What single year of each decade would you say best defined the decade overall? I'd say this;

Quintessential 1900s Year: 1901
Queen Victoria dies bringing an end to the Victorian era, Edward VII becomes king of Britain starting Edwardian era, Boxer rebellion ends in China, president William McKinley is assassinated ushering in Teddy Roosevelt's administration, all events combined signal the true end of "The 19th Century".

Quintessential 1910s Year: 1918
World War I reaches its climax, Spanish flu at its height, first and only WWI year where the US Army are in combat, famous battle of Argonne forest, spring offensive, armistice day.

Quintessential 1920s Year: 1923
Calvin Coolidge becomes president after Warren G Harding's death, silent films become fully prominent, Irish civil war ends

Quintessential 1930s Year: 1933
Great Depression at its worst, FDR becomes president ushering in the New Deal, early talkies at their peak with films like King Kong, Duck Soup, etc.

Quintessential 1940s Year: 1945
World War II climaxes, Adolf Hitler's death, VE and VJ Day, (arguably) the starting year of the cold war.

Quintessential 1950s Year: 1957
Malt shop culture, rock and roll peak, Chuck Berry, Elvis, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis all at the height of their career, space race begins, Harold Macmillan becomes UK prime minister following Suez Canal crisis, Dwight Eisenhower enters second term

Quintessential 1960s Year: 1968
Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy are assassinated leading to wide spread riots and turmoil, Vietnam war at its worst stage with Tet offensive, first full year where hippie counterculture is in full swing

Quintessential 1970s Year: 1977
Star Wars released, Punk rock becomes fully prominent, disco reaches its absolute peak at the end of the year with the release of Saturday Night Fever

Quintessential 1980s Year: 1984
All famous 1980s blockbuster films are released such as Ghostbusters, Gremlins, Beverley Hills Cop, Karate Kid, Police Academy, Terminator etc. Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Prince, Wham! all enter mainstream, Miami Vice and The Cosby Show debuts

Quintessential 1990s Year: 1994
Tough decision between 1993, 1994 and 1995. But I'll go with '94: House, Hardcore rap, alternative rock all at peak, Kurt Cobain's infamous suicide, West coast vs east coast rap feud begins

Quintessential 2000s Year: 2005
YouTube launched, last year PS2 is fully prominent, iPod becomes famous, Eminem at height of career

Quintessential 2010s Year: 2013
8th generation of console begins, EDM and electropop reach their peak, selfies first become popular, Grand Theft Auto V is released, (arguably the decade's most popular video game) Obama enters second term

Give specific reasons for why you think a year represents the decade, too.

I think it's 2016 for the 2010s with the election and all the hype and controversy around it. All the tensions that were building throughout the 2010s came to a height in 2016. 2016 is definitely the height of what the 2010s were/are about to me.

I think it's 2016 for the 2010s with the election and all the hype and controversy around it. All the tensions that were building throughout the 2010s came to a height in 2016. 2016 is definitely the height of what the 2010s were/are about to me.

1920s - 1926: Roaring 20s jazz culture is in full swing, but talkies and Duke Ellington hadn't yet come out.

1930s - 1934: I decided against 1933 because the vast majority of the year still had American Prohibition, a staple of 1920s culture. 1934 was still a terrible year for the Great Depression, and it was the last year that pre-Code talkies were still common.

1940s - 1944: World War II is in full swing.

1950s - 1957: The height of early rock and roll, but also the tail end of I Love Lucy and McCarthyism.

1960s - 1967: Defined not only by the flourishing of the counterculture movement, but also early and mid 60s influences still being highly prominent. Early 70s-style funk was not yet common, and LBJ's Great Society was still in full force. Fashion and artistic designs were mixed between flashy, rounded look of the mid-60s and the earthy, psychedelic look of the late 60s. Plenty of songs still sounded like they could have come out in 1963 or 1964, but little truly sounded like it belonged in the early 70s.

1970s - 1977: Most of the really definitive 70s culture was at its height or came out this year. The vaguely countercultural vestiges that dominated the early parts of the decade were mostly gone, instead replaced by a full-on Gen Jones atmosphere, clearly separated from the late 60s but also nothing truly like the 80s, either. First wave punk was at its height, but so were bands like the Eagles, Kiss, Aerosmith, Queen,  Fleetwood Mac, Bee Gees, and ABBA, plus television shows such as Happy Days, The Jeffersons, and Charlie's Angels. Woody Allen's magnum opus Annie Hall came out this year. Carter was President of the United States.

1980s - 1986: 1985 is also pretty much purely 80s, but 1986 was really the absolute height of the 80s zeitgeist, when yuppies reigned supreme, drums were extremely echoed, almost every iconic 80s television series eas still popular, and the private sector held a firm grip over almost every single aspect of entertainment. Late 80s influences were somewhat prominent in 1985 (tv especially), but 86 was when hair metal, the NES, and early hip hop became a particularly big deal, all while earlier things were still prominent.

1990s - 1995: The 90s were clustered with several distinct trends at varying points, but 1995 is a pretty solid crossroad for all of them. To represent the early 90s, you still had 16-bit games going strong, regular grunge still achieving lots of popularity, pop rap and new jack swing still relevant, and shows like Fresh Prince and Family Matters still drawing in large crowds. For the late 90s, you had the very beginning of the Internet's forray into the mainstream (but before it truly changed the world), the girl power movement gaining traction with the breakthrough of singers like Alanis Morissette, shows like Friends and The X-Files, early 3D games like those on the Saturn and PS1, and Y2K-style teen pop acts such as Boyzone and the Backstreet Boys getting their start. All the while, core 90s trends like gangsta rap, scroungy aesthetics, grunge, adult alternative, soft ballads, Seinfeld, The Simpsons, bowl cuts, flannel clothing, etc., were all in their primes. 1994 is slightly too undeveloped, while 1996 is a tad burnt out and just starting to turn 2000s (music begins to get a little more commercial, Timbaland becomes popular, Super Mario 64 revolutionizes 3D gaming, "No Diggity" is a #1 smash, and the Internet is more ubiquitous than it was the previous year).

2000s - 2005: Still a heavily post-9/11, early 2000s-ish time, but also plentifully stocked with core and late 2000s things like bushy hair, crunk music, emo, MySpace, XBOX 360, Nintendo DS, and in the midst of the Internet's transition into the Web 2.0 era. YouTube, Facebook, and standardly 7th-gen games have not yet come along to reconfigure cultural foundations into something vaguely 2010s as would be the case the following year.

2010s - 2015: Because things like YouTube's significance, uptempo electro club music, the modern gay rights movement, and certain shows declined in 2016. 2015 still has streaming services reigning supreme, 2010s aesthetics, Trump being a prominent figure, and music quite similar to what's hot right now. 2015 represents both the momentous buildup of this decade's first half, as well as the rancid fallout of the second half.

The Great Gatsby is supposed to have taken place in the summer of 1922. But I think the depression of 1920/1921 must've meant it would have taken slightly longer than that to get the wealth and economic prosperity that is associated with the 1920s. Maybe 1926 or 1927. That was also apparently the peak popularity of the Charleston!

Really? I always thought 1984 was the absolute height of the 80s zeitgeist, so much was going off in that year in terms of pop culture. You had all the classic 80s films like Beverley Hills Cop, Gremlins, Ghostbusters, Terminator, Footloose, Police Academy etc. and some of the most well known music of the era was released that year too from Careless Whisper, Like a Virgin, Jump, When Doves Cry, Thriller, I Feel For You, Together In Electric Dreams, Take On Me, Born In The USA, Wake Me Up Before You Go-go, Radio Ga Ga, the list just goes on. Musical acts like Madonna, Cyndi Lauper and Prince all made it big this year.

1984 may have produced a lot of the decade's most memorable films and albums, but that does not mean it represented the 80s zeitgeist to its height. First off, there were still some shows mostly associated with the 70s still wrapping up that year, like Happy Days, Three's Company, The Jeffersons, and One Day at a Time. Certain songs were also a tad lacking in 80s - compare "Hello" and "Stuck on You" to "Ballerina Girl" and "Say You, Say Me," for example. The former two are stylistically closer to Lionel Richie's solo ballads with the Commodores in the late 70s.

Second, while 1984 was definitely a primarily 80s atmosphere, with the 70s not really being that significant anymore, 80s culture really wasn't fully fleshed out yet. Still to come were Growing Pains, Who's the Boss, MacGyver, Moonlighting, the peak of hair metal (it existed in 1984 but wasn't as big as it would be by the time Bon Jovi and Poison got huge), the NES, Jem, Back to the Future, and some more things. While 80s neon colors and big hair were starting to become popular, they weren't nearly as in-your-face yet in 1984 as they would be by the late 1980s, and a lot of people still retained the gentle, oddly neutral looks prominent around the axis of 1983. Yuppie culture, while on the rise, didn't truly peak until 1986, after Reagan's landslide reelection.

Third, plenty of the things you listed for 1984 were still very much in their prime later in the decade in one way or another. Beverly Hills Cop had a massive sequel in 1987 and its main star was still a comedy magnet throughout the rest of the decade. Gremlins also had a sequel (though not until 1990) and was part of a genre (horror-comedy) that was still extremely popular later in the 80s; 1986 had Labyrinth, Troll, and Little Shop of Horrors, for example. Ghostbusters spawned lots of merchandise throughout the 1980s, a theatrical sequel in 1989, and a cartoon show that defined the late 80s and which premiered in 1986. Macho action flicks in the Schwarzenegger sense were still huge beyond 1984, with movies like Commando, Raw Deal, Lethal Weapon, Aliens, Die Hard, and Predator becoming huge successes. Footloose was just one of several popular teen flicks; 1986 can match it with Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Top Gun (not really a teen flick, but popular with teens at the time and also accompanied by a massive soundtrack). Police Academy spawned 6 sequels, 5 of which came out in the 1980s. 1984 may have produced a lot of classic songs, but so did every year of the decade. 1986, for example, had "Danger Zone," "Sledgehammer," "Word Up!," "These Dreams," "Walk Like an Egyptian," and "You Give Love a Bad Name," to name only a few. Madonna may have first been really popular in 1984, but her commercial peak was really 1985-1989; only her first album was really significant in '84, and it was only a moderate success at the time. Cyndi Lauper had a #1 hit in 1986 with "True Colors," while Prince reached #1 that same year with "Kiss."

In 1986, classic 80's trends like new wave were declining in popularity

New wave didn't die until like the late 90s. Why does everybody keep thinking it was only significant in the first half of the 80s? It was still gigantic in 1986, with bands like INXS, the Human League, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Duran Duran, The Outfield, Eddie Money, and Glass Tiger dominating the charts the entire year. Even early 80s favorites like Journey, Toto, and Survivor were still going strong in 1986.

since rap is considered a definite 90's trend wouldn't its start in popularity signal the start of the decline in 80's culture?

Not early, old school rap. The genre was actually significant during the entirety of the decade, beginning with acts like Kurtis Blow and the Sugarhill Gang and ending with rappers like Tone Loc and Young MC. As for 1986, both Run-DMC and Licensed to Ill-era Beastie Boys are full-blown representations of the genre in its 80s form, lacking the gangsta elements that acts like NWA and Ice-T would soon popularize, and still retaining distinctly 80s production, complete with gated drums, a strong lean towards rock, and only sparing use of melodic accompaniment.

New wave didn't die until like the late 90s. Why does everybody keep thinking it was only significant in the first half of the 80s? It was still gigantic in 1986, with bands like INXS, the Human League, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Duran Duran, The Outfield, Eddie Money, and Glass Tiger dominating the charts the entire year. Even early 80s favorites like Journey, Toto, and Survivor were still going strong in 1986.


I never said it died in 1986, my point was it just wasn't as popular in the latter half of the decade than it was in the first. Also, when I mean new wave, I mean the kind of new wave that has that futuristic/electronic/space kind of sound to it. That kind of new wave is what most people associate the genre with, and it seemed to be gone by 1987/88.


1984 may have produced a lot of the decade's most memorable films and albums, but that does not mean it represented the 80s zeitgeist to its height. First off, there were still some shows mostly associated with the 70s still wrapping up that year, like Happy Days, Three's Company, The Jeffersons, and One Day at a Time. Certain songs were also a tad lacking in 80s - compare "Hello" and "Stuck on You" to "Ballerina Girl" and "Say You, Say Me," for example. The former two are stylistically closer to Lionel Richie's solo ballads with the Commodores in the late 70s.

Second, while 1984 was definitely a primarily 80s atmosphere, with the 70s not really being that significant anymore, 80s culture really wasn't fully fleshed out yet. Still to come were Growing Pains, Who's the Boss, MacGyver, Moonlighting, the peak of hair metal (it existed in 1984 but wasn't as big as it would be by the time Bon Jovi and Poison got huge), the NES, Jem, Back to the Future, and some more things. While 80s neon colors and big hair were starting to become popular, they weren't nearly as in-your-face yet in 1984 as they would be by the late 1980s, and a lot of people still retained the gentle, oddly neutral looks prominent around the axis of 1983. Yuppie culture, while on the rise, didn't truly peak until 1986, after Reagan's landslide reelection.

Third, plenty of the things you listed for 1984 were still very much in their prime later in the decade in one way or another. Beverly Hills Cop had a massive sequel in 1987 and its main star was still a comedy magnet throughout the rest of the decade. Gremlins also had a sequel (though not until 1990) and was part of a genre (horror-comedy) that was still extremely popular later in the 80s; 1986 had Labyrinth, Troll, and Little Shop of Horrors, for example. Ghostbusters spawned lots of merchandise throughout the 1980s, a theatrical sequel in 1989, and a cartoon show that defined the late 80s and which premiered in 1986. Macho action flicks in the Schwarzenegger sense were still huge beyond 1984, with movies like Commando, Raw Deal, Lethal Weapon, Aliens, Die Hard, and Predator becoming huge successes. Footloose was just one of several popular teen flicks; 1986 can match it with Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Top Gun (not really a teen flick, but popular with teens at the time and also accompanied by a massive soundtrack). Police Academy spawned 6 sequels, 5 of which came out in the 1980s. 1984 may have produced a lot of classic songs, but so did every year of the decade. 1986, for example, had "Danger Zone," "Sledgehammer," "Word Up!," "These Dreams," "Walk Like an Egyptian," and "You Give Love a Bad Name," to name only a few. Madonna may have first been really popular in 1984, but her commercial peak was really 1985-1989; only her first album was really significant in '84, and it was only a moderate success at the time. Cyndi Lauper had a #1 hit in 1986 with "True Colors," while Prince reached #1 that same year with "Kiss."


Interesting, for a long time I always saw 1984 as the absolute height of 80's culture. But after reading this, I guess it might not be afterall. Also, how long would you say the peak of the 80's lasted? I'd say it started around spring 1983 with the commercial breakthrough of Michael Jackson's Thriller and ended in the fall of 1987 with the stock market crash.

The Great Gatsby is supposed to have taken place in the summer of 1922. But I think the depression of 1920/1921 must've meant it would have taken slightly longer than that to get the wealth and economic prosperity that is associated with the 1920s. Maybe 1926 or 1927. That was also apparently the peak popularity of the Charleston!


I read an article once that said that the 1920's didn't really begin until 1922. I'd say that the 1920's didn't 'start' culturally until roughly 1922/1923!

50's- 1957
60's- 1968
70's- 1977
80's- 1986
90's- 1996
00's- 2005

The peak 80's years, for me, were 1984 to 1987.  :-X

For my own bias, though, I'd say 1983 to 1988.

I never said it died in 1986, my point was it just wasn't as popular in the latter half of the decade than it was in the first. Also, when I mean new wave, I mean the kind of new wave that has that futuristic/electronic/space kind of sound to it. That kind of new wave is what most people associate the genre with, and it seemed to be gone by 1987/88.

Well, it is definitely true that new wave had changed by the mid-late 1980s, compared to what it was during the first half of the decade, although to be fair, that type of new wave had its origins in the late 1970s, when stuff like "Pop Muzik," "Cars," "Beat the Clock," "Let's Go," etc. came out.

Interesting, for a long time I always saw 1984 as the absolute height of 80's culture. But after reading this, I guess it might not be afterall. Also, how long would you say the peak of the 80's lasted? I'd say it started around spring 1983 with the commercial breakthrough of Michael Jackson's Thriller and ended in the fall of 1987 with the stock market crash.

That's pretty close. I'd personally say the peak was roughly mid-late 1984 through mid-1987 as the stretch of time that felt more or less purely 80s, with late 1985 and the year 1986 being the absolute core of that peak.

Well, it is definitely true that new wave had changed by the mid-late 1980s, compared to what it was during the first half of the decade, although to be fair, that type of new wave had its origins in the late 1970s, when stuff like "Pop Muzik," "Cars," "Beat the Clock," "Let's Go," etc. came out.


You know, I never really quite understood what new wave really was. Is it post-punk, is it synthpop? It always seemed like an ill-defined genre.


That's pretty close. I'd personally say the peak was roughly mid-late 1984 through mid-1987 as the stretch of time that felt more or less purely 80s, with late 1985 and the year 1986 being the absolute core of that peak.


So what triggered off the start of the peak in mid-late '84 and what ended it in mid '87? 


 

I'll stick with the 60's till now:

1960's - 1968: Peak of Flower Power, Death of MLK, Controversial 68' Election of Nixon, The Peak of 'Beatlemania' with The White Album, 2001: A Space Odyssey

1970's - 1977: The first year truly removed from the Vietnam War era of the late 60's/early 70's, Disco reaching its peak in popularity, first full year of Carter's administration, Atari 2600 is released, Saturday Night Fever & Star Wars grace the silver screen

1980's - 1986: The year of the Challenger Explosion, The peak of the Yuppie craze representing a calm before the storm in the late 80's, perfect equilibrium of earlier 80's music like new wave and later 80's music like hair metal and gangsta rap, peak in popularity for iconic 80's TV shows like The A-Team, Family Ties, Cheers, etc., NES is released nationwide

1990's - 1995: The peak year of The O.J Trial, The OKC Bombing, The 95' Government Shutdown which marked a political victory for Clinton, perfect equilibrium of earlier & latter 90's trends like Grunge, Ballads, & 16 Bit gaming/Post Grunge, Commercial Pop, 7 32/64 bit gaming, the release of the Internet to the general public via Windows 95, peak in popularity of 90's TV shows like Full House, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Seinfeld, and Friends to name a few, the first CGI film Toy Story is released, the Dot Com bubble begins to form

2000's - 2006: The year Bush's approval ratings began to hit the 30's, Backlash against the administration hit their peak with Dems winning back congress in November, Saddam Huessin executed, The iPod reaches its peak in popularity, HDTVs start to become viable for the general public, the peak of 2000's gaming with 6th generation still going strong with PS2/Gamecube and 7th generation beginning with Xbox 360, PS3, & (especially) Wii which revolutionized motion controls, DVD's are at peak in popularity along with Blu Ray & HD DVD being released and the last movie ever to be released on VHS, the calm before the economic fire storm of the late 00's

2010's - 2016: Reasons IMO seem to be pretty self explanatory

1930s: 1933
1940s: 1945
1950s: 1957
1960s: 1967
1970s: 1976
1980s: 1985
1990s: 1994
2000s: 2005

1930s: 1933
1940s: 1945
1950s: 1957
1960s: 1967
1970s: 1976
1980s: 1985
1990s: 1994
2000s: 2005


What about the 2010s?

What about the 2010s?


2016

I definitely agree with 1986 being the peak of the 80's with 1985 being a very close second. There's so many explosive in-your-face 80's things like loud reverbed pop music, glam metal, baggy neon clothes and so many other trends that were huge in 85 and 86 that I can't really see being all that big in 84. You can split it up in so many different ways and I even have a hard time deciding on how to organize everything but in someways you can say there's the New Wave early 80's of 1982-1984 and the Madonna late 80's of 1985-1989.


I never said it died in 1986, my point was it just wasn't as popular in the latter half of the decade than it was in the first. Also, when I mean new wave, I mean the kind of new wave that has that futuristic/electronic/space kind of sound to it. That kind of new wave is what most people associate the genre with, and it seemed to be gone by 1987/88.


In terms of it's time in the mainstream, 1979-1984 New Wave and Late 84 to 1989 New Wave is a lot different. 85-89 new wave was dancier, more commercial, polished and pop-orientated with songs like Don't You Forget About Me, She Drives Me Crazy and True Faith. Earlier New Wave was a lot rougher and not as pop (but still pretty poppy) with songs like I Ran and Mexican Radio.

In terms of it's time in the mainstream, 1979-1984 New Wave and Late 84 to 1989 New Wave is a lot different. 85-89 new wave was dancier, more commercial, polished and pop-orientated with songs like Don't You Forget About Me, She Drives Me Crazy and True Faith. Earlier New Wave was a lot rougher and not as pop (but still pretty poppy) with songs like I Ran and Mexican Radio.


"She Drives Me Crazy", that's new wave? I thought it was pop rock.

"She Drives Me Crazy", that's new wave? I thought it was pop rock.


It's both. Considered by most a New Wave song, though and I wouldn't say it's at all different from stuff coming out during the prior 4 years.

It's both. Considered by most a New Wave song, though and I wouldn't say it's at all different from stuff coming out during the prior 4 years.


Would you say there are any new wave songs from the late 80s that have that classic new wave sound from the 1979-1984 period?

I read an article once that said that the 1920's didn't really begin until 1922. I'd say that the 1920's didn't 'start' culturally until roughly 1922/1923!


It's difficult to pinpoint. The early 1920s were very different from the mid/late 1920s, but nonetheless, they are still very distinctly '1920s'. If anyone were transported to 1920, it would be unmistakably '20s. Even as early as 1918 and 1919, you started seeing flappers, and cars were very common on the road. In 1920, women were finally given the right to vote, and Prohibition also came into effect that year. Jazz was also quite popular that year (of course, it got more and more popular as the decade went on).

But you have a point, in that the 'roaring' part of the Roaring '20s didn't start until 1922! :D

Would you say there are any new wave songs from the late 80s that have that classic new wave sound from the 1979-1984 period?


Yep! This song's a US top 40 hit from 1989 and has a bit of a 1982 sound:

CAw-YYKkqWE

Yep! This song's a US top 40 hit from 1989 and has a bit of a 1982 sound:

CAw-YYKkqWE


How do you link YouTube videos? Because whenever I try it just comes out saying #Invalid YouTube Link#

It's difficult to pinpoint. The early 1920s were very different from the mid/late 1920s, but nonetheless, they are still very distinctly '1920s'. If anyone were transported to 1920, it would be unmistakably '20s. Even as early as 1918 and 1919, you started seeing flappers, and cars were very common on the road. In 1920, women were finally given the right to vote, and Prohibition also came into effect that year. Jazz was also quite popular that year (of course, it got more and more popular as the decade went on).

But you have a point, in that the 'roaring' part of the Roaring '20s didn't start until 1922! :D


So we'll start seeing robot flappers in 2018?? Aahh, hotttt!!!!!

I think it's easy to hear the difference between New Wave from the second half of the 80's compared to the earlier half.

Here's what I'd call Pop Wave.

1985:

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1986:

EPmTGFg06zA

1989:

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Earlier New Wave.

1983:

eyCEexG9xjw

1980:

j_QLzthSkfM

1979:

shBdbm7BNw0

How do you link YouTube videos? Because whenever I try it just comes out saying #Invalid YouTube Link#


You type this in




And in between that code you put the very end of the YouTube url. So instead of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPmTGFg06zA you just put in EPmTGFg06zA.

End the code with (it won't allow me to put them together in the other message without saying it's an invalid link).

:(  :(

Take out the s in https and make it http and it works.

End the code with (it won't allow me to put them together in the other message without saying it's an invalid link).



EPmTGFg06zA


gives

EPmTGFg06zA

:D

EPmTGFg06zA


gives

EPmTGFg06zA

:D


Thanks, Jimmy Dean! Just can't figure out these new fangled 80s diddly machines!!!! Back in my day (the 1890's) we didn't need to Macintosh to make music! We just pounded drums and called it a tune.

Everything after the equal sign!  :-X  :-X  :-X

You know, I never really quite understood what new wave really was. Is it post-punk, is it synthpop? It always seemed like an ill-defined genre.

I agree the term is extremely too broad, but the "new wave" label can basically be applied to the vast bulk of rock music promoted on MTV during the channel's infancy, even though plenty of music from the late 70s also qualifies. Billy Joel noted how new wave was the next big thing in his 1980 #1 hit "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me." Regardless, a lot of the same bands active near the end of the 70s and beginning of the 80s, such as the Cars, Pat Benatar, the Human League, OMD, and so forth were still going strong by the late 1980s as well.

So what triggered off the start of the peak in mid-late '84 and what ended it in mid '87?

Mid-late 1984 was the height of Reagan's Morning in America campaign, as well as about the time distinctly 80s fashion started to overtake the unstyled 1983 looks. Several huge television shows premiered around the 1984-1985 season, as well, making it the first time 1980s television was solidly established.

The peak ended around mid-1987 for multiple reasons. First off, a few major shows, like The A Team and Knight Rider had ended. Next, Reagan's popularity had taken a turn for the worse due to the Iran-Contra scandal, not to mention the stock market crash on the horizon. Hip hop was just starting to become more 90s, with Eric B. & Rakim, Ice-T, Public Enemy, and NWA pushing the genre into the 90s, albeit not entirely in the mainstream. New jack swing started to appear on the radio in late 1987, beginning with stuff like "Casanova," "Pump Up the Volume," and "I Want Her." Suzanne Vega's "Luka" and R.E.M.'s "The One I Love" brought significant new attention to alternative music, soon leading to the creative of the Modern Rock Chart. Some new shows, like Full House and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, were also extremely significant to the early 1990s. CDs were now a serious alternative to vinyl. Finally, the Cold War was starting to really wind down, with Reagan and Gorbachev coming to peace agreements and the USSR starting to really implode.

Mid-late 1984 was the height of Reagan's Morning in America campaign, as well as about the time distinctly 80s fashion started to overtake the unstyled 1983 looks. Several huge television shows premiered around the 1984-1985 season, as well.

The peak ended around mid-1987 for multiple reasons. First off, a few major shows, like The A Team and Knight Rider had ended. Next, Reagan's popularity had taken a turn for the worse due to the Iran-Contra scandal, not to mention the stock market crash on the horizon. Hip hop was just starting to become more 90s, with Eric B. & Rakim, Ice-T, Public Enemy, and NWA pushing the genre into the 90s, albeit not entirely in the mainstream. New jack swing started to appear on the radio in late 1987, beginning with stuff like "Casanova," "Pump Up the Volume," and "I Want Her." Suzanne Vega's "Luka" and R.E.M.'s "The One I Love" brought significant new attention to alternative music, soon leading to the creative of the Modern Rock Chart. Some new shows, like Full House and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, were also extremely significant to the early 1990s. CDs were now a serious alternative to vinyl. Finally, the Cold War was starting to really wind down, with Reagan and Gorbachev coming to peace agreements and the USSR starting to really implode.


I still think the summer of 1987 (like July, August) are still part of the peak period. Because "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley (one of the most famous 80's songs of all time) was released, and Dirty Dancing came out.

I still think the summer of 1987 (like July, August) are still part of the peak period. Because "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley (one of the most famous 80's songs of all time) was released, and Dirty Dancing came out.


The problem is, that follows the same logic as considering 1991 part of the peak of the 90s simply because that's when "Smells Like Teen Spirit" came out, even though at the same time, you had all sorts of late 80s holdovers still highly relevant. Also, "Never Gonna Give You Up," while a massive hit when it first came out, really only got legendarily famous 20 years later when it became the flagship of the rickroll Internet meme.

1930s: 1936
1940s: 1944
1950s: 1956
1960s: 1967
1970s: 1977
1980s: 1986
1990s: 1996
2000s: 2006
2010s: 2015

1950s: 1955
1960s: 1968
1970s: 1977
1980s: 1987
1990s: 1995
2000s: 2005
2010s: 2014 (tentatively)

This thread reminds me that I really miss Jordan, and his x-treme Xennial wisdom. :\'( He was probably tired of us saying the same thing over and over (I've been guilty of this).

1950's: 1956
1960's: 1967
1970's: 1977
1980's: 1984
1990's: 1995
2000's: 2006
2010's: 2016