I feel bad for GenX'ers that missed out on the 60s and 70s.

You had to be there to experience it, and I was, magical time for sure. Unfortunately, I presume many weren't able to experience the live concert experience based on where they lived. I lived in Ann Arbor Mich. in these decades, really experienced the zeitgeist of the moment first hand. So, for me, I'd have to agree, the greatest time to be music fan. Quantity and quality of bands coming though in those days unsurpassed.

Still, I've had many a fantastic musical experiences in subsequent decades. The concert experience has certainly changed over the years, and younger generations can never live that 60's and 70's experience. I'm not sure I feel bad for them, its more like its sort of frustrating they can never understand my special feeling for that era.

As far as music per se, I won't argue about greatest eras of music.

There is a good argument to be made that right now is the best time to be a music fan. We now have available all the music made from the beginning of recorded music to now, we have better systems to play it on, with performers in room sense of my system, a concert is available to me everyday, and I get to control the songs.  We have much greater access to all this great music, so many obscurities, and we can stream it at amazingly low cost. The magical experiences continue for me, just in a different way. Nostalgia sometimes fools us.

Stuartk +1
Nostalgia certainly enters picture, I romanticized 60's thru early 70's music into 80's, thought contemporary music crap in comparison. Finally found some local FM stations playing more adventurous contemporary music, turned me on to new genres. Ever since then I've been as much the music fan as I was in those early years. Streaming has turned me on to so much more music than I had access to previously. every listening session can go from nostalgia to formerly unknown artists with mere touch of my tablet. This is the golden age for music fans, and to think it will only get better!

I have to say those were the days, I grew up in Ann Arbor MI, counterculture, New Left, intellectuals. 1967, Summer of Love, I saw it first hand as young adolescent, certainly spoke to me. Observed a novel non-conformist way to live, has greatly influenced life choices ever since.

 

Music surely played huge role in the zeitgeist of those times, can't even begin to list all the great concerts I attended over those years!

 

Replaying those times is now only nostalgia, my music horizons have expanded so much from those days, still finding both new and old recordings that amaze. Between the ever increasing sound quality of my audio system and new discoveries I find with streaming, these are the days!