I've been meaning to reply to this thread for a while, but I really needed to think carefully before posting. This is because the sort of person this thread describes is basically me! In terms of loving music from the 1960s and 1970s best, I'm certainly 'Guilty of the Crime!' I was born in 1994, so it's definitely not nostalgia for me, it genuinely is the music I love most. So I'll try to describe some of my thoughts. I was introduced to some of the music from this era by my parents, but most of it I discovered and listened to on my own. For example, both of my parents like the Eagles, but I discovered tracks like Doolin-Dalton, My Man, Good Day In Hell, The Sad Café (to name a few favourites) and all the post-HFO works for myself, so that doesn't fully explain it.
I should make it clear that I definitely do NOT think that just because music was released during the 1960s or 1970s does not automatically make it 'good', nor does the fact that it was released outside this era, or by an artist who started their career later make it 'bad'. On a personal level, I definitely prefer rock music to pop and therefore I think I naturally prefer the eras when rock music is prominent (I have a broad view of the rock genre, so it's difficult for me to describe where rock ends and pop begins, but I sort of know the difference when I hear it. I think!). The current era is as pop-dominated as it's ever been - I remember one recent year where I think there were only something like 3-4 guitar acts in the UK top 40 all year, so it's not a great time for me, at least in terms of mainstream music.
I remembered that early last year I posted a chart of my 50 favourite album on this board. There's a few albums I'd like to add to this now, but it still stands for the most part. I'll post a link for easy access:
https://eaglesonlinecentral.com/foru...1&postcount=25
As you can see, the 1960s and 1970s are very heavily represented, with not many albums from later decades. This is especially true at the top, where only post-1970s album makes my top 20.
If I'm being honest, the 1970s are my true favourite decade, more so than the 1960s. My three favourite bands are the Eagles, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd - of these, the first run of the Eagles was almost entirely in the 1970s, as was Led Zeppelin's career. Pink Floyd
did release more music before and after, plenty of which I do enjoy, but the era of that band I love most by far is the 1970s version. It's the same with Neil Young, who released his best music (IMO) between 1969 and 1979. Generally, I find that if an artist was active in both the 1970s and the 1980s, I tend to prefer their 70s works - Genesis and if I'm being brutally honest Fleetwood Mac are two that stand out to me in this respect. Rush is an exception, although I've not heard anything earlier than Permanent Waves by them.
In terms of subsequent decades, I'd say that the 1980s is a difficult time for me to love so much because a lot of my favourite bands or artists broke up (Eagles, Led Zep) or entered a weaker era (Young). It also doesn't help that I'm not a massive fan of the synth and electronic drum sounds that were so common in that decade. I find that a lot of people my age seem to love this era, but The only 1980s band I'd say I truly love are Dire Straits, and even then their first two albums were in the late 1970s.
I personally feel that the early 1990s (I say early 90s, really the period I'm thinking of is about 1989-94) were quite a strong era. Although I'm not massively into grunge, I think it seemed to spark a lot of creativity in this era. I think especially of Neil Young, who had a great run of albums in this time. I also like some of R.E.M. and Tom Petty's music from around this time. There was also the bonus of Hell Freezes Over, and Pink Floyd's The Division Bell. So, yes, I'm quite fond of that time. The late 1990s, by contrast, do very little for me, and I barely even own any music from 1995-1999.
I grew up listening to plenty of contemporary music from the 2000s, thanks to my parents playing CDs in the car, but I have to say that not much of it has really stuck with me. My favourite albums have tended to be the works by older artists - Long Road Out Of Eden being one, along with Mark Knopfler's solo albums (especially from 2000-04), but these are by artists whose older works I also love and I've discovered these by myself. I think Cass County will have some staying power too. Of the ones my parents played regularly in this era, I have to say I liked Coldplay the best and thought they would stand the test of time but I'm personally finding their music isn't ageing quite as well as I thought it would (there are some songs that I think are standing up, but not as many as I hoped). Maybe it's just that my own tastes have changed.
There's probably a lot more I can say about this, but this will do to be getting on with...