Revolver started it all...

Still love The Doors!

Rolling Stones

is Elton John rock? love him still!

loved Queen, Journey and many other 80s rock bands.

Is rock really dead? I miss the long haired rockers with the big voices.

My premise is simple: the golden age, of what we loosely call rock and roll, was between 1966 and 1977. Basically, from Revolver to Animals. The attachments are my favorite albums of all time. I first started with just the Big Two (The Beatles and Pink Floyd) and then I added some of the other greats, and then in the third chart, the other great ones that came to mind. Many brilliant albums have been produced since then, but never has there been a cluster of creative musical genius like that decade. Wasn't 1969 a great year?

I'd call your premise simplistic. Clearly, everyone's got their opinions on this, but you started it ....

It started with Beatles & Pink Floyd??

The Beatles themselves would disavow "starting" rock & roll ... they were turned on by the R&R of Chuck Berry, Bo Didley, Gene Vincent, Carl Perkins, Elvis & many others.

In the late '60s Pink Floyd was an avant garde space-music band, not yet in their rock phase that started in about '73 with DSOTM. To cite Pink Floyd as a foundation of R&R without first mentioning the Stones, Animals, Who, Creedence, Cream, etc. etc. is, IMHO, really missing the mark.

Just my four cents' worth.

Go back to that era and you'll find that there were a lot of bands that the more successful bands used to really think highly of. I make make a point of seeking out lesser known bands that few people have heard of. They've still had a real effect on what we hear today. Let's not forget Steve Howe's first band Tomorrow. Really punchy rendition of Strawberry Fields they did. You can hear some of the "Yes" in his playing.

A lot of these productions were uneven and spotty to be sure, but there are some real gems out there. A lot of good stuff came out of Texas. Anyone remember Bubble Puppy?

Go back to that era and you'll find that there were a lot of bands that the more successful bands used to really think highly of. I make make a point of seeking out lesser known bands that few people have heard of. They've still had a real effect on what we hear today. Let's not forget Steve Howe's first band Tomorrow. Really punchy rendition of Strawberry Fields they did. You can hear some of the "Yes" in his playing.

A lot of these productions were uneven and spotty to be sure, but there are some real gems out there. A lot of good stuff came out of Texas. Anyone remember Bubble Puppy?

Great points, LSam. Thanks for the Bubble Puppy memory.... good candidate for "name the artist" in a music trivia contest.

I wasn't saying The Beatles and Pink Floyd started rock n roll, just that they were dominant during "the golden age". Some of the lesser known bands I thought were pretty good were Fever Tree and Spooky Tooth. And for one of the all time obscure bands, does anyone remember Klaatu?

We may be forgetting another major player in all this, and that is the Beach Boys. Whether or not you are a fan or follower (I'm not so much), Brian Wilson's contributions are undeniable. Pet Sounds is a masterpiece.

The Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, and Elton Johm all had a series of exceptionally strong albums mostly during the period I'm talking about. They just weren't my cup of tea,either. What I'm trying to figure out is why it seems as though the music of the eighties, nineties, and even today just doesnt seem to match the level of that era.

That's easy. Music is no longer an art form. It's no longer about expression. Flash back to the 90's. Totally different story. Lot's of personal expression. Sometimes a bit too dark and depressing, but incredibly rewarding overall. In the 80's it was a bit showy with the advent of MTV. You didn't have to sound good if you looked good, but thre was still lots of good stuff. Lenny Kravitz, Prince, the Police, U2. The 70's was a weird mix. Peace/Love rock got a hard edge. I blame Altamont, Manson and maturity for that. The 60's were the golden years in my opinion. There are lots of great songs noone has heard of that would make great cover songs today. There was also a lot of naive idealism.

Today, you can find most anything. You just have to look for it, and it may not be popular. To my mind, the days of being a fan are long gone. Find stuff you like and listen to it. If it's a lesser known band and you love it, buy their CD.

Yes, there's always been great music out there. You're right that the era of the fan has been over for some time. You have to search to find the good stuff amid the vast wasteland. We should have imposed better guitar-control laws in the early eighties so that the technology didn't fall into the wrong hands. Now we have to endure the adolescent angst of every slacker who ever thought about picking up a Gibson.

Yes, there's always been great music out there. You're right that the era of the fan has been over for some time. You have to search to find the good stuff amid the vast wasteland. We should have imposed better guitar-control laws in the early eighties so that the technology didn't fall into the wrong hands. Now we have to endure the adolescent angst of every slacker who ever thought about picking up a Gibson.

I really don't know why yesterday's music was better. It's just random thoughts on my part. It's not just me though, although I'm getting tired of reading youtube comments like "Hey everybody, I'm only 15 and this old stuff is better than the new stuff. My friends think I'm weird". It sounds like he has no friends, but the fact is, he's right.

The Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, and Elton Johm all had a series of exceptionally strong albums mostly during the period I'm talking about. They just weren't my cup of tea,either. What I'm trying to figure out is why it seems as though the music of the eighties, nineties, and even today just doesnt seem to match the level of that era.

The Kinks....60s before the Beatles through the Eighties. Ray Davies is still beyond his time.

Sorry, but I lump the Kinks in there somewhere between the Dave Clark Five and the Zombies...Now, Deep Purple was a band that had it all. Their sad story is that "Smoke on the Water" became their one great hit, while they did much better stuff in the beginning.

It's not just about sheer musicianship. It can be about lyrics, it can be about attitude. Velvet Underground for example was a tremnedous influence on a lot of other bands. I can see throwing th Kinks in there. Kind of punky if you ask me. Whether or not you like that sound, it did work it's way into popular music in the 70's and 80s. This puts the Kinks ahead of their time for sure. There are things the Beatles were lacking, and attitude was one of them.

The Beatles did lack attitude. I loved the grit of the Yardbirds and Spencer Davis Group. They were edgy in the day.

Yardbirds! Time for a song! This is Jimmy Page. You can hear bits of Dazed and Confused! I could listen to this all day long, but that's just me. I like this version better than the studio version.

My premise is simple: the golden age, of what we loosely call rock and roll, was between 1966 and 1977. Basically, from Revolver to Animals. The attachments are my favorite albums of all time. I first started with just the Big Two (The Beatles and Pink Floyd) and then I added some of the other greats, and then in the third chart, the other great ones that came to mind. Many brilliant albums have been produced since then, but never has there been a cluster of creative musical genius like that decade. Wasn't 1969 a great year?

What about Rubber Soul?

Yes, there are a few great albums, and great bands that fall outside my parameters. (ZZ Top and U2 to name a couple) but probably, as LS summed it up in another thread, my leanings are towards the psychedelic. All of my musings stem from the observation that most bands have a period of three or four albums where they are running on all cylinders and their creativity is at it's peak. Both the Beatles and the Floyd made a handful of albums before achieving that peak, whereas Led Zeppelin had it from the beginning. After the peak, they usually make a few more albums of lesser quality. Unfortunately, U2 seem to be there now.

I'm right with you all on scratching my head over most of today's music vs. the '60s & 70s .. usually just figure it's because that's when I was in my teen & 20s, so that was my "golden age." But I do also agree with the notion of less an art form these days & more show/entertainment.

There are certain new, young artists today though that -- while often not rock & roll -- give me great hope for the present & future. As just one small but stunning example, check out 21-year-old Sarah Jarosz:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHcYiOsO3a4

My Junior High Music History teacher had it right. I never got it until now. It's the Yardbirds. The correct answer is Yardbirds. If you said Yardbirds, you may claim your prize.