89-94 summer of love, hacienda, when parties went all night and right through the next day.
1965 - 66
1974 - 76
1982 - 86
1987 - 90
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Totally agree. When the studio finally began to catch up with the creative demands of artists things really took off. Also, all those amazing players definitely were on a role. I think the lack of pop culture industry also really helped on this front. Sure there was pop music back in the 60s, but not the absurd marketing/money-driven recording industry of today.
After reading and thinking about all these replies, I think the technological jumps in musical equipment and the areas of time when new styles emerge are really where these awesome eras of music originate. Some of my favorite music came before recording was really possible, like Debussy and Ravel, and there music was and still sounds completely innovative compared to so much stuff out there.
If you don’t know about him, Louis Cole is a really amazing modern band leader (and great drummer/multi-instrumentalist) who kind of gives off vibes of James Brown’s tight perfectionism.
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Can you give some examples please! I really love reading all these replies, but even more so want to hear what drives your answer.
Lots of great records here!
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The sound quality from a lot of recordings from the 70’s are so good. They hit the apex of analog recording. James Brown records from that era are stellar. Even something like Fleetwood Mac Rumors has such a great overall sound to it. And I am also a big fan of jazz music, and some of those old jazz albums just take me to another place.
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Thanks! Never heard of Louis Cole, so far . I’ll look him up.
(I love when people point me to new stuff!)
I think it’s a combo between what you’ve mentionned (technology) and the historical/social context. Jazz was a rebel music, so to say when it came out. The 70’s were interesting times (Vietnam, Cold War, Civil rights movements, decolonization…).
As for the pop in the 60’s I like to think bands like The Beatles were the first boys bands (but they at least knew the drill, were talented) so the actual money driven industry takes its roots from this era IMHO. “She loves you” stuff, my parents joint 
Yes, they were on a role and were actual role models, something this era lacks a bit, or I’m just too old and not paying attention that much about what is really going on.
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Hahaha! Yeah, this era is definitely lacking on role models (at least from the pop elite), but there are still definitely great artists coming out all the time (who might be ok to good role models). Louis Cole, Kamasi Washington, Mocky, DOMi, Colin Stetson, Dorian Concept, Jamie Lidell, Alessandro Cortini, Justin Vernon, etc. just to name a few.
And I definitely agree that interesting and great things tend to emerge when politics, technology, talent, etc. all coalesce during tumultuous times.
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2020-2025
I’m most interested in what I haven’t heard yet.
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Are you a futurist?!? 
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Mo’Town, Blue Note records, lots of powerfull Rock bands even if it’s not really my stuff I appreciate some Led Zeppelin, Hawkwind and other things from time to time.
Some nasty recording techniques too during this era: the use of the bathroom/toilets to get some reverb, experimenting a lot.
80’s were good in terms of analog recording too: Bob Marley’s “Uprising”, Prince(!!!), Stevie Wonder, “Thriller”… lol I can talk about music for hours…
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I don’t know, I’ve never been there 
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Oh yeah definitely, all of that. Motown, Blue Note, those catalogs filled with stellar albums. Marvin Gaye - Whats Going On?, Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage, Cannonball Adderley - Something Else, John Coltrane - Blue Train, Stevie Wonder - anything. It all of sounds so good. And something more relevant to the OP’s release timeframe, and ties it in is Madlib’s Shades Of Blue.
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Yeah sorry I digressed a bit from the OP’s time era. So, to make amend:
D’Angelo Voodoo album:
Kind of lover RNB/Soul type vibe, but classy. Sound recording quality is just amazing. Feels like you’re in a jazz pub, velvet curtains, sophisticated cocktails, well dressed and educated guests (j/k).
Busdriver’s Temporary Forever album:
Probably one of the most talented MC’s and most underrated at the same time.
D’Styles Phantazmagorea:
Well just because I’m a scratcher myself, quite heavily influenced by the whole Bay Area stuff. This is a 100% turntablist album: every piece, track, drums, bass line, melody is achieved using turntables. Impressive work.
I’ll stop here for the moment, let other people feed the topic. Great topic though, was nice to chat with you guys aswell 
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Specifically talking about the UK, I think that now is a really interesting time for music production. The explosion of the grime, UK G and bass music scene in general is an example of bedroom producers and MC’s doing it for themselves and becoming huge in the process. There’s a real community forming and a lot of really exciting and challenging music being produced.
The music scene in the UK hasn’t been this interesting since the Jungle/D&B thing in the mid 90’s.
I’d love to be a teenager into music in the UK right now, to be part of what looks like being a golden age.
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Thanks everyone who’s replied (especially with examples)!!! I really need to start digging deeper into some of these eras for things I don’t know about or may have missed. I’m particularly intrigued by the late 70s/early 80s now as I can see a lot of parallels to the late 90s/early 00s in how much technological developments really steered music writing/production/genres into vast new territories. Hopefully more people will chime in, as I think this is a wonderful way to find some amazing music!
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Ahh, the most beautiful ugly sound…
That era had a huge impact on me with the Scetchbook album as well and the whole Bastard Language Posse. I‘ve seen Gunkhole live here in Germany and also had the pleasure of meeting and even sessioning with some of the greatest.
This topic is a nice read! The era mentioned in the original post was definitely very inspiring, it was the time for me when my listening habits transitioned from mostly Rap music to Trip Hop, „progessive“ Hip Hop and electronic music.
Albums and artists that really left a mark on me was stuff like Portishead, DJ Krush, DJ Shadow, Nightmares on Wax, Alias (especially the „Muted“ LP), Sixtoo, Jel and the likes. The Ninja Tune label is an exeptional example of a music label that has been influental during such a long period of time. The Big Dada stuff as well.
I always enjoyed the music scene in the UK, in my teenage years I was heavily into so called Britcore which was just a more agressive style of Rap music from the UK. A lot of excellent stuff but that was mid 90‘s. I also enjoyed a lot of Drum and Bass music as well as Jungle and Breakbeat. My hometown is well known for its Drum and Bass scene, some people say it is/was the biggest scene outside the UK. The early Dubstep years were also very interesting, lots of great parties with friends behind the decks.
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I would say in terms of music production, as in terms of sound, recording, arrangement, etc… not just “music that was made during that time”… maybe the mid 70s to early 80s?
Records just sounded so good, there was a mix of traditional instruments and synths… rock, pop, r&B, disco, funk, synthpop, ambient…
I’m thinking Zep, Roxy Music/Bowie/Eno/Conny Plank, chart disco like Heatwave and Earth Wind and Fire, Kraftwerk (!), any FM rock radio song… they were all recorded in studios that now fully understood multitrack recording and were done with amazing mics, compressors, etc… and even early digital effects like the Eventide Harmonizer.
The space and depth in that era combined with the amount & diversity of instrumentation going on, I don’t think it’s been surpassed from a quality-of-sound standpoint. And great mixing.
I like really lo fi stuff, tape recorded drones, blown out noise, etc… but this seems the sweet spot for “music production” to me. And no I was not a teenager during that time ha ha.
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Must have been a great moment. I’m jealous. I hear you on the transition between hip hop and trip hop and then electronic music and the bands/labels you mentionned. As for scratching, my “pillow” scratch tape would be:
Kind of “graffiti wild style” applied to scratching. (well, it’s the way I perceive it at least). Released in 2003.
Chilling with Q-Bert in my living room and cutting it up was definitely a one in a lifetime experience. And I think I never listened to a scratch tape more often than to Switchblade Sermons, I knew it by heart. Still waiting on number 2 though 
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