002 though (based on listening to music on the radio and on YouTube I thought music went downhill in around 1998/1999).


Oops. I completely forgot nu-metal existed. That was crap too, yeah. I do like Linkin Park though. How old are you anyway?

Oops. I completely forgot nu-metal existed. That was crap too, yeah. I do like Linkin Park though. How old are you anyway?


I'm only 16, but I in general do not like a lot of modern music. I did not actually experience listening to nu-metal and teen pop during the time they were new, but based on its music I have listened to on YouTube and what other people said about those genres, they seem pretty bad.

I think we're just burnt out from such a long string of Top 40 music from the 50s to the 90s.



Yeah I would think so.

I would obviously pick the early 2010s, since they don't really have that much potential to be remembered for a while.

Yeah I would think so.


I thought that music in 2013 and the first half of 2014 was okay, but then it got bad again.

I thought that music in 2013 and the first half of 2014 was okay, but then it got bad again.


I think it started to go bad after the mid to late 1990's.

I thought that music in 2013 and the first half of 2014 was okay, but then it got bad again.


I disagree. I found the whole indie folk trend (which reached its saturation point around 2013/early 2014)  to be very nauseating. It's probably still popular now, but it's peak was in 2013/first half of 2014. Mumford and Sons (Babel era), Lumineers, and Philip Philips, were the bane of my existence in 2013/early 2014. 2014 in general seemed to represent the worst of both the early 2010s and the mid 2010s, in my opinion. The first half of 2015 was pretty much a continuation of late 2014. However I felt that music during the latter part of 2015 was more bearable. One example would be Coldplay's new album, A Head Full of Dreams. I heard some of the singles from the album, and it's a huge improvement over their last 2 albums (Mylo Xyloto was dull, and Ghost Stories was godawful). Also, I know this will sound extreme, but I actually found Five Seconds of Summer's newer stuff this year to be more bearable. I'm not saying I like them, but in 2014, they were an obnoxious teen pop group. In 2015, their new stuff from their second album was less annoying, and more bearable. Again, I'm not saying I'm a fan, I'm just saying that their second album was an improvement over their godawful first album. It's basically the equivalent of being pulled out of a pool of feces, after sinking to the bottom. Not great, but at least an improvement.

I think it started to go bad after the mid to late 1990's.


I seeeeeeee.  :(

I disagree. I found the whole indie folk trend (which reached its saturation point around 2013/early 2014)  to be very nauseating. It's probably still popular now, but it's peak was in 2013/first half of 2014. Mumford and Sons (Babel era), Lumineers, and Philip Philips, were the bane of my existence in 2013/early 2014. 2014 in general seemed to represent the worst of both the early 2010s and the mid 2010s, in my opinion. The first half of 2015 was pretty much a continuation of late 2014. However I felt that music during the latter part of 2015 was more bearable. One example would be Coldplay's new album, A Head Full of Dreams. I heard some of the singles from the album, and it's a huge improvement over their last 2 albums (Mylo Xyloto was dull, and Ghost Stories was godawful). Also, I know this will sound extreme, but I actually found Five Seconds of Summer's newer stuff this year to be more bearable. I'm not saying I like them, but in 2014, they were an obnoxious teen pop group. In 2015, their new stuff from their second album was less annoying, and more bearable. Again, I'm not saying I'm a fan, I'm just saying that their second album was an improvement over their godawful first album. It's basically the equivalent of being pulled out of a pool of feces, after sinking to the bottom. Not great, but at least an improvement.


I found music from 1999 to 2012 unbearably bad. But someone's gold is someone's trash, or whatever!

It's all opinionated and is mostly up to age and taste. I like 80's music while not really liking a lot of 90's music. But it also depends on genre as well. Certain genres were better in some decades than others. And I'm not the type of guy who only listens to popular mainstream music. To me it depends on decade, age, and genre really. There is no such thing as a 100% correct answer regardless of what anyone says.

I think music was great until 2004. From there on it's been progressively worse.

To recap, it (i.e., commercial pop music) has been generally the same in terms of form across numerous decades. With regard to content, that varies depending on the various social crises that take place.

2006-2007

Generally speaking, I believe mainstream music started to decline in 1997. There is a noticeable drop in quality when you compare the best-selling releases of 1996 and those of the following year. The music industry started to focus more on image in 1997, rather than the quality of the releases, which is why bands such as The Backstreet Boys and Hanson found a lot of success. Not only that, but 1997 was also the first overall year where Y2K/Millennial influences emerged. The first traces of the era emerged in Late 1996, with the release of "Wannabe" by Spice Girls, however it wasn't until Early/Mid 1997 that the culture really appeared to change.

I know that it's all subjective, but most of the popular releases of 1997 are pretty ordinary to say the least, with songs such as "Barbie Girl", "MMMBop", "Truly Madly Deeply", "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" and "Semi-Charmed Life". Personally, the only songs I like which were released in 1997 are "Lakinini's Juice" by Live, "Song 2" by Blur and "Freak" by Silverchair (although, I like their entire album).

Even though I believe mainstream music started to decline in 1997, it wasn't until 2002 when mainstream music had really hit 'rock bottom', in my opinion.

For me, 1999 was the beginning.

In all frankness, I think music's full decline varies by region. Here's a basic timeline:

Mid-1990s (Late 1993 to Very Early 1997) - Next to the early-mid-1980s (late 1982 to mid-1985), this is my favorite stretch of time for popular music. While there were clearly mid-90s types of sound (hip hop-influence funk revivals, non-bubblegum eurodance, Seattle-influenced grunge), the variety and musicianship of pop was at an all-time high.

Late 1990s (Early-Mid 1997 to Early 1999) - While I don't enjoy this period overall as much as the mid-90s, I still appreciate it for its colorful, melodious, upbeat feel, intermixed with alternative music that was increasingly infused with breakbeat influences. Like SharkFan99 stated, though, this was essentially the period that planted the first seeds of millennial music, which would eventually grow into a sort of beast.

Y2K Era (Early-Mid 1999 to September 11, 2001) - In all frankness, I quite love most of the teen pop of this era. It was like the pinnacle of the new-jack swing movement that started in the late 80s, with fresher instrumentation fueling more kick than ever into irresistibly catchy beats and in-your-face melodies. Rock was increasingly shaking off its 90s influences by this point, but still it was mostly for the best.

Early 2000s (September 11, 2001 to Mid-2003) - This period was probably the first notable step down in overall quality, but for me personally, it's debatable whether it outmatches the early 90s, which were dominated by cheesy house, pop hop, and less memorable late 80s rock. The main problem with the early 2000s is that with teen pop pretty much dead, rap started to oversaturate the pop charts, and by this point, it wasn't necessarily for the best because it had grown tremendously more indulgent and superficial since the deaths of 2Pac and Biggie. It was still mostly pretty good, but certainly not my favorite period for music.

Mid-2000s (Late 2003 to Mid-2006) - While late 2003 through the first half of 2005 were mostly on par with the early 2000s, quality-wise, things took a sharp turn for the worse during the 2005-2006 school year, at least in the United States. While Britain was enjoying incredibly memorable music from the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs, Rachel Stevens, Sugababes, and dance/electronica musicians, Americans were slammed with ghastly ringtone rap, snooze-inducing rock songs like "Photograph," and childish nonsense like "My Humps," "A$$ Like That," and "Grillz."

Late 2000s (Late 2006 to Mid-2009) - The Timbaland renaissance revitalized the pop market slightly, but I was still kept away from the radio at this time by all the horrid snap rap polluting the charts. 2008 was an especially boring year for music, with rock music so obviously on its last legs and most other pop songs being unbelievably generic. Lady Gaga's breakthrough at the turn of 2009 started to turn things around for the better, however.

Early 2010s (Late 2009 to Mid-2013) - The year 2009 saw a sudden upswing in the quality of popular music, in my opinion. Ringtone rap was finally dead, and cheap, anti-melodic hip hop production values were finally being overtaken by juicy, upbeat, honest-to-goodness musical electropop, spearheaded by Lady Gaga and continuing strong with Kesha, Taio Cruz, and even several 2000s urban veterans like Usher, Chris Brown, and Rihanna. 2010 is probably my favorite year for music in the United states of this millennium, not including 2000. The rest of the early 2010s weren't quite as fresh as 2010, but they were still quite enjoyable, albeit lacking in genre variety.

Mid-2010s  (Late 2013 to ???) - 2013-2014 was the last school year with mostly decent songs. Beginning in late 2014, everything suddenly started to head down the drain. Electronic dance, while still relevant, was now declining, instead making way for the dominance of trap, essentially this decade's equivalent of snap music. Beyond that, regular pop stars were recording increasingly boring and uninspired songs, which I have frequently described as studio-produced elementary school music book songs. The contrast in spirit and freshness between 2010 hits like "Alejandro," "Teenage Dream," "Cooler Than Me," and "Dynamite" versus more current stuff like "Blank Space," "Work," "Marvin Gaye," and Nick Jonas' "Close" is utterly appalling. Even though the latter half of 2015 was somewhat decent, the mid-2010s have mostly been one of the worst, most repetitive and uninspired periods for music since the early 1960s. Even though it's now March of 2017 and we just came out of one of the most turbulent years for world events in a long time, I feel we're still in the exact same musical era right now that we were at the end of 2014, with no signs of change on the horizon.

So in summary, 1997 was technically the beginning of music's decline, but 2001, 2005, and 2014 were also negative turning points, albeit for varying reasons.

Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, and Hanson, ruined everything in 1997.  ::)

I think I'm going to be like my mom who still listens to modern music in her 50s ;D

There's no particular era it drops into the abyss never to return. Some eras are to my taste and others aren't, and there's always a genre I like in every sub era even if I don't like the Top 40 pop charts.

But if we're talking strictly Top 40...

I felt Top 40 went downhill around 2003/2004 but picked up again in 2009 and it's been good since. 2015/2016 were a bit dull but not offensive to my tastes like 2005-2007. I think the first two months of 2017 have been great and Starboy was a great album to end 2016 with too.

For me, 1999 was the beginning.


I used to think that 1999 was the year mainstream music started to decline, but after looking at the 1997 and 1998 charts in much more detail, I now believe that the decline actually started a year or two earlier. Ironically though, there are a couple of songs released in 1999 which I don't mind. All in all, there were still a fair few good songs released between 1997-2002, however they soon became few and far between. :(


Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, and Hanson, ruined everything in 1997.  ::)


Don't forget Aqua. :P

I hate to say it, but I kind of like Aqua as a guilty pleasure... my parents used to play their songs in the car when I was 5, so their dumb riffs and melodies are seared into my DNA. :P

I hate to say it, but I kind of like Aqua as a guilty pleasure... my parents used to play their songs in the car when I was 5, so their dumb riffs and melodies are seared into my DNA. :P


That's understandable, I suppose. :P At least Aqua are only a guilty pleasure of yours. I have a friend who isn't afraid to admit that he really likes "Barbie Girl"!

That's understandable, I suppose. :P At least Aqua are only a guilty pleasure of yours. I have a friend who isn't afraid to admit that he really likes "Barbie Girl"!


Was that me? ;D I was at a parade in London in 1998 and there were Barbie floats and a giant Barbie balloon, and had Barbie Girl blasting. I was totally into it! :D

I hate to say it, but I kind of like Aqua as a guilty pleasure... my parents used to play their songs in the car when I was 5, so their dumb riffs and melodies are seared into my DNA. :P


I actually liked Barbie Girl when I was a kid. So I can feel sympathy towards you.

Was that me? ;D I was at a parade in London in 1998 and there were Barbie floats and a giant Barbie balloon, and had Barbie Girl blasting. I was totally into it! :D


Surprisingly, I didn't have any feelings towards Barbie Girl. Aqua's song, Turn Back Time, was way better.

Yes, the popular, and 'edgy' kids in my class didn't admit to liking the song!  :(

I used to think that 1999 was the year mainstream music started to decline, but after looking at the 1997 and 1998 charts in much more detail, I now believe that the decline actually started a year or two earlier. Ironically though, there are a couple of songs released in 1999 which I don't mind. All in all, there were still a fair few good songs released between 1997-2002, however they soon became few and far between. :(

Don't forget Aqua. :P


Oh yeah, the teen pop of the late 90's sure didn't help the music industry, it was a sign music was getting more shallow. But there were still great songs in 1997 and 1998, to me. But I get what you're saying, the seeds were definitely planted in 1997!

As much as I criticize modern music I will admit that questions like this will only give quite subjective answers. Old folk saying it went bad in a different time era than younger folk. As for myself it depends on genre and not music as a whole. Hip Hop to me was great in the 1980s, but I never did like 1990s hip hop and modern Hip Hop is trash. House & Garage music are great and never really started to decline until Electro House came around. Jazz has Electro Swing which is great. Nu-Disco is also great and hasn't really gotten bad to me. Dance-Pop still can sound pretty nice with nice songs like these.
iS1g8G_njx8uSD4vsh1zDA

Electro Pop from the late 2000s/early 2010s sounds pretty nice with only a handful that I don't like. Internet music genres like Vaporwave or Future funk always sounds nice songs like these.
AHJYY3l8ZoQW1GLpEl7RzE

Overall as much as I criticize the mainstream music industry I can't say that it's bad. I think the problem people have is that they don't look for good music. They just base things off of the music they hear from the radio (which is limited in the kind of  music it plays) and say that music has gone bad. For myself I just go through the internet and find a lot of popular and less-popular songs and always find nice music that I love to listen to.

Music hasn't gotten bad or better overall. Certain genres may have gotten bad, but in most cases whether they're actually better or worse is quite subjective. I criticize modern music quite a bit, but I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't found a ton of songs that I like. I'm sure if I went back in time and experienced the older music industry I'd still find things to complain about. There is no real/true answer to something like "When did music REALLY go bad?".  Although with all that said I don't like music from 2015 to 2017 very much outside of maybe 2 genres. But the 2010s does have a ton of nice stuff.

what a barfing girl?  play that song and I wi i il

That's understandable, I suppose. :P At least Aqua are only a guilty pleasure of yours. I have a friend who isn't afraid to admit that he really likes "Barbie Girl"!


I hate "Barbie Girl". ::)

I hate "Barbie Girl". ::)


I do as well. Don't know how anyone can like it!  :o

I do as well. Don't know how anyone can like it!  :o


It's parodistic and is melodiously bubbly.

I do as well. Don't know how anyone can like it!  :o


It seemed very addicting when I first heard it.

I don't know why people hate Tubthumper so much??

I do as well. Don't know how anyone can like it!  :o


I just find it stupid.

I do as well. Don't know how anyone can like it!  :o
The pop video was dire too!

That's understandable, I suppose. :P At least Aqua are only a guilty pleasure of yours. I have a friend who isn't afraid to admit that he really likes "Barbie Girl"!

Aqua did more than just Barbie Girl you ignorant phillistine!

They also did multi-layered, compelling masterpieces like Roses are Red, Dr Jones, Cartoon Heroes, Halloween, Freaky Friday, Aquarius, Candyman, and Turn Back Time - each on a par with Bach or Beethoven.

Aqua did more than just Barbie Girl you ignorant phillistine!

They also did multi-layered, compelling masterpieces like Roses are Red, Dr Jones, Cartoon Heroes, Halloween, Freaky Friday, Aquarius, Candyman, and Turn Back Time - each on a par with Bach or Beethoven.


That's not a nice thing to call someone on their birthday. :P

You're right, though. Aqua's music stands the test of time. :P

That's not a nice thing to call someone on their birthday. :P

You're right, though. Aqua's music stands the test of time. :P

I was joking. :P

Happy birthday though!

I was joking. :P

Happy birthday though!


I know you were. :)

Thank you. :)

You're right, though. Aqua's music stands the test of time. :P

In all honest I think Turn Back Time is a genuinely good pop ballad. It's possibly the only Aqua song that doesn't sound cheesy, partially because it only features the female singer and doesn't have the bald guy yelling all over it.

I've talked to two of my friends on several occasions in the past about when they believe music became worse and they believe that Top-40 music went downhill in 2010. Even though, I think it's more due to the fact that rock music mostly lost its presence on the charts by that point and their beloved "Emo" music was almost dead. :P I'm personally more inclined to say that it began to decline in the 'Late 90s, although I do see their point of view.

Then when did it start getting good again? ???

Search for the true answer: When did music REALLY go bad?

When this digital crap started ruining beautiful analogue sound in the late 70s!!!

well, I like 80's rock and will go with 70's too.

Music is still good. It never went bad but that's just me.

Music never really got "bad" and the term "bad" is subjective so there's not going to be a specific answer to this question. Music is just changing, that's all. I still like today's music, I like music from the past. I don't think music has ever gotten bad but I do have specific years that I thought were bad for music. That is just my opinion though.

As far as mainstream music goes, I'd say it started going down in the mid 80s when garbage like Cyndi Lauper and Madonna became popular and when rock and metal became too mainstream and commercialized, but then it went back up again in 1991 when the grunge movement started, then down again in the late 90s when garbage like Aqua and Spice Girls became popular, then up again in 2001-2003 when great bands such as Linkin Park, Evanescence, and Three Days Grace became popular, then going slightly down in 2005 before accelerating downhill in 2008.

Underground music though I'd say is in a golden age right now. The underground metal scene in this decade is absolutely phenomenal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od7I54LHTTU

It never went bad. Whether music is bad or not is entirely subjective. I personally love current mainstream music.

It just evolved, it never went bad.

That Barbie Girl is just one of those people that needed to be flushed down the toilet

There wasn't one point music just stopped being good, it's more about ups and downs (if we're talking about the mainstream, otherwise there's always great music in the underground). That being said, here are my least favorite periods of mainstream music IMO:

Late 40s-Early 50s: The Post-Swing and Pre-Rock 'n' Roll era is just complete wasteland to me.

Early 60s: This period just doesn't know what it's doing. Lots of bad Rock 'n' Roll vestige novelty songs, excruciatingly boring crooning ballads and the booming Beat music which I'm not fond of beyond maybe early Beatles.

Late 80s: Power ballads make me sick and a lot of the Glam Metal really is unapealing to me, and a lot of the pop is getting into early 90s kind of terribleness. That's when the 80s traded off the silliness and futurism of the early 80s (which is one of my favorite periods for pop music) for something that's just a joke on itself.

Early 90s: Just a mess. There are certainly good songs out of this period (usually the most cheesy ones, like What is Love, Emotions, The Sign, Vogue, ...), but otherwise a lot the novelty Pop Rap/Hip Hopesque songs (I'm too Sexy, Jump, Boom! Shake the Room, Ice Ice Baby, I Wanna Sex You Up, 2 Legit 2 Quit) as well as the extremely syruppy over emotional adult contemporary Pop music (Save the Best for Last, Everything I Do I Do it For You, End of the Road, I'd Do Anything for Love) just makes me want to throw up.
Give me good ol' late 90s cheese a la Wannabe, MMMBop and Believe over this any day of the week (and the Hip Hop and R&B of the time is just a blessing to my ears too).

Late 2000s: for obvious reasons

The general consensus seems to be 1997, and I can understand why. But when it truly started getting very terrible was from 2006 - 2009, in my humble opinion.

Lmao, if anything 1997 is by far one of the strongest years in terms of album releases from the 90s.

http://www.starsareunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/oknotok1.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/08/Bjork_-_Homogenic_album_cover.jpg/220px-Bjork_-_Homogenic_album_cover.jpg

http://www.ifmusic.co.uk/images/product_images/TheProdigy-TheFatOfTheLand.jpg

https://img.discogs.com/aC8h3or4Iv_ocLvNYbKMRQ-rw5g=/fit-in/600x601/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-2712992-1297722465.jpeg.jpg

https://sonicmoremusic.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/godspeedyou.jpg

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71k1xE7ELoL._SL1400_.jpg

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81eCxSLNxtL._SL1425_.jpg

These kind of discussions are always bullsheesh nonsense and it just boils down to people having a hard time getting off their pink glasses anyway.

The general consensus seems to be 1997, and I can understand why. But when it truly started getting very terrible was from 2006 - 2009, in my humble opinion.


You definitely could see a preview of it in 1997, but 1999, to me, was when it started going south. But there were still pop gems from 1999 to 2002.

It got REALLY bad starting in 2003!

Music died Janaury 1,2010 12:00am because it's 2010 and its modern so and also it's 2010s so that's another reason to bash on it.

Lmao, if anything 1997 is by far one of the strongest years in terms of album releases from the 90s.

http://www.starsareunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/oknotok1.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/08/Bjork_-_Homogenic_album_cover.jpg/220px-Bjork_-_Homogenic_album_cover.jpg

http://www.ifmusic.co.uk/images/product_images/TheProdigy-TheFatOfTheLand.jpg

https://img.discogs.com/aC8h3or4Iv_ocLvNYbKMRQ-rw5g=/fit-in/600x601/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-2712992-1297722465.jpeg.jpg

https://sonicmoremusic.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/godspeedyou.jpg

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71k1xE7ELoL._SL1400_.jpg

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81eCxSLNxtL._SL1425_.jpg

These kind of discussions are always bullsheesh nonsense and it just boils down to people having a hard time getting off their pink glasses anyway.

1997 was one of the worst years and that's when music started getting bad. Barbie Girl, Hanson, Spice Girls, and Backstreet Boys were all huge that year...

Music died Janaury 1,2010 12:00am because it's 2010 and its modern so and also it's 2010s so that's another reason to bash on it.


Music reached its peak when the person reading this turned 10 and it only got worse from there and never recovered, and that's the answer to this thread. /thread

In 1996.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Act_of_1996

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IHeartMedia

In 1996.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Act_of_1996

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IHeartMedia


Wut 1996 is my favourite year of the '90s  :\'(

Wut 1996 is my favourite year of the '90s  :\'(


Just out of curiosity, what are your top 5 favorites from that year?

Just out of curiosity, what are your top 5 favorites from that year?


Oh God, that's hard! ;D

1) WANDS –  世界が終るまでは (Till The World Ends – the most epic Japanese rock song ;D)
2) Jimmy Eat World – In The Same Room
3) Noir Désir – À Ton Étoile (To Your Star – a French song)
4) Green Day – Brain Stew
5) Gin Blossoms – Follow You Down

I think that's a decent top 5.  ???

Honourable mention to Rockstar by Jimmy Eat World. I didn't want to mention two songs from the same album, but I LOVE driving to that song, it always puts me in the best mood.  8)

Wut 1996 is my favourite year of the '90s  :\'(


Well to be fair, the effects of the Telecommunications Act might not have hit full force for another year or so, but I do remember that before it passed there were quite a few commercial alternative rock stations (I know, it does sound like a bit of an oxymoron) in the mid 1990s, and once it took effect and Clear Channel Communications (now iHeart Radio) was free to take over, it seemed like almost all of those stations changed formats and disappeared overnight and there waa a drastic drop in the quality of commercial music not long after.

1997 was one of the worst years and that's when music started getting bad. Barbie Girl, Hanson, Spice Girls, and Backstreet Boys were all huge that year...
Lol, so what? Each year has their fair of stinkers. Yes let's cherrypick the bad and forget that Notorious B.I.G., Elthon John, Jewel and The Verve were equally huge that year (also Wannabe is a major bop, you hater of fun).

Lol, so what? Each year has their fair of stinkers. Yes let's cherrypick the bad and forget that Notorious B.I.G., Elthon John, Jewel and The Verve were equally huge that year (also Wannabe is a major bop, you hater of fun).

The bad came in droves that year.

The bad came in droves that year.
That's way too simple to come with something like that.
Nah, the biggest single of 97 still is Candle of the Wind. And hits like I'll Be Missing You and Un-break My Heart were much bigger than those acts. (also worth of note is that the Backstreet Boys didn't gain momentum until 98).

Anyway, this is a nice video towards this thread:
qp2yvK_huqM

That's way too simple to come with something like that.
Nah, the biggest single of 97 still is Candle of the Wind. And hits like I'll Be Missing You and Un-break My Heart were much bigger than those acts. (also worth of note is that the Backstreet Boys didn't gain momentum until 98).

Anyway, this is a nice video towards this thread:
qp2yvK_huqM

The Backstreeet Boys gained momentum in 1996... That was when their debut album came out...

That's way too simple to come with something like that.
Nah, the biggest single of 97 still is Candle of the Wind. And hits like I'll Be Missing You and Un-break My Heart were much bigger than those acts. (also worth of note is that the Backstreet Boys didn't gain momentum until 98).

Anyway, this is a nice video towards this thread:
qp2yvK_huqM


Also it's ironic you pull a dose of buckley video because he also says 1997 was the worst year for music... Go from 0:05 to 0:30 of this video... LOL this just proves EXACTLY what I said.

rLmAnzi_52k

Still think 1997 wasn't a terrible year for music now?  ;)

The bad came in droves that year.


It's not like the 1996 Telecommunications act happened then everything changed overnight. It's more like a steady decline in quality over years.

Also it's ironic you pull a dose of buckley video because he also says 1997 was the worst year for music... Go from 0:05 to 0:30 of this video... LOL this just proves EXACTLY what I said.

Still think 1997 wasn't a terrible year for music now?  ;)


That doesn't prove what you said. If 1997 was the worst year that means it got better from there.

That doesn't prove what you said. If 1997 was the worst year that means it got better from there.

I still believe music got a lot worse since then.

In my opinion, music never went “bad” you still have a lot of good underground music being made today. “Bad” is a subjective term and doesn’t have any real meaning cause it’s based off an opinion.

also worth of note is that the Backstreet Boys didn't gain momentum until 98

Are you serious about this?  ??? How can you say Backstreet Boys didn't gain momentum until 1998? Are you ignoring their hits like "Get Down" and "We've got it going on"? Are you ignoring the fact they released their self titled debut album in 1996 that was successful and went diamond? My sister had the Backstreet Boys posters in her bedroom in 1997. Did you even live a day in the 1990s? lol They were definitely superstars in 1997.

It's not like the 1996 Telecommunications act happened then everything changed overnight. It's more like a steady decline in quality over years.


I dunno. It seemed like once Clear Channel started buying up all the FM stations, music got drastically dumbed down over the next 2-3 years after that.

Plus, Clear Channel also bought up all the AM stations, and once that happened they built a nationwide right-wing propaganda network out of them.  :o

Late 90’s

The late '90s was when the lyrics and content of songs started getting a lot more sexual and in your face. Same as the music videos.

The late '90s was when the lyrics and content of songs started getting a lot more sexual and in your face. Same as the music videos.
Lol, tons of Disco songs had pretty sexualized content and even contained orgasms. And stars like Prince and Madonna were also pretty in your face about it in their songs.

Also, is sex really a problem ::)

The late '90s was when the lyrics and content of songs started getting a lot more sexual and in your face. Same as the music videos.

Sexual themes in songs hasn’t been a problem since, like, 1960. Heck even “Baby It’s Cold Outside” was about a guy making excuses for a lady to get her to have s*x with him, and it was released in 1949.

Lol, tons of Disco songs had pretty sexualized content and even contained orgasms. And stars like Prince and Madonna were also pretty in your face about it in their songs.

Also, is sex really a problem ::)

That is not true, it has only been getting big since the late '90s and early 2000s. Heck even back then it was more innocent than some of the songs today. And yeah it is a problem. I want music with meaningful lyrics, not pornos.