For me:
90s awesome
2000-2005 awesome
2006-2009 sucked

Simples.

Can it be on the decades since the 50s or is it 90s to present? Cause I don't mind discussing the old school decades.

Can it be on the decades since the 50s or is it 90s to present? Cause I don't mind discussing the old school decades.

I only did decades I can remember, but feel free to do whatever you'd like.

Well, overall the decades before I existed
20s 30s and 40s all had their fair shares of movies and historical events. 20s seemed like everyboy was happy and optimistic. 30s looked like the worst time to be around. 40s was WW2 that is all.

50s: seemed cool pop culturally, but lifestyle wise, as a black guy it looks like it was rough for my people, I'm glad I wasn't around then! ;)
60s: by watching the documentaries, listening to the music, watching the tv and movies. The decade looks VERY interesting, mysterious, and cool
70s: EXCELLENT movies and television. great music. But politically, it DEFINITELY wasn't a happy time for america.
80s: Looks like it was a pretty weird and fun decade. The Reagan years seemed like america was '' back''!!

90s: The decade I came into existence. I only really recall two years obviously. But the 90s was a great time for movies, gaming, music, and sports!!! :D
00s: A Decade that was AMAZING during the early and mid part and declined in the latter part. I enjoyed 2008 though.
10s: Got off to a VERY bad start. Good music and tv in the first two years(2010 and 2011), but a TERRIBLE time for my life(High School). Looks bland and medicore so far!! I liked 2013 though.

1920s:
Only a good decade if you were privileged and white.  Though this was one of the breakthrough decades for women, who now had the right to vote in the US and began embracing less extravagant fashions, the second coming of the Ku Klux Klan was in full force, not to mention the first Red Scare put a huge damper if you were a minority.  Also, since this was the Prohibition era, the mafia ran amuck in major cities.
Prelude:  1918-1920
Zeitgeist:  1921-1928
Echo:  1929-1933
Quintessential Year:  1925

1930s:
An utterly terrible time for world politics, due to the Great Depression, rise of fascism, Dust Bowl, and Stalin's Five Year Plan.  Pop culturally, it was a pretty revolutionary period, especially around the peripherals.  This was the first decade that radio was huge, as well as the time talkies were standard in the movie industry.  Blues and swing were the dominant forms of music this decade, both laying quite the foundations for later genres.  The early 30s produced several gigantic successes for Universal like Frankenstein, Dracula, and King Kong, while the late 30s had classics Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach, Gone with the Wind, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.  I actually think this decade ended early because 1938 and especially 1939 seem very distinct from the rest of the 30s; I see the period from the late 30s to early 40s as a hybrid era that bridged the 30s with the 40s, entailing the first stages of World War II, the absolute peak of Hollywood Cinema (featuring the above movies, as well as stuff like Citizen Kane and Casablanca), the Golden Age of Disney movies (beginning with Snow White and ending with Bambi), the full establishment of Warner Bros. mascots like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, the beginning of the golden age of comic books (Superman and Batman both debuted in the late 30s), the decline of the New Deal, and a shift into 40s fashion; the short, wavy, post-flapper hairstyle that dominated the 30s began to decline in 1938 and was fully overtaken by the longer, curlier, and more voluptuous 40s styles by the end of that year and into 1939.
Prelude:  1927-1929
Zeitgeist:  1930-1937
Echo:  1938-1941
Quintessential Year:  1933

1940s:
More than any other decade, the 1940s feel split into two completely different eras, one defined by World War II and the Golden Age of cinema, the other being the beginning of what would eventually become the 50s.  World War II was, of course, one of the most devastating events in world history, although on the bright side it did ultimately pave the way for the women's and African American civil rights movements of the mid-20th century.  Except for the early 40s, this decade was one of the driest for popular culture, in large part due to World War II distracting from the commercial appeal of consumer media.  Musically, this decade was defined by the bebop movement, as well as crooners like Bing Crosby, not to mention the Andrews Sisters.  As triumphant as the Allied Powers felt in 1945, the celebration was really cut short by the beginning of the Cold War and the emergence of McCarthyism.
Prelude:  1937-1940
Zeitgeist:  1941-1945
Echo:  1946-1953
Quintessential Year:  1944

1950s:
Like the 40s, this decade feels split in half, though the two parts aren't quite as drastically different from each other, as was the case during the previous decade.  By all means, 1950-1954 was pretty much a direct continuation of the late 40s; 1946-1954 is really a decade of its own that just happens to be sandwiched between two calendar decades.  Like the late 40s, the early 50s were defined by crooners like Perry Como and Frank Sinatra, the ascent of television, McCarthyism, the full establishment of 50s fashions, and the first stages of the Cold War (which culminated in the Korean War).  One key difference was that the film industry was finally revitalized in 1950, which had All About Eve, Cinderella, and Sunset Boulevard; World War II was long over, and the booming and evolving climate made cinema a vibrant center of popular culture again.  The years 1953 and 1954 were mildly transitional, due to the death of Stalin, inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, end of the Korean War, Brown v. Board of Education decision, and opening of the first McDonald's, but it was in 1955 that the 50s entered its second half, which most people think of when they hear the word "fifties."  This was the breakthrough year for teenage rebellion in popular media, thanks to rock & roll, Marilyn Monroe, and James Dean's movies; Elvis' rise to superstardom would be the following year.  This "peak" of 50s culture lasted until 1959, which saw The Day the Music Died, the jazz renaissance, the Communist takeover of Cuba, and beginning of 60s fashion.  A lot like the 20s, I think the 50s were a far, far darker time than most people portray them, due to the virulent racism, homophobia, sexism, and xenophobia that dominated the period.  Only the biggest conformists felt at-home during the decade.
Prelude:  1946-1954
Zeitgeist:  1955-1959
Echo:  1960-1963
Quintessential Year:  1957

1960s:
A period of unrest, one which saw a lot of civil rights breakthroughs, but also a lot of tragedy and disorder.  Everybody seems to associate this decade with hippies, Woodstock, Vietnam, etc., but one should not forget some of the other trends that dominated the decade since its early years, either.  The 60s, in my opinion, were very much the decade of spy flicks, both serious (i.e., Mission: Impossible, Sean Connery-era James Bond), as well as satirical (Get Smart, The Pink Panther, The Avengers, etc.).  The early 60s were also the golden age of Hanna-Barbera cartoons, including the runs of The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear, etc.  Although the Kennedy Assassination and arrival of The Beatles to America were the death knell for 50s culture, I'd say the 60s atmosphere was actually already quite prevalent by at least 1962.  For one thing, 60s fashion was already very much established by that year, with hairspray and flip hairdos everywhere, in addition to solid-color dresses.  While 12-bar rock & roll was still dominant, surf rock acts like The Beach Boys were now popular, and Bob Dylan released his first couple of albums in 1962 and 1963.  The song Green Onions also popularized the electric organ, which would soon play a significant role in 60s rock.  Marilyn Monroe passed away in 1962, bringing a tragic end to one of the key icons of the 50s, and the first James Bond movie, Dr. No, came out in October.  Shows like the aforementioned Flintstones, as well as Andy Griffith, Dick Van Dyke, and The Beverley Hillbillies were all on the air by 1962.  While I won't deny 1969 was completely different from 1960, I think people overestimate how changeful the 60s were to society, as to me, taking more into account than just civil rights victories and hippie culture, the 60s were really quite a vintage decade and don't actually seem that distant from the 50s, for the most part.
Prelude:  1959-1963
Zeitgeist:  1964-1970
Echo:  1971-1974
Quintessential Year:  1967

1970s:
Rock and roll reached its creative peak during this decade, beginning with the emergence of hard rock and prog rock in the early 70s and eventually leading to punk and new wave towards the end.  Disco was a highly mixed bag, with some songs, mostly the predominantly funk-infused ones, bringing quite a spark to the top 40, but a lot of others being cheesy kitsch.  Aside from certain classics like The Godfather Parts I & II and Star Wars, this decade was somewhat forgettable for film.  It's probably the first decade that I wouldn't categorize as part of the "vintage" era of cinema, but it was still before the long-term influence of movies like Star Wars, Jaws, and Indiana Jones had full taken effect.  In fact, the 70s as a whole seem like the transitional decade between the "vintage" 20th century and the "modern" 20th century, at least in my opinion.  Video games first appeared as a commercial industry during this decade, though they wouldn't truly explode until the early 80s.  Music was not yet predominantly synthesized like it would be from the 80s on, but it was definitely well beyond its simplistic, tongue-and-cheek days, as well.  The same decade that began with the final albums by The Beatles and The Doors (with Jim Morrison still on the vocals) ended with acts like Blondie, The Cars, and Pat Benatar making a splash on the charts.
Prelude:  1968-1972
Zeitgeist:  1973-1978
Echo:  1979-1981
Quintessential Year:  1977

1980s:
One of my personal favorite decades ever, and, at least for me, the first that still feels entirely modern enough to be relatable now.  I know a lot of the music and technology from this period seems extremely dated by today's standards, but the 80s were still in this very carefree, techy, and futuristic zeitgeist that causes them to feel like a completely different universe than the 70s and before.  A lot of people despise the 80s for being the year that commercialism really took over the media, as well as the time we had to deal with Reaganonics, but to me personally, the era produced more positive things than bad.  I love the vast majority of 80s songs, radio-friendly as most of it is; it has an edge that 21st century pop (as well as pop from the 60s and 70s) simply cannot match.  Movies are in the same boat for me; even though commercially fueled, archetypal films were more common than ever, I still adore classics like Back to the Future, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Return of the Jedi, and Dead Poets Society.  The 80s are usually classified as a conservative decade, but really I think they seem more libertarian, unlike the socially conservative 50s.  Few programs were developed to aid social minorities, but the trend of progress didn't really reverse, either, especially with things like The Cosby Show, Cyndi Lauper, Culture Club, and Madonna breaking the barriers of social expression in popular media.  Gays and African Americans were hit heavily by the AIDS epidemic, but both groups continued to establish themselves within mainstream popular culture.
Prelude:  1978-1981
Zeitgeist:  1982-1988
Echo:  1989-1992
Quintessential Year:  1987

1990s:
A significantly different period from the 80s on a stylistic front, but a much-welcomed expansion of the preceding decade on a technological level.  The rise of the Internet, cell phones, and CD's, as well as the general peak of video games and television all made the 90s one of the finest decades for popular culture.  The booming economy, diverse music scene, and laid-back social attitudes were no less positive, either.
Prelude:  1989-1991
Zeitgeist:  1992-1997
Echo:  1998-2001
Quintessential Year:  1994

2000s:
A duller and more cynical decade than the two preceding it, but not one without its merits.  During this decade, the Internet was still exciting and expanding, and everyday activities were a solid balance between electronic devices and other, more productive things.  Music gradually declined over the course of this period, though it experienced an upswing at the end with the death of snap and rise of electropop.
Prelude:  1997-2000
Zeitgeist:  2001-2007
Echo:  2008-2011
Quintessential Year:  2004

2010s:
A decade that I was looking forward to as its culture picked up, but which soon turned into utter garbage as it approached its middle years.  Despite the advances in technology society has made, everything about the world of the 2010s seems so empty compared to the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, in large part due to the overwhelming prevalence of iPhones, tablets, and social media, but also a complete zombie-fication of popular media in general, aside from certain independent films.  I can't even appreciate the numerous milestones for LGBT rights since 2009, due to the veiled conformist nature of society.  I really hope something happens to revive pop culture during the last few years of this decade.
Prelude:  2006-2008
Zeitgeist:  2009-present
Quintessential Year:  2013

1970s:
Rock and roll reached its creative peak during this decade, beginning with the emergence of hard rock and prog rock in the early 70s and eventually leading to punk and new wave towards the end.  Disco was a highly mixed bag, with some songs, mostly the predominantly funk-infused ones, bringing quite a spark to the top 40, but a lot of others being cheesy kitsch.  Aside from certain classics like The Godfather Parts I & II and Star Wars, this decade was somewhat forgettable for film.  It's probably the first decade that I wouldn't categorize as part of the "vintage" era of cinema, but it was still before the long-term influence of movies like Star Wars, Jaws, and Indiana Jones had full taken effect.  In fact, the 70s as a whole seem like the transitional decade between the "vintage" 20th century and the "modern" 20th century, at least in my opinion.  Video games first appeared as a commercial industry during this decade, though they wouldn't truly explode until the early 80s.  Music was not yet predominantly synthesized like it would be from the 80s on, but it was definitely well beyond its simplistic, tongue-and-cheek days, as well.  The same decade that began with the final albums by The Beatles and The Doors (with Jim Morrison still on the vocals) ended with acts like Blondie, The Cars, and Pat Benatar making a splash on the charts.
Prelude:  1968-1971
Zeitgeist:  1972-1978
Echo:  1979-1981
Quintessential Year:  1977


70s a forgettable decade for movies? :-\\  Seriously? ???  Alien, the exorcist, Rocky, Mean Streets,Apocalypse Now, Annie Hall,Halloween, The Deer Hunter, Carrie , Network, Dirt Harry, Dog Day Afternoon, Grease, Animal House, MASH, The Sting, Barry Lyndon, French Connection, Clockwork Orange, Taxi Driver,American Grafhitti, Close Encounter's of the Third Kind. I can go on...

70s a forgettable decade for movies? :-\\  Seriously? ???  Alien, the exorcist, Rocky, Mean Streets,Apocalypse Now, Annie Hall,Halloween, The Deer Hunter, Carrie , Network, Dirt Harry, Dog Day Afternoon, Grease, Animal House, MASH, The Sting, Barry Lyndon, French Connection, Clockwork Orange, Taxi Driver,American Grafhitti, Close Encounter's of the Third Kind. I can go on...


I kind of just prefer the 80s and 90s, and consider the 60s more influential aside from Star Wars for the 70s.  Part of my bias probably stems, too, from the fact that I've seen so few films from the 70s.

I like pop culture in the 1930s, 1950s, 1980s, and 1990s.

2010s:
A decade that I was looking forward to as its culture picked up, but which soon turned into utter garbage as it approached its middle years.  Despite the advances in technology society has made, everything about the world of the 2010s seems so empty compared to the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, in large part due to the overwhelming prevalence of iPhones, tablets, and social media, but also a complete zombie-fication of popular media in general, aside from certain independent films.  I can't even appreciate the numerous milestones for LGBT rights since 2009, due to the veiled conformist nature of society.  I really hope something happens to revive pop culture during the last few years of this decade.
Prelude:  2006-2008
Zeitgeist:  2009-present
Quintessential Year:  2013


I think its way too soon to judge the 2010s, the decade's culture, or it's quintessential year.  In my opinion, 2015 is the quintessential year thus far but I don't think we will know for sure until at least 2022.  Usually the final four years of a decade define it.  I believe this to be the case with every decade since at least the 1910s.  We will see if that holds true for the 2010s but my guess is that it will and the late '10s will be the defining chapter of the story of the decade.

As for previous decades, I think the quintessential year of the '00s was 2007 and the '90s it was 1996.  Other than that, #Infinity makes a lot of good points.

I think its way too soon to judge the 2010s, the decade's culture, or it's quintessential year.  In my opinion, 2015 is the quintessential year thus far but I don't think we will know for sure until at least 2022.  Usually the final four years of a decade define it.  I believe this to be the case with every decade since at least the 1910s.  We will see if that holds true for the 2010s but my guess is that it will and the late '10s will be the defining chapter of the story of the decade.

I know it's all speculative, and that one of the years from 2016-2019 might overshadow the earlier years, but I just think 2013 is the quintessential 2010s year so far.  The reason I don't go with 2014 and 2015 is because they've both been much drier years for popular culture, whereas 2013 contains the biggest chunk of things that come to mind when I think of the 2010s, i.e., Frozen, Get Lucky, Breaking Bad finale, Gravity, etc.  It's the same situation that I have with 2004 versus 2005; the latter was just as much "in the 00s" as the former, but 2004, imo, was the year that produced the largest amount of significant things to the decade (more on this soon).

As for previous decades, I think the quintessential year of the '00s was 2007 and the '90s it was 1996.  Other than that, #Infinity makes a lot of good points.


The prevalence of Facebook and YouTube causes 2007 to feel pretty connected to the early 2010s, not to mention Lil' Jon was not really popular that year, nor did Eminem release any new material.  50 Cent had also drastically fallen from popularity, his Curtis album losing to Graduation on September 11, 2007.  This was the first year that the seventh generation of video gaming was really hitting full force, but aside from the Wii (a strictly late 2000s fad), I see that generation as defining the Great Recession era more than the 2000s in general.  The PS2, XBOX, Nintendo DS, and GameCube, in my opinion, represent the 2000s decade more directly, and 2004 was arguably the year that they all peaked (GCN, imo, peaked in late 2001, but it was still relevant in 2004), not to mention '04 was an incredible year for PC gaming as well.  Lindsay Lohan was at the height of her popularity in 2004, but had already completely fallen from grace by 2007.  2007 was the year Kim Kardashian overtook Paris Hilton as the spoiled, famous-for-nothing female celebrity of the day.  Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, and Will Ferrell were still relevant in '07, but with actors like Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen now building up popularity, we were definitely starting to enter the late 00s/early 10s period for movies, as opposed to the core 00s that films like Mean Girls, Dodgeball, Wedding Crashers, Anchorman, and Napoleon Dynamite represent.  2004 had Spider-Man 2 and Shrek 2, both hugely successful sequels; 2007 had Spider-Man 3 and Shrek the Third, both major disappointments.  In 2007, post-9/11 patriotism was long gone and instead fully overtaken by anticipation for the 2008 election, whereas in 2004, voters still backed the Texas sheriff at the ballot box.  In a nutshell, while 2007 was definitely still a truly 2000s year, 2004 is still the what first comes to mind when I think of the 2000s, due to producing the most memorable and best-representative culture that the decade had to offer.  Excluding things that remained integral to early 2010s culture, 2004 was the first year that the 2000s decade had fully established its identity, while still being too early to have any real hints towards the following decade (2005 is pretty much in this category as well, despite the launch of YouTube, but it had generally less memorable music, movies, etc. than the year before).

With the 90s, I strongly considered either 1995 or 1996 over 1994, but went with the latter because it was still very much the peak of a lot of the key culture from the early part of the decade, which had faded in significance by 1995 and 1996.

Firstly, Sega was still extremely popular in 1994 but quickly fell out of favor after the failed launches of the 32X and Saturn, as well as the lack of any significant Sonic titles for five years following 1994.  While PlayStation 1 and Nintendo 64 were just on the horizon, both of those consoles bridged the 90s into the early 2000s and weren't quite as iconic to nineties culture as Sega was.

In music, 1994 was also arguably the peak year for grunge; despite Kurt Cobain's death, Nirvana's In Utero and MTV Unplugged albums were both very popular that year, not to mention Alice in Chains released their much-revered Jar of Flies EP, while Soundgarden finally broke into mainstream success with Superunknown.  Despite their touring problems, Pearl Jam continued to ride off the success of VS., as well as Vitalogy, released at the end of the year; Stone Temple Pilots also released their magnum opus, Purple.  By contrast, in 1995 and 1996, grunge was still relevant, but it was mostly overshadowed by the success of post-grunge, pop punk, and britpop, not to mention it was heading down a much more experimental path.  That said, all three of the aforementioned genres broke into the mainstream in 1994, with pop punk, in particular, peaking that year.  On the urban side, 1994 was when Biggie first broke into the mainstream, as well as when the singles from Snoop Doggy Dogg's Doggystyle album were peaking on the charts (Warren G's Regulate, too).  TLC released CrazySexyCool, while Boyz II Men came out with II.  1994 was also the last full year that the new-jack swing feel was still relevant in popular music, before being overtaken by the strictly mid-90s g-funk-influenced urban style in 1995.  While 1994 did not have teen pop like Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears, it did have vocal groups like Boyz II Men (accordingly the biggest inspiration to the Backstreet Boys), as well as teen r&b princesses like Aaliyah and Brandy, both of whom paved the way for the teen pop craze of the millennial era.  Contemporary r&b was fully established in 1994, with both balladeers like Boyz II Men, as well as more urban and electro groups like Blackstreet and Jodeci achieving huge success.

1994 is also often regarded as one of the best ever years for movies, if not the best (it was #1 on WatchMojo's list of Top 10 Years in Film History, beating out 1939), having produced Forrest Gump, Clerks, The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, The Lion King, and Jim Carrey's three most popular films.  1995 is actually a close second, since it had classics like Se7en and The Usual Suspects, as well as Clueless, but 1994 represents the 90s just slightly better, in my opinion.  1995 did have Toy Story, which is a much more influential and frankly much better animated film than The Lion King, but it was more of an omen of what would become of animation in the 2000s than the epitome of 90s animation, a title which The Lion King wins easily.  1996, on the other hand, isn't really even close; while it did have the much-acclaimed Fargo and Scream, as well as the generation-defining Space Jam, its Disney Renaissance film was the oft-forgotten Hunchback of Notre Dame; Jim Carrey's golden comedy age was ended by The Cable Guy; and, well, there simply weren't enough classics that year to stack up with the competitive heights of 1994 and 1995.

The one key thing missing from 1994 is the internet craze of the late 90s, which I'd guess is the reason why you pinpointed 1996 as the quintessential 90s year instead of 1994.  I almost went with 1995, but figured the greater prevalence of grunge, Sega, and non-gated-drum new-jack swing in 1994, plus The Lion King over Pocahontas ultimately outweighed the Internet for me because just like Toy Story, as well as what YouTube and Facebook were to the 2000s, the birth of the Internet craze was really an early harbinger of the coming decade's popular culture, rather than what represented the 1990s as a whole.  It was a huge trend during the late 90s, but the entire first half of the decade, as well as much of 1995, was practically without it, anyway.

I think that the mid 70's up to the early 00's were really good eras for pop culture and things in general. I disagree with 2000-2005 being awesome because I wasn't a fan of most of 2004 or 2005. 2000-2003 were good years, though. And I definitely don't think 2001-2003 is zeitgeist 2000's at all. Too much 90's holdover. I'd say 00's things started popping up in 2003 with the rise of 50 Cent and Lil Jon (who are actually 90's things that had moderate success) but didn't become really popular until 2004. They were pretty big in 2003 but in 2004 it all blew up and became insanely popular to the point where all the little kids at the mall would say "G-G-G-G-G UNIT" to themselves thinking it was cool. God, that was the worst.


I know it's all speculative, and that one of the years from 2016-2019 might overshadow the earlier years, but I just think 2013 is the quintessential 2010s year so far.  The reason I don't go with 2014 and 2015 is because they've both been much drier years for popular culture, whereas 2013 contains the biggest chunk of things that come to mind when I think of the 2010s, i.e., Frozen, Get Lucky, Breaking Bad finale, Gravity, etc.  It's the same situation that I have with 2004 versus 2005; the latter was just as much "in the 00s" as the former, but 2004, imo, was the year that produced the largest amount of significant things to the decade (more on this soon).

The prevalence of Facebook and YouTube causes 2007 to feel pretty connected to the early 2010s, not to mention Lil' Jon was not really popular that year, nor did Eminem release any new material.  50 Cent had also drastically fallen from popularity, his Curtis album losing to Graduation on September 11, 2007.  This was the first year that the seventh generation of video gaming was really hitting full force, but aside from the Wii (a strictly late 2000s fad), I see that generation as defining the Great Recession era more than the 2000s in general.  The PS2, XBOX, Nintendo DS, and GameCube, in my opinion, represent the 2000s decade more directly, and 2004 was arguably the year that they all peaked (GCN, imo, peaked in late 2001, but it was still relevant in 2004), not to mention '04 was an incredible year for PC gaming as well.  Lindsay Lohan was at the height of her popularity in 2004, but had already completely fallen from grace by 2007.  2007 was the year Kim Kardashian overtook Paris Hilton as the spoiled, famous-for-nothing female celebrity of the day.  Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, and Will Ferrell were still relevant in '07, but with actors like Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen now building up popularity, we were definitely starting to enter the late 00s/early 10s period for movies, as opposed to the core 00s that films like Mean Girls, Dodgeball, Wedding Crashers, Anchorman, and Napoleon Dynamite represent.  2004 had Spider-Man 2 and Shrek 2, both hugely successful sequels; 2007 had Spider-Man 3 and Shrek the Third, both major disappointments.  In 2007, post-9/11 patriotism was long gone and instead fully overtaken by anticipation for the 2008 election, whereas in 2004, voters still backed the Texas sheriff at the ballot box.  In a nutshell, while 2007 was definitely still a truly 2000s year, 2004 is still the what first comes to mind when I think of the 2000s, due to producing the most memorable and best-representative culture that the decade had to offer.  Excluding things that remained integral to early 2010s culture, 2004 was the first year that the 2000s decade had fully established its identity, while still being too early to have any real hints towards the following decade (2005 is pretty much in this category as well, despite the launch of YouTube, but it had generally less memorable music, movies, etc. than the year before).

With the 90s, I strongly considered either 1995 or 1996 over 1994, but went with the latter because it was still very much the peak of a lot of the key culture from the early part of the decade, which had faded in significance by 1995 and 1996.

Firstly, Sega was still extremely popular in 1994 but quickly fell out of favor after the failed launches of the 32X and Saturn, as well as the lack of any significant Sonic titles for five years following 1994.  While PlayStation 1 and Nintendo 64 were just on the horizon, both of those consoles bridged the 90s into the early 2000s and weren't quite as iconic to nineties culture as Sega was.

In music, 1994 was also arguably the peak year for grunge; despite Kurt Cobain's death, Nirvana's In Utero and MTV Unplugged albums were both very popular that year, not to mention Alice in Chains released their much-revered Jar of Flies EP, while Soundgarden finally broke into mainstream success with Superunknown.  Despite their touring problems, Pearl Jam continued to ride off the success of VS., as well as Vitalogy, released at the end of the year; Stone Temple Pilots also released their magnum opus, Purple.  By contrast, in 1995 and 1996, grunge was still relevant, but it was mostly overshadowed by the success of post-grunge, pop punk, and britpop, not to mention it was heading down a much more experimental path.  That said, all three of the aforementioned genres broke into the mainstream in 1994, with pop punk, in particular, peaking that year.  On the urban side, 1994 was when Biggie first broke into the mainstream, as well as when the singles from Snoop Doggy Dogg's Doggystyle album were peaking on the charts (Warren G's Regulate, too).  TLC released CrazySexyCool, while Boyz II Men came out with II.  1994 was also the last full year that the new-jack swing feel was still relevant in popular music, before being overtaken by the strictly mid-90s g-funk-influenced urban style in 1995.  While 1994 did not have teen pop like Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears, it did have vocal groups like Boyz II Men (accordingly the biggest inspiration to the Backstreet Boys), as well as teen r&b princesses like Aaliyah and Brandy, both of whom paved the way for the teen pop craze of the millennial era.  Contemporary r&b was fully established in 1994, with both balladeers like Boyz II Men, as well as more urban and electro groups like Blackstreet and Jodeci achieving huge success.

1994 is also often regarded as one of the best ever years for movies, if not the best (it was #1 on WatchMojo's list of Top 10 Years in Film History, beating out 1939), having produced Forrest Gump, Clerks, The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, The Lion King, and Jim Carrey's three most popular films.  1995 is actually a close second, since it had classics like Se7en and The Usual Suspects, as well as Clueless, but 1994 represents the 90s just slightly better, in my opinion.  1995 did have Toy Story, which is a much more influential and frankly much better animated film than The Lion King, but it was more of an omen of what would become of animation in the 2000s than the epitome of 90s animation, a title which The Lion King wins easily.  1996, on the other hand, isn't really even close; while it did have the much-acclaimed Fargo and Scream, as well as the generation-defining Space Jam, its Disney Renaissance film was the oft-forgotten Hunchback of Notre Dame; Jim Carrey's golden comedy age was ended by The Cable Guy; and, well, there simply weren't enough classics that year to stack up with the competitive heights of 1994 and 1995.

The one key thing missing from 1994 is the internet craze of the late 90s, which I'd guess is the reason why you pinpointed 1996 as the quintessential 90s year instead of 1994.  I almost went with 1995, but figured the greater prevalence of grunge, Sega, and non-gated-drum new-jack swing in 1994, plus The Lion King over Pocahontas ultimately outweighed the Internet for me because just like Toy Story, as well as what YouTube and Facebook were to the 2000s, the birth of the Internet craze was really an early harbinger of the coming decade's popular culture, rather than what represented the 1990s as a whole.  It was a huge trend during the late 90s, but the entire first half of the decade, as well as much of 1995, was practically without it, anyway.


I consider 2007 to be a transition year into the 2010's. It definitely feels less 2000's than 2004-2006 did and even back then it felt different. When the ipod touch and Lady Gaga came out early in the next year, it felt like a new era. Personally, I still think we're stuck in 2008/2009 but there's even a lot of leftover trends from 2004-2006 that we can't seem to get rid of. When are people going to bend the brims of their hats and take the stickers off???

1996 feels a bit more late 90's/early 00's to me but it wasn't too different from 1995. 1996-1997 were the end of grunge. I don't remember anyone being into it by 1998 aside from a couple of hardcore Nirvana fans. Pop Punk was the new thing by then. Although, technically it was by 1994 with Kurt Cobain's death and the rise Green Day and The Offspring but it finally took the main spot once grunge took a well-deserved dirt nap (I hated Grunge). It lasted a lot longer than Grunge did, too. I'd say Pop Punk was the biggest thing until mid-2004 when pseudo-emo came out of nowhere. I actually first heard about the internet in around 1995 because this nerdy kid on my block had it. If I'm not mistaken, by 1997/1998, he even had broadband.

I know it's all speculative, and that one of the years from 2016-2019 might overshadow the earlier years, but I just think 2013 is the quintessential 2010s year so far.  The reason I don't go with 2014 and 2015 is because they've both been much drier years for popular culture, whereas 2013 contains the biggest chunk of things that come to mind when I think of the 2010s, i.e., Frozen, Get Lucky, Breaking Bad finale, Gravity, etc.  It's the same situation that I have with 2004 versus 2005; the latter was just as much "in the 00s" as the former, but 2004, imo, was the year that produced the largest amount of significant things to the decade (more on this soon).

The prevalence of Facebook and YouTube causes 2007 to feel pretty connected to the early 2010s, not to mention Lil' Jon was not really popular that year, nor did Eminem release any new material.  50 Cent had also drastically fallen from popularity, his Curtis album losing to Graduation on September 11, 2007.  This was the first year that the seventh generation of video gaming was really hitting full force, but aside from the Wii (a strictly late 2000s fad), I see that generation as defining the Great Recession era more than the 2000s in general.  The PS2, XBOX, Nintendo DS, and GameCube, in my opinion, represent the 2000s decade more directly, and 2004 was arguably the year that they all peaked (GCN, imo, peaked in late 2001, but it was still relevant in 2004), not to mention '04 was an incredible year for PC gaming as well.  Lindsay Lohan was at the height of her popularity in 2004, but had already completely fallen from grace by 2007.  2007 was the year Kim Kardashian overtook Paris Hilton as the spoiled, famous-for-nothing female celebrity of the day.  Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, and Will Ferrell were still relevant in '07, but with actors like Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen now building up popularity, we were definitely starting to enter the late 00s/early 10s period for movies, as opposed to the core 00s that films like Mean Girls, Dodgeball, Wedding Crashers, Anchorman, and Napoleon Dynamite represent.  2004 had Spider-Man 2 and Shrek 2, both hugely successful sequels; 2007 had Spider-Man 3 and Shrek the Third, both major disappointments.  In 2007, post-9/11 patriotism was long gone and instead fully overtaken by anticipation for the 2008 election, whereas in 2004, voters still backed the Texas sheriff at the ballot box.  In a nutshell, while 2007 was definitely still a truly 2000s year, 2004 is still the what first comes to mind when I think of the 2000s, due to producing the most memorable and best-representative culture that the decade had to offer.  Excluding things that remained integral to early 2010s culture, 2004 was the first year that the 2000s decade had fully established its identity, while still being too early to have any real hints towards the following decade (2005 is pretty much in this category as well, despite the launch of YouTube, but it had generally less memorable music, movies, etc. than the year before).

With the 90s, I strongly considered either 1995 or 1996 over 1994, but went with the latter because it was still very much the peak of a lot of the key culture from the early part of the decade, which had faded in significance by 1995 and 1996.

Firstly, Sega was still extremely popular in 1994 but quickly fell out of favor after the failed launches of the 32X and Saturn, as well as the lack of any significant Sonic titles for five years following 1994.  While PlayStation 1 and Nintendo 64 were just on the horizon, both of those consoles bridged the 90s into the early 2000s and weren't quite as iconic to nineties culture as Sega was.

In music, 1994 was also arguably the peak year for grunge; despite Kurt Cobain's death, Nirvana's In Utero and MTV Unplugged albums were both very popular that year, not to mention Alice in Chains released their much-revered Jar of Flies EP, while Soundgarden finally broke into mainstream success with Superunknown.  Despite their touring problems, Pearl Jam continued to ride off the success of VS., as well as Vitalogy, released at the end of the year; Stone Temple Pilots also released their magnum opus, Purple.  By contrast, in 1995 and 1996, grunge was still relevant, but it was mostly overshadowed by the success of post-grunge, pop punk, and britpop, not to mention it was heading down a much more experimental path.  That said, all three of the aforementioned genres broke into the mainstream in 1994, with pop punk, in particular, peaking that year.  On the urban side, 1994 was when Biggie first broke into the mainstream, as well as when the singles from Snoop Doggy Dogg's Doggystyle album were peaking on the charts (Warren G's Regulate, too).  TLC released CrazySexyCool, while Boyz II Men came out with II.  1994 was also the last full year that the new-jack swing feel was still relevant in popular music, before being overtaken by the strictly mid-90s g-funk-influenced urban style in 1995.  While 1994 did not have teen pop like Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears, it did have vocal groups like Boyz II Men (accordingly the biggest inspiration to the Backstreet Boys), as well as teen r&b princesses like Aaliyah and Brandy, both of whom paved the way for the teen pop craze of the millennial era.  Contemporary r&b was fully established in 1994, with both balladeers like Boyz II Men, as well as more urban and electro groups like Blackstreet and Jodeci achieving huge success.

1994 is also often regarded as one of the best ever years for movies, if not the best (it was #1 on WatchMojo's list of Top 10 Years in Film History, beating out 1939), having produced Forrest Gump, Clerks, The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, The Lion King, and Jim Carrey's three most popular films.  1995 is actually a close second, since it had classics like Se7en and The Usual Suspects, as well as Clueless, but 1994 represents the 90s just slightly better, in my opinion.  1995 did have Toy Story, which is a much more influential and frankly much better animated film than The Lion King, but it was more of an omen of what would become of animation in the 2000s than the epitome of 90s animation, a title which The Lion King wins easily.  1996, on the other hand, isn't really even close; while it did have the much-acclaimed Fargo and Scream, as well as the generation-defining Space Jam, its Disney Renaissance film was the oft-forgotten Hunchback of Notre Dame; Jim Carrey's golden comedy age was ended by The Cable Guy; and, well, there simply weren't enough classics that year to stack up with the competitive heights of 1994 and 1995.

The one key thing missing from 1994 is the internet craze of the late 90s, which I'd guess is the reason why you pinpointed 1996 as the quintessential 90s year instead of 1994.  I almost went with 1995, but figured the greater prevalence of grunge, Sega, and non-gated-drum new-jack swing in 1994, plus The Lion King over Pocahontas ultimately outweighed the Internet for me because just like Toy Story, as well as what YouTube and Facebook were to the 2000s, the birth of the Internet craze was really an early harbinger of the coming decade's popular culture, rather than what represented the 1990s as a whole.  It was a huge trend during the late 90s, but the entire first half of the decade, as well as much of 1995, was practically without it, anyway.

I think 1996 was the quintessential year as well! Due to the fact that it had both the 4th gen and 5th gen gaming, 2pac and Biggie were in their primes, The East Coast-West Coast rap wars were at their peak, 1996 election,1996 Olympics, Hulk Hogan turned heel and Stone Cold's Austin 3:16 promo resurrected the wrestling industry and started a whole new boom, The best Chicago Bulls team, Yankees Dynasty started, Brett Favre(the quintessential 90s QB) had his best season of the decade. I missing some, but that's all I could think of.

I consider 2007 to be a transition year into the 2010's. It definitely feels less 2000's than 2004-2006 did and even back then it felt different. When the ipod touch and Lady Gaga came out early in the next year, it felt like a new era. Personally, I still think we're stuck in 2008/2009 but there's even a lot of leftover trends from 2004-2006 that we can't seem to get rid of. When are people going to bend the brims of their hats and take the stickers off???


I don't really consider 2007 to be '10s at all.  Lil' Jon was less popular that year, but electropop had not arrived yet and ringtone rap as at its peak (Soulja Boy anyone?).  That was a big year for scene kid culture in the rock world.  I would say 2007 was probably the peak for All Time Low.  Politically Bush was still President and the war in Iraq dominated the news.  Signs were there that the economy was going into recession but nobody knew how bad it was going to be.  TV was solidly '00s with Glee having not arrived yet.  Facebook was gaining popularity but MySpace was still more popular.  It wasn't classic '00s but it was still very much a 2000s year with little '10s culture.

The earliest I can see a case for the '10s beginning was fall of 2008 but even that can be disputed.

I don't really consider 2007 to be '10s at all.  Lil' Jon was less popular that year, but electropop had not arrived yet and ringtone rap as at its peak (Soulja Boy anyone?).  That was a big year for scene kid culture in the rock world.  I would say 2007 was probably the peak for All Time Low.  Politically Bush was still President and the war in Iraq dominated the news.  Signs were there that the economy was going into recession but nobody knew how bad it was going to be.  TV was solidly '00s with Glee having not arrived yet.  Facebook was gaining popularity but MySpace was still more popular.  It wasn't classic '00s but it was still very much a 2000s year with little '10s culture.

The earliest I can see a case for the '10s beginning was fall of 2008 but even that can be disputed.


Well, in terms of electropop, that is very much a 2008-now thing but Lady Gaga made her first performances that year (2007) at lollapalooza. I take it as a sign of things to come. Like I said, 2007 is a transition year that's more 2000's than 2010's. The ipod touch and iphone came out that year, Flat Screen TV's became the norm (could be argued that this was around 2005, though. It depends on who you know, truthfully), skinny jeans started to become a common thing among everyone and not just scene teens, it was clear Facebook was here to stay, etc. I'm not sure about when All Time Low peaked, though. I'm more of a 90's-2003 Pop Punk guy since that was the time of my youth, but, I did hear a lot about them in 2012/2013 if that makes any difference. They seemed to be pretty popular to me because I kept hearing kids go on about their message or whatever. I looked up photos of them and listened to their songs before the 10's and it's pretty much the Pop Punk look/sound of today. In terms of stuff like that, Pop Punk's stuck in 2005. The skinny jean, v neck and tight hoodie combo is what made me stop going to Warped Tours. Fall of 2008 feels a bit late. Both I Kissed a Girl and Just Dance came out in April of 2008 and those songs really brought us forward into the 10's. Katy Perry and Lady Gaga were there from the beginning of the 2010's and they both continue to be relevant today. It continued with the rise of YouTube celebrities (I think Bieber got discovered in 2007 or 2008 and that really pushed the whole thing even further), smartphones and social media. Twitter got pretty big in 2008, too. April of 2008 seems like a fair place to pinpoint the true start of the 2010's. I haven't really followed any new TV shows but I know The Big Bang Theory started in 2007 and Breaking Bad in 2008 and those shows are very much 2010's shows. A good amount of stuff from 2008/2009 is still pretty relevant today. I asked my nieces and nephews recently about this stuff and even they agreed with me. Some of them started High School around 2008-2010 and graduated around 2012-2014 and according to them, the kids at school's tastes, attitudes and fashion didn't change too drastically from their freshmen to senior year.

I never connected to the hippies of the 1960s and 1970s, although I do like some of the atmosphere in the 70s. I don't feel much for the 1970s. Not my taste I guess.

I like the pop culture of the 1930s, although I wouldn't want to live then, but the cartoons and Disney cartoons of then has made me a fan, along with the storylines of the movies of that era.

I like the fashion and famous icons of the 1950s, like Elvis and Marilyn Monroe, but I found the environment too stuffy for my taste, but as a decade, overall I like at least the pop culture of it.

As for the 1920s, I'm not into movies without sound and I'm just not into the flapper and fashions of the 1920s. And the 1940s just doesn't interest me at all.

As for the 19'00s and 19'10s decades, well...too old!  ;D

And the 80s and 90s have way too many reasons for me to list, that why I would like those decades.

The only thing I don't like about the 00s and the 10s (so far about the 10s) is the music, other than that I like the movies and TV shows of this era.

I don't really consider 2007 to be '10s at all.  Lil' Jon was less popular that year, but electropop had not arrived yet and ringtone rap as at its peak (Soulja Boy anyone?).  That was a big year for scene kid culture in the rock world.  I would say 2007 was probably the peak for All Time Low.  Politically Bush was still President and the war in Iraq dominated the news.  Signs were there that the economy was going into recession but nobody knew how bad it was going to be.  TV was solidly '00s with Glee having not arrived yet.  Facebook was gaining popularity but MySpace was still more popular.  It wasn't classic '00s but it was still very much a 2000s year with little '10s culture.

The earliest I can see a case for the '10s beginning was fall of 2008 but even that can be disputed.


Yeah, fall 2008 is when early 2010's culture truly took off, however, when it comes to the 2000's decade, I think the quintessential year for it would be 2006 rather than 2007 personally. Because 2007 while was still extreme 2000's, it did carry some of the earliest 2010's influences, probably more than 2006 IMO. However, it's debatable though rather you'd pick those years. I consider any where around 2004-2007 as the core 2000's years, everything that truly defined the decade occurred in that 4 year span.

2003 & 2008 were transitional years but not core 2000's years, because 2003 still had the last gasp of late 90's/early 2000's culture from 1998-2002, while 2008 was the start of the early 2010's culture that would be relevant around 2009-2012.

70s a forgettable decade for movies? :-\\  Seriously? ???  Alien, the exorcist, Rocky, Mean Streets,Apocalypse Now, Annie Hall,Halloween, The Deer Hunter, Carrie , Network, Dirt Harry, Dog Day Afternoon, Grease, Animal House, MASH, The Sting, Barry Lyndon, French Connection, Clockwork Orange, Taxi Driver,American Grafhitti, Close Encounter's of the Third Kind. I can go on...


Yeah, that caught me as weird too. The 1970s were arguably the best decade for American cinema, every single year had numerous great films and it was probably the last era where directors had more pull than producers in Hollywood, so you generally had more original, thought provoking cinema.

Yeah, that caught me as weird too. The 1970s were arguably the best decade for American cinema, every single year had numerous great films and it was probably the last era where directors had more pull than producers in Hollywood, so you generally had more original, thought provoking cinema.


Well, it wasn't an entirely shining period.  For one, animation was in the depths of its dark age, Disney still struggling from the loss of Walt, but it was before newer animators such as Don Bluth and Hayao Miyazaki had made names for themselves.  Also, every single year was full of great films?  Not quite.  I would definitely wager 1970 as possibly being Hollywood's worst year for movies, at least since the 50s.  It should be telling that it was one of the only years of the past several decades to not have any movies in IMDB's Top 250.  The only one that even comes close is Patton (which I don't even think is that great).  The year also wasn't without its serious stinkers, either; it had Myra Breckinridge, as well as the not-fondly-remembered debut of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hercules in New York (which had a New York premiere in December 1969 but wasn't officially released until 1970).

I can attribute several factors as to why 1970 was so lackluster.  For one, it was over five years since the end of the Classical Hollywood era, but one in which newer actors and filmmakers had yet to fully establish themselves.  Additionally, it was the first full year during which the rating system, introduced two years prior, would have had a significant effect on films being produced; studios did not yet know what balance to strike between graphic and genuine versus family friendly and marketable, so a lot of the classic filmmaking techniques during previous decades now had to be rethought.  Old forms of storytelling were now being repudiated and seen as outdated, but the new was not yet established, so Hollywood was essentially going through an identity crisis.  Much of these same factors that plagued 1970 in particular also affected the rest of the 70s, though the decade improved as it went along, developing new stars and standard-setters that helped shape the landscape for modern filmmaking.

Well, it wasn't an entirely shining period.  For one, animation was in the depths of its dark age, Disney still struggling from the loss of Walt, but it was before newer animators such as Don Bluth and Hayao Miyazaki had made names for themselves.  Also, every single year was full of great films?  Not quite.  I would definitely wager 1970 as possibly being Hollywood's worst year for movies, at least since the 50s.  It should be telling that it was one of the only years of the past several decades to not have any movies in IMDB's Top 250.  The only one that even comes close is Patton (which I don't even think is that great).  The year also wasn't without its serious stinkers, either; it had Myra Breckinridge, as well as the not-fondly-remembered debut of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hercules in New York (which had a New York premiere in December 1969 but wasn't officially released until 1970).

I can attribute several factors as to why 1970 was so lackluster.  For one, it was over five years since the end of the Classical Hollywood era, but one in which newer actors and filmmakers had yet to fully establish themselves.  Additionally, it was the first full year during which the rating system, introduced two years prior, would have had a significant effect on films being produced; studios did not yet know what balance to strike between graphic and genuine versus family friendly and marketable, so a lot of the classic filmmaking techniques during previous decades now had to be rethought.  Old forms of storytelling were now being repudiated and seen as outdated, but the new was not yet established, so Hollywood was essentially going through an identity crisis.  Much of these same factors that plagued 1970 in particular also affected the rest of the 70s, though the decade improved as it went along, developing new stars and standard-setters that helped shape the landscape for modern filmmaking.

Ok, BUT if you take away animated movies, then the decade was freaking amazing for cinema. My Dad even thinks the 70s was the best decade of cinema besides the 30s and 50s.

Well, it wasn't an entirely shining period.  For one, animation was in the depths of its dark age, Disney still struggling from the loss of Walt, but it was before newer animators such as Don Bluth and Hayao Miyazaki had made names for themselves.  Also, every single year was full of great films?  Not quite.  I would definitely wager 1970 as possibly being Hollywood's worst year for movies, at least since the 50s.  It should be telling that it was one of the only years of the past several decades to not have any movies in IMDB's Top 250.  The only one that even comes close is Patton (which I don't even think is that great).  The year also wasn't without its serious stinkers, either; it had Myra Breckinridge, as well as the not-fondly-remembered debut of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hercules in New York (which had a New York premiere in December 1969 but wasn't officially released until 1970).

I can attribute several factors as to why 1970 was so lackluster.  For one, it was over five years since the end of the Classical Hollywood era, but one in which newer actors and filmmakers had yet to fully establish themselves.  Additionally, it was the first full year during which the rating system, introduced two years prior, would have had a significant effect on films being produced; studios did not yet know what balance to strike between graphic and genuine versus family friendly and marketable, so a lot of the classic filmmaking techniques during previous decades now had to be rethought.  Old forms of storytelling were now being repudiated and seen as outdated, but the new was not yet established, so Hollywood was essentially going through an identity crisis.  Much of these same factors that plagued 1970 in particular also affected the rest of the 70s, though the decade improved as it went along, developing new stars and standard-setters that helped shape the landscape for modern filmmaking.


The IMDB Top 250 is horribly slanted towards newer movies, so I wouldn't use it as a benchmark for determining quality.

1970 was likely the weakest year of the decade but it still had Patton, MASH, Little Big Man, Five Easy Pieces, Catch-22, Tora Tora Tora, Kelly's Heroes, The Aristocats. I see that being about the level of a typical 1980s year, which was generally a pretty weak decade for great movies and largely filled with blockbuster and teen oriented tripe.

1974-76 for example was an amazing run, with tons of influential classics like Chinatown, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Black Christmas, Jaws, Nashville, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Dog Day Afternoon, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Barry Lyndon, The Man Who Would Be King, Love and Death, Network, Rocky, Taxi Driver, All the President's Men, Marathon Man, Carrie.... the horror and thriller genres were probably at their peak in terms of quality filmmaking and other genres were hitting the mark as well. While it was weak for animation and family oriented films, this was largely due both to budget problems as well as an overall adult oriented demographic focus in cinema at the time, unlike the subsequent decades where Hollywood's target audience has overwhelmingly been kids and teens.

The IMDB Top 250 is horribly slanted towards newer movies, so I wouldn't use it as a benchmark for determining quality.

1970 was likely the weakest year of the decade but it still had Patton, MASH, Little Big Man, Five Easy Pieces, Catch-22, Tora Tora Tora, Kelly's Heroes, The Aristocats. I see that being about the level of a typical 1980s year, which was generally a pretty weak decade for great movies and largely filled with blockbuster and teen oriented tripe.

1974-76 for example was an amazing run, with tons of influential classics like Chinatown, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Black Christmas, Jaws, Nashville, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Dog Day Afternoon, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Barry Lyndon, The Man Who Would Be King, Love and Death, Network, Rocky, Taxi Driver, All the President's Men, Marathon Man, Carrie.... the horror and thriller genres were probably at their peak in terms of quality filmmaking and other genres were hitting the mark as well. While it was weak for animation and family oriented films, this was largely due both to budget problems as well as an overall adult oriented demographic focus in cinema at the time, unlike the subsequent decades where Hollywood's target audience has overwhelmingly been kids and teens.



This. Not everything in cinema can be kid and teen orientated. Back in them days, cinema was geared towards a mature audience. My mom did not care, she and my family loved the movies being made at the time.

This. Not everything in cinema can be kid and teen orientated. Back in them days, cinema was geared towards a mature audience. My mom did not care, she and my family loved the movies being made at the time.


Now we have a different kind of audience.

1950s:
Like the 40s, this decade feels split in half, though the two parts aren't quite as drastically different from each other, as was the case during the previous decade.  By all means, 1950-1954 was pretty much a direct continuation of the late 40s; 1946-1954 is really a decade of its own that just happens to be sandwiched between two calendar decades.  Like the late 40s, the early 50s were defined by crooners like Perry Como and Frank Sinatra, the ascent of television, McCarthyism, the full establishment of 50s fashions, and the first stages of the Cold War (which culminated in the Korean War).  One key difference was that the film industry was finally revitalized in 1950, which had All About Eve, Cinderella, and Sunset Boulevard; World War II was long over, and the booming and evolving climate made cinema a vibrant center of popular culture again.  The years 1953 and 1954 were mildly transitional, due to the death of Stalin, inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, end of the Korean War, Brown v. Board of Education decision, and opening of the first McDonald's, but it was in 1955 that the 50s entered its second half, which most people think of when they hear the word "fifties."  This was the breakthrough year for teenage rebellion in popular media, thanks to rock & roll, Marilyn Monroe, and James Dean's movies; Elvis' rise to superstardom would be the following year.  This "peak" of 50s culture lasted until 1959, which saw The Day the Music Died, the jazz renaissance, the Communist takeover of Cuba, and beginning of 60s fashion.  A lot like the 20s, I think the 50s were a far, far darker time than most people portray them, due to the virulent racism, homophobia, sexism, and xenophobia that dominated the period.  Only the biggest conformists felt at-home during the decade.
Prelude:  1946-1954
Zeitgeist:  1955-1959
Echo:  1960-1963
Quintessential Year:  1957

I would have thought 1954 was when the 50's zeitgeist began, because this was the year "The Wild One" starring Marlon Brando became popular influencing the greaser subculture, Rock and Roll entered the pop charts for the first time with songs such as "Shake, Rattle and Roll" and "That's Alright, Mama" etc. and Doo-wop seemed to become popular this year with The Crew Cuts' "Sh-Boom" and "Earth Angel" by The Penguins became some of the best selling songs of the year. But this is just my opinion. I agree with everything else you wrote about the other decades.