Visit a year for 6 minutes: The Eighties (Spirit of the time analysis)

Below follows every year of the 80s decade (click on the year to watch the respective youtube video):

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

Some early observations: The 80s saw the appearance of electronic music and electronic instruments. It is also the decade that saw the appearance of early rap hits, even if they were quite scarce. Also notable the appearance of some 'south-hemisphere' influenced songs in the mainstream, which would later contribute to the 90s jungle scene and to the drum & bass genre and subgenres, despite these scenes not manifesting themselves during the 90s (with some exceptions). The 80s also saw the first hits and rise of the commonly labed Pop Queen: Madonna

In a subjective analysis of the general feel of the decade, it almost sounds as if there is a certain intense and precise sound that made the 80s so characteristic. Part of the reason is the well-known 80s drum beat (with a deep snare) which allows many of the tracks made during that decade to be recognized as being from that decade. This drum beat appears in the early 80s (1980-1985) and becomes more common towards the late 80s (1985-1989)

An interesting observation is to note that 80s music was generally far less complex than contemporary music, even though many 'purists' would have you believe the opposite, by denouncing the simplicity of modern music. The truth is that the range and quantity of tones used in 00s and 10s music is overwhelming when comparing to older decades.

Visit a year for 6 minutes: The Nineties (Spirit of the time analysis)

So the next video project out there plans to use tsort's extensive top hits database to document the top 20 hits in each year in music history, from 1900 to 2009.

Below follows every year of the 90s decade (click on the year to watch the respective youtube video):

1990 
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998 
1999

Some early observations: A huge rise in hip hop and rap scenes, as well as an increase in boys bands/girl bands in the late 90s (1995-1999). We also see rising music genres created within the decade itself appearing the top 20 positions, like Trance, Eurodance, with older genres also gaining momentum, such as House and Techno. The Grunge genre that spawned in the late 80s only goes so far as the first half of the decade (1990-1995).

In a subjective analysis of the general feel of the decade, it almost sounds as if there is a certain laid back, almost naive sound of the late 90s, with more pop and soul acts entering the top 20 positions, in contrast to the more experimental, aggressive and intense sound of the early 90s, featuring more developed forms of rock, and new experimental electronic music.

My main point with this series was, and will be, to show how common complaints of current contemporary music do not fit the stereotype that a certain decade is inherently better than other, especially when looking at their top 20. There are subjectively good and bad songs in this top 20 list, as well as songs less memorable than others. If you think, for some reason, that the past decade and the current one (00s and 10s) is inherently bad, it is worth a reminder that many of the great hits of the past sometimes don't even make it in the top 20.