Best Rock Music Decade Poll

The main foundations of rock music can be found in rock & roll: Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Little Richard, Bill Haley, Jerry Lee Lewis...They paved the way for much of the music known today. They made the world "Shake, Rattle and Roll" and changed it forever.

Soul music pioneers like Ray Charles and Sam Cooke made their substantial contribution, while girl groups like The Shirelles on one hand, and The Everly Brothers distinctive vocal harmonies on the other were also a big influence on many artists in the years to come. The same goes for surf music toppers The Shadows.

Rock n' roll's energy remained in the early '60s in the form of the twist dance. Do you remember Chubby Checker?

So many things happened during the '60s (not only musically) that it seems they lasted way more than 10 years.

After the steps of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez proved to have something major to say to the world, followed later by Joni Mitchell and Simon & Garfunkel. Folk rock particularly took off in California, thanks to The Byrds, The Mamas & the Papas and Crosby, Stills and Nash. Meanwhile, soul music was dominating the R & B charts, in the voices of Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder.

The Beatles arrived and left after an outstanding 8 year recording career, leaving their mark in a world that would never be the same. They headed what is known as The British Invasion, followed by many noteworthy bands of the period like The Hollies, The Kinks, The Animals, The Yardbirds & The Rolling Stones, the only act that could rival their popularity. A second wave featured engaging acts such as The Who and The Zombies. At the same time The Beach Boys ruled the surf music scene, and in the mid 1960s they became an important creative force. Meanwhile, Steppenwolf pioneered the hard-rock scene, Eric Clapton excelled at blues-rock, Janis Joplin cried her heart out, and Jimi Hendrix came to set music on fire.

Psychedelic acts broke out in California such as Jefferson Airplane & Grateful Dead, while early Pink Floyd's Syd Barret launched himself on a one-way trip to the moon. The Doors as well left their surrealistic trace.

By the time The Woodstock Festival took place, the 60's were saying goodbye, leaving a memorable impact in music, culture and society.

Where do I start?

The 70's turned out to be a blockbuster time for hard-rock mammoths Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Grand Funk Railroad and Black Sabbath, later to become the biggest influence on 80's Heavy Metal. They also gave as Queen, who blended hard-rock and elements of classical music with amazing vocals. Other big hard-rock acts risen in the 70's include Kiss, Aerosmith and Australians AC/DC.

Progressive rock experimented with different instruments, song types, and forms. As masters of this genre we can mention Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Genesis, Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Canadians Rush could be consider a key crossover act between progressive and hard rock.

Ranging from acoustic folk to amplified hard rock, Neil Young is one of the most influential musicians of his generation.

Frank Zappa and David Bowie are usually regarded as two creative genius from this time. Bowie commanded the glam-rock scene with his friends Lou Reed and Iggy Pop.

Some bands decided a back-to-basics approach, from which Creedence Clearwater Revival and country rock hit group Eagles stand out.

In the late 70's the punk-rock movement developed in opposition to 1970s highly-produced rock, inspired by The Stooges and other garage-rock bands. This was represented by the Sex Pistols and The Clash in England, and the Ramones and Patti Smith in the NY scene. On the other hand, the New Wave spirit was headed by the Talking Heads from the same city.

Altogether, a restless time for Rock!

Rock was commercially eclipsed in the '80s by pop music, although some rock sub-genres found their way into the mainstream, such as new wave, soft-rock and glam metal. Here are some 1980's Rock highlights:

U2, one of the biggest band from the '80s, saw the light as a post-punk band, but eventually incorporated many elements of popular music. The Police was influenced by jazz, punk and reggae music, and one of the first New Wave acts to be a smash. Dire Straits played a bluesy style, and they were one of the first bands to profit from MTV videos.

Heavy Metal was consolidated by Iron Maiden first, and Metallica and Megadeth later (Trash Metal), while Hard Rock bands with huge success emerged such as Guns N' Roses and Van Halen.

The term alternative rock was coined to describe those bands that didn't fit in a particular Rock sub-genre. Main alternative rock bands of the 1980s were R.E.M., The Smiths and The Cure, and electronic band Depeche Mode.

Well, I love the 80's because I was raised back then and I can't help it!

The 90's saw the arrival of Seattle's Grunge scene, leaded by Nirvana & Pearl Jam. This style fused elements of punk and heavy metal, while lyrics usually referred to anguish and alienation. Other contemporary (but harder to label) numbers include Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots. Post-grunge bands include Foo Fighters and Collective Soul.

Heavy metal bands moved away from trash metal in favor of a more approachable sound and gained mainstream airplay, and progressive metal bands like Dream Theater came out.

On the other side of the Atlantic Britpop emerged under the shadow of just-dissolved Smiths: Oasis, Blur & Pulp are major exponents of it. This decade also featured the spring of other great British bands such as altern-rock Radiohead and Portishead, and jazz-rock Morphine.

Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against The Machine brought elements of hip-hop to the mix, and California gave birth to pop-punk Green Day.

Summing up, the 90's spread the limits of Rock producing some great music!

I think there's good music here, but you have to look harder...

Post-Britpop bands (like The Verve in the late 90's) widened up their musical horizons incorporating elements from American music and an introspective feel. Coldplay, Travis and Keane achieved great success within this style.

A post-punk or New Wave revival took place in the style of The Strokes, The White Stripes and The Vines, and later on with Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Placebo and The Killers. Meanwhile, Evanescence leaded a gothic rock revival with elements of metal.

Some exciting indie-rock acts from the 00s are The Magic Numbers and My Morning Jacket, and in acoustic rock we can highlight John Mayer. The new millennium also brought about the consolidation of psychedelic rock acts such as The Flaming Lips and Super Furry Animals, as well as ambitious and experimental Incubus and The Mars Volta, and alternative metal System of A Down.

In my opinion, this decade falls in comparison, but I think the tendency will be reverted as listeners continue to turn in favor of independent music.