[SamAdams76]

The sweet spot for me is the 1975-1985 period.

Latter part of the 70s, early part of the 80s.

1979 probably the best year of all. Everytime I walked into a record store that year, there was something I wanted to buy in the new release section. Just to name a few, you had:

"The Wall" by Pink Floyd.
"In Through The Out Door" by Led Zeppelin
"Damn The Torpedos" by Tom Petty & Heartbreakers
"Breakfast In America" by Supertramp
"Candy-O" by The Cars
"Regatta de Blanc" by The Police
"London Calling" by The Clash
"Armed Forces" by Elvis Costello
"Tusk" by Fleetwood Mac
"Lodger" by David Bowie
"In The Heat Of The Night" by Pat Benatar
"The Pleasure Principle" by Gary Numan

Many others...

[sevlex]

I agree 188%.

The 70s started good with the carry-over from the 60s. By ‘74 things were sounding bleak with a lot of commercial paint-by-numbers music.

Then, starting in ‘77 new acts came along with real creativity.

[Alberta's Child]

Great post. If you were ten years older you might think a bit differently.

The way I look at it, I just go back to the rock & roll bands that get heavily played in my iTunes rotation. It seems like almost every one of them had their best records released in a period that spanned the late 60s through the late 70s:

Led Zeppelin IV
Bob Seger's "Night Moves"
"Idlewild South" and "At Fillmore East" by the Allman Brothers
"Eagles Greatest Hits"
Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon"
"Who's Next"
"Exile on Main Street" by the Rolling Stones
Etc., etc.

[Alberta's Child]

I always think of 1979 as the year when "1980s music" first made its way to commercial radio.

The Cars' Candy-O was released in late 1979, and I've always said the track "It's All I Can Do" is one of the most underrated hits of the era, and has a definitive 1980s-type sound to it.

[FreedomPoster]

I might have listed Rumours instead of Tusk, but yes, that’s a pretty compelling list.

[HombreSecreto]

Many Others...

[Tench_Coxe]

"The sweet spot for me is the 1975-1985 period."

I agree on that one. There was an explosion of genres/sound.

Then Madonna came on the scene, along with a lot of prepackaged "corporate" music.

There were some subgenres (grunge, techno, hip hip (the 'old school')), but nothing else stood out.

[gundog]

Actually looking forward to records being released was a great thing....Cut a few classes when “The Wall” dropped.

[gundog]

Bowie, on the bleeding edge.....45 years ago.