Your best year for music

[PomBstard]

I’ve just realised 5 of my favourite albums of all time are all 30 years old this year. They might not be my top 5 but they’d all be in my top 20:

Pearl Jam - Ten
Nirvana - Nevermind
Primal Scream - Screamadelica
Massive Attack - Blue Lines
The KLF - White Room

All from 1991 - lots of other good albums that year, and I like albums from many others.

What’s yours?

[Colonel Cupcake]

My peak was 1982, especially the latter half. Not just for the music though. I think many peoples golden year is when they were 14.

[Boringvolvodriver]

Colonel Cupcake said:

My peak was 1982, especially the latter half. Not just for the music though. I think many peoples golden year is when they were 14.

I have heard the best year being when you were 14 or 15 as that is when your musical tastes are formed. I guess it will depend on whether you are into chart music rather than other stuff.

So for me that would be 74 or 75 - not sure that would be good years, maybe 1977 being a better year with

Rumours
Bat out of Hell
Hotel California

All in my top 10 albums

[Patch1875]

Tough one maybe 89 but 90 and 91 as well.

[PomBstard]

Colonel Cupcake said:

My peak was 1982, especially the latter half. Not just for the music though. I think many peoples golden year is when they were 14.

I was 18/19 in 91 - I think those 5 albums just provided something different at the time.

I was 14 when Live After Death came out though, which does explain a bit...

[gazza285]

Probably 1991, I must have been to at least one gig a week, mainly in run down holes, watching some great bands.

Started the year in Newcastle, some great venues there, and finished the year in Huddersfield, watching Green Day play their first UK gig in the local snooker hall.

[cherryowen]

1978

Because that's when Van Halen released their first album

[Athlon]

1979/80 last 6 months of '79, start of '80, the music was just awesome on so many levels.

Madness, the Jam, Pistols, Clash, Kate Bush, Floyd...just so many artists at the very top of their game all vying for the top spot made that era unbeatable, I have only touched on the groups that were flying back them, The Stones, Petty, ELO, Numan, Jethro Tull, Adam & the Antz Culture Club, something for all and all of it was great.

What a time to love music! I spent so much time at the Apollo in Mcr or Maine road or Gmex(!), I just hoovered it all up, sometimes I came away thinking 'meh' other times I went thinking 'Meh' but walked out on top of the world!

I miss amazing live acts with brilliant tunes.

[Evoluzione]

Sorry to swim against the tide, but after watching various TOTP recently the late 80s was absolutely dire.
Early to mid 80s was full of fresh, new and great stuff, but they followed it up with some appalling songs afterwards before dying.
Then the tide turned in the 90s when it was all change and the new stuff was in.

• In general.

[Gompo]

1994.

Bolt Thrower - ..For Victory
Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger
Emperor - ITNE
Enslaved - Vikingligr Veldi
Impaled Nazarene - Suomi Finland Perkele
Mayhem - DMDS
Machine Head - Burn My Eyes
Nailbomb - Point Blank
Prong - Cleansing
Satyricon - The Shadowthrone
Slayer - Divine Intervention
The Prodigy - Music for the Jilted Generation
Tiamat - Wildhoney
Underworld - Dubnobasswithmyheadman

..Quite a lot of these are the band's best works. There's numerous other albums that are great from the year, but perhaps not the peak output; Orbital's Snivilisation for example.

[Grrbang]

Gompo said:

1994.

Bolt Thrower - ..For Victory
Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger
Emperor - ITNE
Enslaved - Vikingligr Veldi
Impaled Nazarene - Suomi Finland Perkele
Mayhem - DMDS
Machine Head - Burn My Eyes
Nailbomb - Point Blank
Prong - Cleansing
Satyricon - The Shadowthrone
Slayer - Divine Intervention
The Prodigy - Music for the Jilted Generation
Tiamat - Wildhoney
Underworld - Dubnobasswithmyheadman

..Quite a lot of these are the band's best works. There's numerous other albums that are great from the year, but perhaps not the peak output; Orbital's Snivilisation for example.

Don’t forget Mr. Blobby - Mr. Blobby

[Boringvolvodriver]

Grrbang said:

Don’t forget Mr. Blobby - Mr. Blobby

I had! Forgotten it that is until now!

[Wacky Racer]

1971

Deep Purple Mk 2

Led Zeppelin

Barclay James Harvest

T Rex

Rod Stewart

etc.....

[RegMolehusband]

I agree with 1971. But mostly 1968 to 1976.

[entropy]

Boringvolvodriver said:

I have heard the best year being when you were 14 or 15 as that is when your musical tastes are formed.

Why is that generally the case I wonder?

For me it would be 1993/94. The rave scene splintering off into Jungle, Drum & Bass, Happy Hardcore; MTV arguably in its prime: Beavis & Butthead

The Breeders - Cannonball
Beck - Loser
Cypress Hill - Insane In The Brain
Beastie Boys - Sabotage, Sure Short, Ill Communication
The Prodigy - Music For The Jilted Generation
Wu Tang Clan - Enter The Wu Tang

The other formative age/years would be around 18/1997-98. Big beat was in its prime - Fatboy Slim, etc; moved onto trip hop DJ Shadow, UNKLE, underground/backpacker hip hop, jazz, funk, soul.

For my sins: in the intervening years I was shamefully into Britpop!

[worsy]

85 for me, and as a previous poster says it was the year I hit 14.

Misplaced Childhood - Marillion
Live after Death - Iron Maiden
Invasion of your privacy - Ratt
Heart - Heart
Sacred Heart - Dio
Love - the Cult
Wide Awake in America - U2
Hounds of Love - Kate Bush
Power Windows - Rush
On a Storyteller's Night - Magnum
Under Lock and Key - Dokken
Once upon a time - Simple Minds

[Riley Blue]

April 11th 1967 - Hendrix.

[MikeT66]

I'd have to go with around 1973 - thanks to an older brother (I was 7).

Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure (and the first album from 1972)
David Bowie - Aladdin Sane and Pin-Ups (and TRAFO Ziggy Stardust ATSFM)
Lou Reed - Transformer

After that, it was probably around 1980/81 (yes, at 14 years old as mentioned), and AC/DC's Back In Black, Black Sabbath's Heaven And Hell, Rainbow's Down To Earth and the rise of the NWOBHM - Saxon, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Diamond Head, Vardis, etc.

[marcosgt]

I was 14 in 1976, but I wouldn't say it was my 'best year for music'.

We did get "Anarchy in the UK", which I supposed kick-started the period that was 'my era for music', but it wasn't really that good and everything else was pretty awful with the Prog Rockers, AOR bands and Disco riding high. Before Punk kicked off, my record collection was mostly The Beatles, 10CC and The Rolling Stones (well the part I'll admit to! I did have an ABBA album! )

Maybe 1981 with Dare by the Human League, Ghost Town by the Specials, Fascist Groove Thang by Heaven 17, Duran Duran's first album, OMD, The Stray Cats.

Yeah, 1981 was OK.

M

[Pixelpeep Z4]

1993 for Drum & Bass/Jungle...

almost all of the d&b i listen to now, when the mood takes, is from that year.