G E N E R AT I O N A L GENRES Since before time was recorded, humans have been listening to music. Overtime, however, tastes and sounds have changed. With each new generation, there is a new prominent genre and sound of music that becomes more popular. Before smartphones and personalized playlists, all you had was the radio. And before that, there were records that you could only listen to one at a time. MUSIC THROUGH THE AGES
Before smartphones and music apps, even before the radio, listening to music was limited to live performances. This could range from a nightclub that exclusively played swing music, to at home with a guitar and a piano. As time has progressed, the way people experience music has changed, but the importance of different genres correlating with
each generation hasn’t. These days, when people suggest certain types of music, they often refer to the decades from when the music was popular.
that the radio station played, which ended up being the same handful of songs. This meant that these were the songs each generation had to identify with.
Each decade has a certain “sound” that is key in identifying what year it comes from. The 50s is commonly identified as “swing” or “blues” music, while the 60s is “psychadelic rock” or “folk rock.” While these decades are only 10 years apart, the music that comes from them are wildly different.
In more recent years, music enthusiasts have had ample opportunities to listen to a much broader range of music, mainly due to streaming and smartphones. As a result, the younger generations, as well as future generations, have more access to all different genres of music. Back then, if a song someone didn’t like was playing, chances are it was playing on all of the other radio stations too. Now, there are hundreds of thousands of songs to choose from. There are also staple songs for these more recent decades, just like past generations, but now they vary in sound and genre.
ANTHEMS OF THE GENERATIONS
For a long time, the popular way to listen to music was through the radio. Of course there were cassettes and records, but the radio was free, and there was one playing music almost anywhere. Because of this, listeners were forced to hear only the songs
TOP ARTISTS FROM EACH DECADE
50s
60s
70s
80s
ELVIS PRESLEY
THE BEATLES
STEVIE WONDER
MICHAEL JACKSON
FATS DOMINO
JAMES BROWN
LED ZEPPELIN
PRINCE
CHUCK BERRY
THE BEACH BOYS
ELTON JOHN
MADONNA
LITTLE RICHARD
THE SUPREMES
PINK FLOYD
U2
THE EVERLY BROTHERS
THE ROLLING STONES
THE ROLLING STONES
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
90s
00s
10s
NIRVANA
OUTKAST
DRAKE
PEARL JAM
EMINEM
RIHANNA
RADIOHEAD
COLDPLAY
BRUNO MARS
2PAC
RADIOHEAD
JUSTIN BIEBER
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
KANYE WEST
NICKI MINAJ
50
