So this is probably a bit of an odd idea for a topic, but what is the first image that springs to your mind when you think of each year in the past few decades? Since the human brain has a thing for association, whether logical or just random, and since years are ultimately abstract rather than concrete entities, you're pretty much bound to illustrate each one with pictures. I suppose in a sense, it's like a psychology test.

I'll start this by giving a rundown of what respective images primarily represent each year for me from the 90s to the 2000s. I'll give explanations to try and give you an idea of how this game can work.

1990:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/510MkY4x32L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
This book is actually from 1972, but for some reason, I always thought it was from 1990 (one of its sequels was released that year, however).

1991:

http://www.trocafigurinhas.com/Imagens/Albuns/1017Full.jpg
Probably because this was the year the arcade game was released, so I always saw "copyright 1991" on the game's startup screen.

1992:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dc/Thomas_Tank_Engine_1.JPG
Uhh, I was born this year, and this was one of the first things I was really addicted to?

1993:

http://www.weberart.com/images/profile1.jpg
We watched this guy's videos for our cartooning summer class, and one of his films was released in 1993.

1994:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4b/Green_Day_-_Dookie_cover.jpg
Probably because this was one of the first music albums I knew to have come out in 1994.

1995:

http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/images/g/4c4AAOSw4shX4Daz/s-l225.jpg
When I was growing up, we had this refrigerator magnet of Ren & Stimpy that was apparently from 1995.

1996:

http://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/271071-fisher-price-learning-in-toyland-windows-screenshot-title.jpg
It came out in 1996.

1997:

http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/0/6899/402047-starfox64logolg.jpg

1998:

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTAwWDUwMA==/z/~kMAAOxyGStRwG8b/$T2eC16ZHJHkFFlt-En1kBRwG8,zRO!~~60_58.JPG
Take a guess when this game came out.

1999:

http://images.techtimes.com/data/images/full/20311/super-smash-bros-n64-roster.png?w=760

2000:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/03/Joe_-_My_Name_Is_Joe_album_cover.jpg
In the booklet for Now 8, this is the parent album for the first song listed as being from 2000 instead of 2001.

2001:

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0ruRO4cEoGQ/maxresdefault.jpg
I couldn't believe how incredible those graphics looked back then!!!

2002:

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pGmtycNmyBg/hqdefault.jpg
It's from Dance Dance Revolution Extreme, an arcade game released in 2002.

2003:

https://interwork.sdsu.edu/fire/images/1.SanDiegoOnFirecopy_001.jpg
Because this was by far the most notable thing that occurred around where I lived at the time.

2004:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61HJVC2HYWL.jpg
Add to that driving away from the Costco near our house that opened this year, as that's where we bought this CD when it came out. "My Band" is the song that I start hearing first.

2005:

http://img-shop.mu-mo.net/images/2/AVCD-10162/AVCD-10162_t_01_400.jpg
Great dance album from that year.

2006:

http://240bpm.com/forum/index.php?app=downloads&module=display&section=screenshot&record=1327&id=446
I played this a ton this year.

2007:

https://img.discogs.com/WXBrqvOxmG8iGWjbTxco9k-t__A=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-1107861-1393125535-8250.jpeg.jpg
To be more precise, the cover of AAA's "Blood on Fire" starts playing in my head anytime I see 2007 written out. It absolutely blew me away at the time.

2008:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Official_portrait_of_Barack_Obama.jpg/564px-Official_portrait_of_Barack_Obama.jpg
I'm gonna guess I'm not the only person with this choice for '08.

2009:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/5172%2Bxo6FrL.jpg
Same goes here for '09.

I may do other decades soon, but 20 images is probably enough for one post.

1990

http://www.billboard.com/files/stylus/1835459-madonna-Rotterdam-07241990-617-600.jpg

1991

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pMU4znAix_M/VNKLcexgVvI/AAAAAAAALM4/mnq0Wg3VMh0/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-02-04%2Bat%2B2.43.43%2BPM.png

1992

http://www.gohobby.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Peliculas-guerra-modernas-A-few-good-men.png

1993

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ioGPKH8UIN8/hqdefault.jpg

1994

http://i.imgur.com/dCk7psy.jpg

1995

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/617PWJQEHFL.jpg

1996

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/13/ab/0b/13ab0b6378d93e9432f7b89849a78f90.jpg

1997

https://resizing.flixster.com/E_O8HwHW3IAbyrWkDtIlaK672WE=/206x305/v1.bTsxMTE3MTk0ODtqOzE3MjI5OzEyMDA7ODAwOzEyMDA

1998

I know that South Park didn't come out in 1998, but it was REALLY popular in 1998.

http://www.themarysue.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/south-park-season-29-premiere-date-750x400.jpg

1999

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KoBUiWAwzfE/hqdefault.jpg

1968  I don't remember that much from 1968, but I do remember seeing Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey at the Cinerama Theather.

http://criterioncast.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2001-Space-Odyssey_68.jpg



1969 Again, I don't remember much, but I do remember watching the Apollo 11 Moon landing on TV.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Apollo_11.jpg



1972  HEYYYYY YOUUUUUU GUYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYS!  We're gonna turn it on.  We're gonna bring you the power.  It's coming down the lines, strong as they can be, through the courtesy, of the Electric Company.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/80/25/0a/80250ab479f39950851624847d354693.jpg



1974  I shall resign the presidency effective noon tomorrow.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zLHc8NR_v-8/sddefault.jpg



1976  The voyaging canoe Hokulea journeyed from Hawaii to Tahiti and back using ancient celestial navigation techniques.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Hokule'a.jpg

I know that South Park didn't come out in 1998, but it was REALLY popular in 1998.



I didn't even hear about it until 1998 or 1999, thereabouts.

1977  I suppose this is a bit cliche, but Star Wars was the first film I saw more than once in the theater.  I also happened to see it in the same Cinerama Theater I saw 2001 back in 1968 (see previous post).

https://files.graphiq.com/7522/media/images/Star_Wars_1977_7409489.jpg

Some other films I saw included Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Rollercoaster.  On the music side, I'll include Steve Miller Band's Book of Dreams and Fleetwood Mac's Rumours:

https://images.eil.com/large_image/THE_STEVE_MILLER_BAND_BOOK+OF+DREAMS-523538.jpg

http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2013/01/29/fleetwood-mac-rumours_sq-11b0b64b5817a55faed7c89d205d46f1d9afcf45-s900-c85.jpg



1978  My parents and I took a trip to Europe in the summer of 1978.  We flew on two airlines that no longer exist: Pan Am and Trans International Airlines.

http://www.aerodacious.com/Pix/pixUS028PanAm001.JPG

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7778/18379638575_a3379a22db_b.jpg



1979  Hmmm.  This one is difficult.  Not because I don't remember anything from 1979.  In fact, I remember it about as well as any of my adult years.  It's just that the images that immediately come to mind aren't things that can be illustrated with period images that I can easily find online.  I remember the weather that year: how it started out dreary, cold, cloudy and rainy and became hot, dry and clear.  I remember the drought and endless summer days on the beach, exploring the woods and hills, empty buildings, playing in the back yard, having my first crush on a classmate at the school carnival, taking piano lessons, watching reruns of Bewitched, Star Trek, Gilligan's Island.  I remember traveling with my parents in August to Reno, Lake Tahoe and San Francisco and seeing the King Tut exhibit at the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, riding the cable car from the Manx Hotel to Fisherman's Wharf.  I do remember the major news events and can find pictures relating to them: Skylab, American 191, Three Mile Island, the Iranian Revolution, but I think I'll select a couple of songs instead: Blondie's "Heart of Glass" which I listened to while watching a sunset from our hotel room in Reno.

KnMkZDEaakg

In December, my parents and I went to Disneyland where there was a band covering The Knack's "My Sharona".

uRLuIm2Bjgk

This song was also included in the audio program on the flight over.



1980  General Kala, Flash Gordon approaching!  WHAT do you mean, "Flash Gordon approaching!"??!?

http://static.srcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/Flash-Gordon-Cover-Art.jpg

I remember many news events from that year, too: the hostage crisis, Mt. St. Helens, the election.  I also remember some of the fashion trends:

http://67.media.tumblr.com/0920d33ba6b235a6f6e74a07761fc214/tumblr_n7bg0aK7QW1teg2soo1_540.jpg



1981  Another year, like 1979 where I have so many personal memories, but can't find very many pictures to convey what I want.  So, here's another album:

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/files/2015/03/17-Styx-Paradise-Theatre.jpg?w=630&h=420&zc=2&cc=000000&a=t

In July, we took a trip to the East Coast.  The flight to Los Angeles was delayed for 3 hours, and I put on my headphones and listened to the rock channel.  Two of the songs on the playlist were from that album: "Too Much Time On My Hands" and "Nothing Ever Goes As Planned".  It was strangely appropriate; the delay caused us to miss our connecting flight, the one daily nonstop from Los Angeles to Toronto.  Instead, we had to fly from Los Angeles to Chicago, then take a third flight from Chicago to reach Toronto.



1982  This was the year I got an Apple II computer.

http://oldcomputers.net/pics/appleii-system.jpg

1980:

http://www.lordalford.com/9grade/callwild/fscallofthewild.gif
This was one of the few panels in my PreHistory of The Far Side book that was dated 1980 and not 1981-1988. Needless to say, there was a huge difference in style between Gary Larson's freshman cartoons and everything subsequent, both visually, as well as comically.

1981:

https://kgvreflections.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/donley-king.gif
You had to beat this game twice in Donkey Kong 64 if you wanted to get to King K. Rool. It became easily the biggest thing I associated with the year 1981.

1982:

https://content.internetvideoarchive.com/content/photos/7796/1423_029.jpg
For a while, I didn't know much about this year until I learned that E.T. came out in 1982. It's this particular shot in the film that starts playing whenever "'82" flashes by my senses.

1983:

http://images.mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_640x430/public/risky_large.jpg
I've always found this still goofy. It's from a 1983 movie, of course.

1984:

http://www.thepropgallery.com/media/wysiwyg/T1-publicity.jpg
It's over 15 years in the past, and it's the f'ing Terminator!

1985:

http://www.elpixelilustre.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/mario-bros.jpg
It probably would've been Back to the Future, but I knew this game since 1998 as opposed to 2002, and its title screen really reminded me what retro year it came out. Anytime somebody brings up something from 1985, I'm always like, "Oh, so it happened the same time Super Mario Bros. was out" (even though most Americans weren't actually introduced to it until 1986, since the 1985 launch of the NES was only a test release in New York, one that supposedly bombed).

1986:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7f/Howard_the_Duck_%281986%29.jpg
I think it used to be Pixar's Luxo Jr., but it has since been replaced by this movie so ridiculous you just can't forget about it.

1987:

http://content9.flixster.com/question/24/71/77/2471775_std.gif

1988:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ac/Beetlejuice_film_poster.jpg
There's not actually any solid image for this year, but the above film is what comes closest. Also, The Proclaimers' "I'm on My Way" is the first thing that starts looping in my mind, since that was the first song I identified as being from 1988, courtesy of the Shrek soundtrack booklet.

1989:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/George_H._W._Bush%2C_President_of_the_United_States%2C_1989_official_portrait.jpg

2010:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8d/AnimalKesha.jpg
Like I stated pretty recently, it was when "Tik Tok" was blasting on the radio that I knew for certain I was in a different decade than I was when I started high school in the late 2000s.

2011:


Because all of my unforgettable experiences with her, both the hopeful and the stinging, occurred throughout the course of this year.

2012:

http://www.conservapedia.com/images/thumb/6/6c/MittPortrait.jpg/200px-MittPortrait.jpg
This here is a lousy parody, but it does deserve an Emmy for being the most 2012 thing you could possibly imagine, sans the lack of a Mayan apocalypse (though some might've considered a Romney presidency just that, but I digress).

2013:
http://www.miriameaglemon.com/Birding%20Pages/San%20Diego%20Birding%20Pages/By%20Site/Site%20Images/P5227063%20Mission%20Gorge.jpg
This became a new favorite running spot of mine throughout this year. Coupled with a certain song that goes "hey hey hey."

2014:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/83/Now_That's_What_I_Call_Music_50_(2014_US).jpeg
This was the first Now album I had bought since volume 19 in 2005. In particular, "Happy" is the first thing swinging through my eardrums when 2014 is mentioned.

2015:
http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/bttf/images/3/3e/Marty-square-2015-2.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20071109003255
Because duh.

2016:
https://s3-media4.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/RGc3Ocgr1ge6lB0EQVOE2w/ls.jpg
Honestly, I'm still figuring this one out, but I suppose for now I'll go with this building because that was where I rehearsed for Hamlet for several months.