60s vs 70s: Which Decade Really Had the Better Music Scene?
Few arguments in music are as enjoyable — or as impossible to settle — as the question of which decade produced the better music: the 1960s or the 1970s?
Both decades changed popular culture forever. Both produced artists who remain household names. Both introduced new sounds, new fashions and new ways for musicians to connect with their audiences.
The 1960s gave the world an explosion of creativity. Rock and pop became cultural forces, young people discovered that music could represent their identity and artists began pushing the boundaries of what could be recorded.
Then came the 1970s.
The music industry became bigger, albums became increasingly important, concerts became spectacular events and an incredible number of genres developed or reached new audiences. Rock became heavier, funk became more powerful, disco filled dancefloors, punk challenged the establishment and reggae travelled around the world.
So, which decade deserves the crown?
At Apnin Music, we're taking a trip back through both eras to find out.
The 1960s: The Decade That Changed Everything
To understand modern popular music, it's almost impossible to ignore the 1960s.
At the beginning of the decade, music still carried much of the influence of the 1950s. Rock 'n' roll was relatively young, traditional pop remained popular and rhythm and blues was developing rapidly.
But within just a few years, the musical landscape had been transformed.
One of the biggest developments was the arrival of British bands on the international stage. The Beatles became a worldwide phenomenon, followed by acts including The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks and many others.
The British Invasion didn't simply introduce new bands to American audiences. It helped create a new idea of what a pop group could be.
Young musicians weren't necessarily content to simply perform songs written by someone else. Increasingly, bands wrote their own material, experimented in the studio and developed their own identities.
The Beatles in particular demonstrated how quickly popular music could evolve. Their early records were rooted in catchy pop and rock 'n' roll, but later recordings became increasingly ambitious and experimental.
The Rise of the Album
The 1960s also helped change the way people listened to music.
The single had traditionally been the dominant format, but by the middle and late part of the decade, albums were becoming increasingly important as artistic statements.
Instead of simply putting a collection of songs together, musicians and producers began thinking about the album as a complete experience.
This change would become even more important in the 1970s, but the foundations were firmly established during the 60s.
Studio technology also developed rapidly. Recording became more sophisticated, allowing artists to experiment with sound, arrangements and production techniques.
Music was no longer simply about capturing a band performing in a room. The recording studio itself could become an instrument.
Psychedelic Music Takes Over
By the second half of the 1960s, psychedelic music was challenging conventional ideas about popular music.
Artists experimented with unusual sounds, extended tracks, new instruments and unconventional production techniques.
Jimi Hendrix became one of the most influential guitarists of the era, demonstrating just how expressive and powerful the electric guitar could be.
Bands such as Pink Floyd began developing sounds that would eventually become associated with progressive and psychedelic rock.
The music was often connected to the wider counterculture movement, particularly among young people who were questioning traditional attitudes towards society, politics and authority.
Soul, Motown and R&B
The 60s weren't only about rock.
Soul and rhythm and blues were hugely important parts of the decade's musical landscape.
Motown helped bring Black American music to an enormous international audience, producing a remarkable run of successful artists and songs.
Aretha Franklin became one of the defining voices of soul, while artists such as Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding demonstrated the emotional depth and social power that popular music could carry.
The decade's music reflected a changing society, and many artists became voices for communities experiencing major cultural and political change.
Folk Music and Protest Songs
Another important part of the 1960s was the rise of folk music and protest music.
Bob Dylan became particularly influential, demonstrating that popular songs could be poetic, political and deeply personal.
Music became increasingly connected with the social movements of the period.
For many listeners, songs weren't simply entertainment. They could express frustration, hope, anger, freedom and the desire for change.
This relationship between music and social identity would continue into the 1970s.
The 1970s: Music Gets Bigger, Louder and More Diverse
If the 1960s were about breaking down musical boundaries, the 1970s were about discovering what could be built from the pieces.
The decade produced an extraordinary variety of music.
Rock dominated the album charts. Heavy metal developed a huge following. Progressive rock produced lengthy and ambitious compositions. Funk became increasingly influential. Soul continued to evolve. Disco became a global phenomenon. Punk arrived with an entirely different attitude.
And that's only part of the story.
The 1970s may have been one of the most musically diverse decades in popular music history.
The Golden Age of Rock?
For many music fans, the 1970s represent the golden age of rock.
Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen, David Bowie, Elton John, The Who and many other major artists produced some of their most influential work during the decade.
Rock concerts became major spectacles, and successful bands could attract enormous audiences.
The guitar remained central to rock music, but musicians were increasingly willing to experiment with keyboards, synthesizers, orchestration and studio production.
The result was a huge range of different rock styles.
Heavy Metal Arrives
The seeds of heavy metal were planted in the late 1960s, but the genre truly established itself during the 1970s.
Black Sabbath helped define a darker, heavier style of rock, while other bands pushed the sound towards louder guitars, powerful drums and dramatic performances.
Heavy music had found its audience.
What started as a relatively underground style would eventually become one of the biggest forces in popular music.
Progressive Rock
The 1970s also saw the rise of progressive rock.
Artists and bands were no longer afraid of making longer songs, complex arrangements and concept albums.
Pink Floyd became one of the defining names of the movement, while Genesis, Yes, King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer developed their own ambitious approaches.
For fans, progressive rock offered something different from the traditional three-minute pop single.
Songs could become journeys.
Albums could tell stories.
Music could be theatrical, atmospheric and experimental.
The Glam Rock Revolution
Then there was glam rock.
David Bowie became one of the decade's most influential figures, constantly changing his musical and visual identity.
Glam rock demonstrated that an artist's image could be just as important as the music.
Platform boots, glitter, dramatic costumes and theatrical performances became part of the culture.
Artists such as T. Rex and Sweet also became major names in the glam scene.
The decade was proving that music didn't have to fit into one particular image.
Disco Takes Over the Dancefloor
Of course, no discussion of 1970s music would be complete without disco.
By the middle and late part of the decade, disco had become a worldwide phenomenon.
The Bee Gees, Donna Summer and many other artists produced music designed for the dancefloor.
The sound was built around rhythm, bass, strings and infectious melodies.
Disco also helped shape nightclub culture, with dance becoming a central part of the musical experience.
It was more than simply a genre. It became a lifestyle.
And although disco faced a backlash towards the end of the decade, its influence never really disappeared. Elements of its sound would go on to influence pop, dance, electronic music and modern club culture.
Funk, Soul and R&B Continue to Evolve
While disco dominated headlines, funk and soul continued to produce groundbreaking music.
Artists such as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Parliament-Funkadelic demonstrated the possibilities of groove-driven music.
Funk placed enormous importance on rhythm.
Basslines, drums and guitar became central to the musical experience, and the genre would have an enormous influence on hip-hop, R&B, pop and dance music in later decades.
The 1970s also saw soul music become increasingly sophisticated, with artists combining traditional soul influences with funk, jazz, rock and pop.
Reggae Goes Global
The 1970s were also crucial for reggae.
Bob Marley and The Wailers helped bring Jamaican music to audiences around the world.
Reggae carried strong messages about identity, politics, spirituality and social justice while also developing a distinctive musical style that proved enormously influential.
Its international success demonstrated how music from outside the traditional centres of the Western music industry could become globally important.
Punk Changes the Rules
And then came punk.
By the mid-to-late 1970s, some musicians and fans were becoming frustrated with the scale and complexity of mainstream rock.
Progressive rock bands could be making lengthy albums with huge productions, while punk musicians were saying something very different:
Keep it simple. Keep it loud. Do it yourself.
The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Ramones and many other punk acts challenged established ideas about musicianship, performance and the music business.
Punk wasn't necessarily about having the best technical ability.
It was about attitude.
It was about energy.
It was about saying something.
The DIY philosophy would become enormously influential, inspiring independent record labels, underground scenes and generations of musicians.
60s vs 70s: The Great Debate
So now we come to the difficult question.
Which decade was better?
The answer depends on what you value most in music.
If you're judging by innovation, the 1960s have a very strong argument.
The decade saw rock develop rapidly, studio recording become more creative, psychedelic music emerge, soul reach new audiences and artists begin treating albums as serious artistic projects.
The cultural impact of the 60s was enormous.
But if you're judging by variety, the 1970s may have the advantage.
Think about the number of different musical worlds that existed during the decade.
You could listen to heavy metal in one room, progressive rock in another, disco somewhere else and punk down the street.
Funk, soul, reggae, glam rock, singer-songwriters, country rock and pop were all competing for listeners.
Few decades offered such a broad musical menu.
The Artists That Define Each Era
The 60s gave us a remarkable collection of artists who changed music forever.
Among the names associated with the decade are:
- The Beatles
- The Rolling Stones
- Bob Dylan
- Aretha Franklin
- Jimi Hendrix
- The Beach Boys
- The Who
- The Kinks
- Marvin Gaye
- Otis Redding
- Simon & Garfunkel
- The Doors
The 70s answered with another extraordinary group:
- Led Zeppelin
- Pink Floyd
- Queen
- David Bowie
- Elton John
- Fleetwood Mac
- Black Sabbath
- ABBA
- The Bee Gees
- Stevie Wonder
- Bob Marley & The Wailers
- The Clash
- The Sex Pistols
- Donna Summer
Looking at those names alone makes choosing a winner almost impossible.
The 60s Changed Music — But the 70s Expanded It
Perhaps the fairest way to settle the argument is to look at influence.
The 1960s created a musical revolution that changed the direction of popular culture.
The 1970s took that revolution and split it into dozens of different paths.
The 60s helped establish the modern idea of the rock band.
The 70s showed that rock could become progressive, heavy, glamorous or punk.
The 60s helped establish the album as an important artistic format.
The 70s turned the album into a major commercial and creative force.
The 60s connected music with social change.
The 70s continued that tradition while giving audiences an even wider range of ways to express themselves through music.
So, Which Decade Wins?
At Apnin Music, we're going to avoid pretending there's an easy answer.
The 1960s win for revolution.
The 1970s win for variety.
The 60s arguably changed the rules of popular music more dramatically, but the 70s created an incredible musical landscape where almost anything seemed possible.
If you want the excitement of discovering music that is completely changing the world, choose the 60s.
If you want a decade where rock, punk, disco, funk, soul, reggae, heavy metal and progressive music can all exist side by side, choose the 70s.
And perhaps that's the real answer.
The 60s and 70s needed each other.
Without the musical revolution of the 1960s, the extraordinary diversity of the 1970s might never have happened.
Without the experimentation and rebellion of the 1970s, the musical ideas of the 60s might not have developed into the huge variety of genres that followed.
Have Your Say
Now it's over to you.
Which decade had the better music scene — the 1960s or the 1970s?
Was it The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Motown, soul and psychedelic rock?
Or was it Queen, Bowie, Led Zeppelin, disco, punk, funk and reggae?
There may never be a definitive answer — and that's exactly what makes the debate so much fun.
Vote for your decade and tell Apnin Music why.