Most influential artists by decade
 

This is an ongoing discussion my friends and I seem to have at least once a summer while cmaping and low and behold it was brought up again on the first trip of the year :lol: So I pose the question to all of you, who was the most influential artist/group of each of the following decades? My picks are listed below.

50's - Elvis Presley
60's - Bob Dylan
70's - Led Zeppelin
80's - N.W.A. / Dr. Dre
90's - Nirvana

1920s: George Gershwin
1930s: Robert Johnson
1940s: Hank Williams
1950s: Antonio Carlos Jobim
1960s: The Beatles
1970s: Bob Marley
1980s: Grand Wizard Theodore
1990s: Nirvana

There is no right answer, of course.

70's Black Sabbath
80's Iron Maiden

40s Sinatra
50s Buddy Holly
60s Beatles
70s Led Zeppelin
80s Van Halen
90s Nirvana

I'm going to have to give the 90s to Puff Daddy or P. Diddy. I love good hip hop, but I'm not a fan of P. Diddy at all. I can't stand most of the music that he producers(except Biggie). I just recognize the huge impact he's had on the music industry. So much of the styles (crappy styles, I might add) came from P. Diddy influence. Hip hop is the highest selling music genre of all-time. A lot of that had to do with P. Diddy's major choke hold over the 90s and early 2000s. His presence has had a major influence on all types of music, not just rap.

Some would say he's not an artist at all, and just an incredible business man. Well, it's true, he's can't rap worth a shit, but just because you can't rap doesn't mean you aren't an influential artist. Influential bad artist rather.

P. Diddy didn't invent rap, but I think he was partially responsible for bringing out hip hop to the mainstream worldwide the way we see it today. Some would say no, Run DMC brought hip hop to the mainstream first. Well, they did on a much smaller level. P. Diddy is the one who REALLY put it out there big time. Rap is everywhere now. It's in commercials, it's in video games, it's in movies, it's on T-shirts, it's in your food, it's under your shoes, and it's in your pudding. Never has there been a time when so many different cultures were part of the hip hop community. I don't think it's possible to give the 90s influential award to anyone other than a rapper. Like it or not the 90s belonged to rap. All of the 90s belonged to rap. And not only was it the most influential music of the 90s, but of all-time (that influence has been good and bad). If you don't pick P. Diddy, you gotta go with Jay-Z or someone along those lines (even though Jay-Z got his biggest after the 2000s).

Also, P. Diddy invented the remix. ;)

All this being said, I love rap, but I hate today's rap. It's cheap and sounds shitty much of the time unless it's someone like Outkast or something. I liked early to mid 90s rap much better, and wish it never got this mainstream as it has today.

I love Nirvana, but I don't see them as most influential. Grunge seems pretty much dead, I think. I may be wrong.

Just to be different:

50s - Chuck Berry (inspired countless luminaries to play the guitar, notably George Harrison)
60s - Stones (where would rock music be without these guys)
70s - Hendrix (did things no one thought possible)
80s - Cure (alternative music started with these guys IMHO)
90s - Pearl Jam
00s - ??????????????????????????????????

Wasn't Hendrix dead when the 70s officially began. I'm pretty sure he died in the summer of 1970.

I'd have to go with Nirvana for the 90's as well. Because most modern rock music nowadays is still people bitching about their parents not hugging them enough set to loud guitar riffs.

50's Chuck Berry
60's The Beatles (The Stones are almost in a tie here)
70's The New York Dolls
80's Grandmaster Flash
90's Nirvana
00's Kelly Clarkson (This is a cynical pick, I hope to be proven wrong in 4 years!)

40's- Benny Goodman
50's- Elvis Presley
60's- The Beatles
70's- Led Zeppelin
80's- Run DMC
90's- tie - NWA / Nirvana
00's- sadly, The Mickey Mouse Club

Presley and The Beatles were no-brainers. I thought the 70's could've gone to either Sabbath, Led Zep, or The BeeGees. Run DMC brought hip hop to the mainstream to stay in the 80's and NWA changed it's face in the early 90's. Nirvana started the grunge movement and brought back rock n roll. And Britney brought us back into the dark times with throw away bubble gum crap. As far as Puff goes, he influenced the r&b scene as a producer, not an artist. He's quite possibly the worst rapper ever, but he's a phenomenal producer. If we were talking about producers you'd have to include him along with Berry Gordy, Quincy Jones, Russell Simmons, Dr. Dre etc.

It could be argued that Sabbath is one of the first(and best) Led Zeppelin clones.

I like this list a lot. However, I am substituting Radiohead over Nirvana in the 90's. Yeah, you heard me!!! :)

40s - Sinatra (great pick rw)
50s - Elvis
60s - The Beatles
70s - Steely Dan
80s - The Doobie Brothers
90s - Nirvana/Sublime
00s - I dunno, I don't think anyone really stands out.

That's true, but it wouldn't have any bearing on what was to follow in terms of influence on artists of the future, right?

Also, Cobain died in EARLY 1994, so was only around for 3 years of the decade, and I don't think that lessens Nirvana's influence any.

Question was most influential artist of the decade, not the band that most inflluenced a decade's music. Going by your assumption, the Beatles should probably be the answer for every decade since they probably pushed more artists to start playing music than anyone. Anyways, my picks.

Doing strictly ock n roll, as the only other genres i really listen to are soul, blues, jazz, and a little r&b.

50's: Chuck Berry
60's: The Who
70's: David Bowie
80's: Sonic Youth
90's: Nirvana

Again, I disagree with your interpretation. You'd be wrong about Nirvana too then, as they were only in the decade for three years. You are then saying that Nirvana had no influence from 1994-2000, which from your list, appears to be contradictory.

I contend that an artist does not need to be alive to be influential. From your inclusion of Nirvana, you do too, regardless of whether you outwardly agree.

Umm, no. Nirvana released their 2 most influential, and arguably "best" albums during the 90s. Hendrix released no albums (not considering live) during the 70's. Technically Angel was released during the 70s but that was never approved by Hendrix himself. The album Hendrix wanted released was apparently First Rays of the New Rising Sun, but that album didn't see the light of day until around 1996. I think Hendrix influenced the 70's and all future decades greatly. But he wasn't the most influential artist OF the 70s, because he had no output in the 70s. He most certainly could be the most influential artist FOR music in the 70s. But that wasn't the question.

I enjoy that EVERYONE has chosen male artists as their "Best of's." Says a lot about the demographic and the mind-set.

And so we reach the classic music discussion group connundrum. We will have to simply disagree with each other on this. Just like Nirvana's influence on artists of the decades reached past Sept. 1993 (In Utero's release), so did Jimi's past Axis. The music of the respective decades was greatly influenced by these two artists. You keep saying that is not what the question asked, but you are selectively interpreting it to match your points about Nirvana. I do not agree with you that is what the question is asking. I maintain that an artist does not have to be alive to be influential to the artists of the time. That's the great thing about music - it transcends life and death.

Let's face facts here. In rock music, men are the dominant creative force. I guess you could make a list like:

50's - Laverne Baker
60's - the Supremes
70's - Carly Simon
80's - Cyndi Lauper
90's - Mariah Carey
00's - Pink

but with the exception of the Supremes, none of these people made much impact compared to the artists listed in most of the responses to this thread.

Well, go right ahead and prove us wrong, instead of criticism without contribution.

King Crimson

AHHHHHHH. Hendrix made no music in the 70s, Nirvana did make music in the 90s. That's why Nirvana should be on the 90s list and Hendrix shouldn't be on the 70s list.

This thread says nothing about specifically relating to "rock" music.

I would obviously put Madonna down for the 80's. I'm surprised no one has mentioned Michael Jackson or Prince either.

I didnt' criticize. I merely observed.