How about 1970?
We can point to something akin to the “invention” of this music (I get it, I get it…there are always predecessors, but these things below arguably crystallized these types of music like nothing prior)

Hip hop
The Last Poets - The Last Poets
Gil Scott-Heron - Small Talk at 125th and Lenox

Punk
The Stooges - Fun House

More overtly aggressive, nasty, loud and confrontational than the previous LP, The Stooges, or anything The Sonics did prior, with perhaps only Monks’ Black Monk Time (‘66) and Velvet Underground’s White Light/White Heat (‘68) to compare.
Listening to Fun House now and comparing it to those others reveals it to have a strong case for first punk LP.

Metal
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Led Zeppelin - “Immigrant Song” single

While not necessarily music for which a strong argument could be made as to its “invention” in 1970, the music being released by a plethora of jazz and classical artists in 1970 was very often extremely inventive and original.

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
Steve Reich - Four Organs / Phase Patterns
Pharoah Sanders - Deaf Dumb Blind (Summun Bukmun Umyun)
György Ligeti - Chamber Concerto
Art Ensemble of Chicago - Les Stances a Sophie soundtrack
Alice Coltrane - Ptah, the El Daoud
Karlheinz Stockhausen - Opus 1970
Sonny Sharrock - Monkey-Pockie-Boo
McCoy Turner - Expansions

Then 1970 gave us whatever the heck ya call this music:

Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band - Lick My Decals Off, Baby
Kraftwerk - Kraftwerk
Nico - Desertshore
Armando Sciascia - Impressions in Rhythm & Sound
The Group - The Feed-back (featuring a young Ennio Morricone)
Can - “Don’t Turn the Light On, Leave Me Alone,” “Tango Whiskeyman,” “Mother Sky”

Popular music was doing pretty well.

Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed & Delivered
Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Sings Newman
James Brown - Sex Machine
Randy Newman - 12 Songs
The Delfonics - The Delfonics
The Velvet Underground - Loaded
Minnie Ripperton - Come to My Garden
Nick Drake - Bryter Layter
Band of Gypsys - Band of Gypsys
Frank Sinatra - Watertown
Donny Hathaway - Everything is Everything
Joni Mitchell - Ladies of the Canyon
The Chi-Lites - I Like Your Lovin’ (Do You Like Mine?)
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III
Neil Young - After the Gold Rush
Performance soundtrack
George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo’s Factory, “Have You Ever Seen the Rain”
David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World, “Conversation Piece,” “The Prettiest Star”
Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection, “Border Song,” “Your Song”
John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band, “Instant Karma!”
Gladys Knight & the Pips - “If I Were Your Woman”
The Jackson 5 - “ABC,” “I’ll Be There”
The Carpenters - “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “(They Long to Be) Close to You”
Edison Lighthouse- “Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes”
The Spinners - “It’s a Shame”
The Temptations - “Ball of Confusion”
The Four Tops - “Still Water”
Don McLean - “Castles in the Air”
Led Zeppelin - “Hey Hey What Can I Do”
Beatles - “Let it Be,” “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)”

I agree the early 70s was amazing and it was the diversity of popular music impressed me.  Today pop music tends to follow a similar path.  For a while everyone sounded like Ariana Grande, now it's Taylor, Olivia Rodriguez, etc.  BUT the diversity is still there but because of no record companies, artists put their own music out, there is not nearly the clear path to expose the masses to this new music. You must hunt now.

Anyone listen to Holly Humberstone?  Or Missy Higgins from Australia (she's been around a long time)?  Or how about Jacob Collier?     

Brad

Thanks for the topic, tony1954

Born in 1946, having perpetual music, live and recorded, in the house, the 1950's included c&w, crooners, jazz large and small, folk, r&b, rock, movie themes and varied sub-genres.  That's reaching pretty high. 

1950s Rock and Roll: A Decade of Music That Changed the World (rollingstone.com)

My theory is that EXCESSIVE drug use was damaging overall to popular music into the 1970's, choosing to explore other genres during much of this time.  Of course, there WAS great music created during this stretch, however, I found pop too inconsistent.  

As music lovers, yes, our birth year greatly affects our preferences...and we can debate deep into the night...hopefully while flipping Ray Charles early 1950's jazz mono vinyl.        More Peace     Pin    (bold print for old eyes)

No. Reason being is that Philly was only just getting started..

Plus Stevie’s all time best album, Songs in the Key of Life didn’t even come out until 1976. 
 

Both Motown and Philly put out tons of top selling music after ‘71. And Disco didn’t even begin until ‘74. The Bee Gees album Saturday Night Fever sold 25 Million albums between 1977-1980, and was one of the biggest selling in history. 
 

And Earth Wind & Fire didn’t even start selling top albums until 1972. :)

With all due respect, what about every Steely Dan album from 1972-1980? There will never be a ‘ band’ like them. They are what musicians listen to. After all why would they listen to something they could do ? If you’re unaware of SD and you’re open to music that is accessible and sophisticated you’ll be rewarded handsomely. 

I forgot one more:

NRPS New Riders of the Purple Sage.  One of the best that year!

I am 75 and was into music from the age of 15 in 1963.  For me music evolved, as did my tastes.  I remember watching a good deal of live jazz in the mid 60s, then discovered blues, both early, then the rock blues based bands.  It was a terrific time that also included blue grass.  The late 60s resonated greatly with me and  there was so much great music that it could make you poor buying albums.

I somehow managed season tickets to the Pittsburgh Symphony with Andre Previn conducting in the 70s.  All that said, 1971 rates particularly high in my memory of great years for music.  Probably due to my one and only time sweing Suane Allman live.  My absolute favorite artist in my long history of seeing live music.

@roxy54 

Absolutely!

And thanks for the topic/posts.

Very enjoyable conversation.

@waytoomuchstuff 

I believe that we are in total agreement. That long period was like a comet. It came into view, burned bright and slowly faded. Fortunately, there are still some interesting things happening here and there in new music, and we still have all of the good old stuff to listen to. 

As long as somebody thinks 'their' year is the best, then it is.

For them. I'm 72 and have been tired of much 60's and 70's music for decades now. I try to keep up with what is going on currently, to greater or lesser success. My favorite genre tends to be post-punk style, from any decade, but that's just me. If there's music out there that I don't know about or that I don't happen to care for, that's on me, not the artists involved. As long as people make music that other people enjoy and get something out of, it's all good to me.... 

@roxy54 

My reference to "a brief moment in time" was intended to be a little broader than 1971 -- perhaps a 20 year period (+/-) from the fifties to the early seventies. I am in agreement with you that some of the pioneers of popular music had produced their greatest works and did, in fact, hit the exit button (or, died) before 1971. My premise is that there was a unique time in history when a massive quantity of participants in the art of making music could devote nearly 100% of the brain power into the production of such. Thus, the suberb examples you listed for 1971 ... and before.

@elrod 

+50!!

@curiousjim 

"And I understood it to mean you’re saying there will never be a year where music was good as in 1971. Am I missing something?"

Yes you are.

I said that, up to now, "in my opinion", 1971 had the highest number of great albums.

I never said there would never be a better year ever.

@tony1954

yeah, I read your question. And the list of albums to. And I understood it to mean you’re saying there will never be a year where music was good as in 1971.

Am I missing something?

@waytoomuchstuff

I understand what you are saying very well, and I agree that there were some very good bands making some memorable popular, and even progressive music at that time, but for me, it was also a somewhat sad time, because the explosion of wild creativity that characterized the 1960’s (Jefferson Airplane and Jimi Hendrix are examples) was over. Now it was time to take those design cues, polish and perfect them. That certainly had its good points, but the magic was gone. Periods of spontaneous creativity like what happened in the 1960’s are rare and depend on a confluence of social factors, all of which came together at that time.

Again, not to take away or minimize the early 70’s. There were some very good  music created during that time as well.

@emergingsoul Thanks for your crazy comment.

It was 1972. Meatloaf was the last album during the mid 1970s bat out of hell, that made sense. And then everything fell apart.

@roxy54

For a brief period of time, all the stars lined up and we were gifted some of the best examples of "popular" music in history. 1971 could represent the pinnacle of a concentration of talent and genuius that our great, great grandchildren will be singing, playing, or just chillin’ out to. (our whatever they’re going to cal it in 2093).

Garage bands were a "thing" back in the day. We matured (truly a subjective term) from riding bikes, fishing, playing baseball, and spending time with our parents to whatever creative element was available at the time -- playing music. Our generation was not distracted by "bits" or "bytes", cable news, social media, or video gaming. They just casually got together and spent h-o-u-r-s defining, and redefining, their craft. Then, a few Battle(s) of the Bands and Sock Hops later, they realized this hobby was a passion backed up by real talent all around them and within them. "Gigs" and local concerts evolved into real musical events and recording contracts. Then, fame. Followed by wealth. More productivity. And, more fame.

It wasn’t just the epic performances, break out talent and creativity that ear marked (literally) this era. IMHO, it was the shear magitude of GREAT bands that produced GREAT music during this period. This period is unique in history. We’ll never be presented with the opportunity to have this massive number of individuals brfeak away from other activities and assign a time period to be actively engaged in the production of popular music.

Whlle I love the complexity of classical pieces, I’m a sucker for a good melody. If that melody includes poetic genius, carefully contructed musical accompaniment, innovation, and a memorable cadence and rhythm, I’m in musical heaven. And, back in 1971.

Some of you have made a good point that our personal musical peak is related to our age. Breakthrough performances that align with OUR time, and OUR culture can be quite powerful. Thus, devaluated or dismissed when part of someone else’s (our parent’s?) culture.

@moonwatcher @tony1954 A lot of people I've met over the years moved on around 1972, or even earlier. some got interested in old blues records, others in appalachian or country, perhaps led there by a lot of the rock albums they began to realize were inspired by music that had come before. Others found jazz. We never gave up our love for the 67-72 music, and when stuff came long later that we'd like, we'd still buy in, whether it was dire Straits, Pearl Jam, Counting Crows, and a long list. a lot of it has to to do with how old you were in your mid-teens and explored your own interest. I have younger friends who swear by 1979--that it all happened then. A few years ago I was reminded about how much all the music i grew up with meant to me and made a series about it called It Was the Music, featuring a lot of the people from that time. But when i look back, even most of the jazz records I bought was music made in the mid-60s and early 70s. Just a productive time in the arts (film, books as well) on a lot of fronts. So, let's hear from all those 1979 folks or later!

@curiousjim 

"1971, the year the music died? I don’t agree,"?

Did you even read the question?

I said nothing about music dying after 1971. All I said is that 1971 was a great year for music.

1971, the year the music died? I don’t agree, but by the late seventies it had changed quite a bit. Don’t cha just still miss Disco😆😆😆

@whart 

It was September 10, 1973 and Elton was in Vancouver with The Sutherland Brothers as the opening act.

I was pumped and probably reasonably high, only to have 3/4 of the Sutherland Brothers band held at the US border for some reason I can't remember. The two brothers came out and did a few songs "unplugged", but it wasn't the same.

Very disappointing. That is until Elton and his band hit the stage and absolutely killed it for 2+ hours.

Tony, I would add Trapeze’s Medusa. Out in US in 1971.

I do disagree with 1971 being the best year. Don’t even think the 67" -77" was the best decade, and I was right there. Lot’s of great music in those days though, and lots of great music before and after 1971.

I was barely alive, didn't live through that era per se, but have come to believe the answer to this question is an unequivocal yes.  Watch the movie on apple or read the book "Never a Dull Moment: 1971 The Year That Rock Exploded" and you'll be hard pressed to find a better single year.  

Who's next, LZ IV, Sticky Fingers are peak Rock and Roll.  Joni Mitchell, Carole King and James Taylor led the ascension of the singer songwriter.  Bowie and T Rex kicking glam into high gear.  Fragile, Meddle leading the way for psych rock and prog.  Sly and Marvin releasing some of their best work. 
 

It's an easy answer when you look at it objectively.   I'll add for the record i'm not one of these "they don't make any good music these days" types, in fact i completely scoff at that notion.  But this year truly shines as a transformative moment.  

@tony1954- interesting album, Lifeboat. It has a lot of the "usual suspects" including Stevie W. (also a Blackwell "discovery" via Spencer Davis) and John Bundrick and early cuts were done by George Peckham (aka "Porky"). 

Chris was one of those few guys who had an "ear" as a label chief and was very attuned to the music itself--he was someone who was considered artist "friendly."

Another outlier is John Martyn's Solid Air- not obscure, but it doesn't get the level of attention it probably deserves. Ditto Roy Harper's Stormcock--"The Same Old Rock" is an opus- with a fully primed Jimmy Page playing 12 string. Highly recommended if you haven't heard it. 

On Elton, I favor Tumbleweed, both for the writing and performance- I have multiple DJM pressings- oddly, the earliest UK cut has the least bombastic bass- some of them are bass monsters.

@tablejockey - throw in Disco Inferno too.

@Berner99- one early cover of "Can't find my Way Back Home" came out of that studio on LI where Bonnie Raitt was scheduled to perform and Lowell George sat  in with her crew. It's a good rendition. It's a shame the original album is a bad recording- the best version I've found is still the OG UK, with the controversial cover art.

To me, the importance is to dig in-- we can disagree about artists--e.g., Shuggie v. Bros. J but it puts us in a place where our brain is thinking about music. For that, I thank Tony1954 for his list. It got me thinking. 

I can dig the collars-extra starch

70/71 was my first year of high school.

DeKay

@tony1954

We were lucky to have been there in the beginning in the late 60’s and early 70’s, but maybe unlucky in that we developed very high standards in what constituted good music. It also gave us a broad spectrum of musical genres to enjoy ...

 

Yes. 

@moonwatcher 

But this body of work is out there, waiting for future generations to discover and love.  I believe some of them will stand the test of time just as classical compositions have after hundreds of years. If something is "good" I think it always will be. 

I agree. I'm definitely not one of those who believes the only yardstick applicable for determining whether music (or any other art)  is "good" is subjective taste!

@whart 

Actually, one of the bands that I consider very underrated was also on UK Island.

The Sutherland Bros. & Quiver had several good albums with the best being "Lifeboat" which featured one of the most underrated guitarists in Tim Renwick.

Renwick also appears on albums by Al Stewart, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Elton John, Alan Parsons and  The Pretenders.

1971 was the year I graduated from High School. Way too many good memories, along with the great music that I still play often!

ozzy

@stuartk 

@mahler123 

@markmoskow 

@moonwatcher 

Seems that there are a lot of similarities in how our individual musical journeys have affected our current tastes.

We were lucky to have been there in the beginning in the late 60's and early 70's, but maybe unlucky in that we developed very high standards in what constituted good music. It also gave us a broad spectrum of musical genres to enjoy when you consider popular music included bands like the Allman Bros., ELO, The Eagles, Steely Dan, Bowie, Black Sabbath and Joni Mitchell.

Then things changed.

1. Mid 70's. Still vibrant and varied music being made, but less of everything.
2. Late 70's. Disco happens and popular music becomes more formulaic and emotionally shallow. Also, as a reaction to the disco world, punk music begins.
3. Early 80's. New Wave and Punk take over and music starts to die. Musicianship all but disappears and image is everything. Style over substance.
4. Late 80's and early 90's. New Wave declines and hip hop/rap surges into the void. Both genres devalue musicianship and music follows a stagnant formula that still exists three decades later.
5. Late 90's to today. Shallow, bland, formulaic, pop music that places 90% on image and 10% on substance.

Please keep in mind that these are gross generalizations, only meant to illustrate how I see musical history. There is still a lot of current music that remains vital and innovative, but musicianship is still in short supply.

The result of this is that my current musical taste includes a large amount of vintage jazz, as well as a love for opera. Both genres feed my need for instrumental and vocal sophistication and both require you to use your brain.

The added benefit is that jazz and classical records just sound better and allow good equipment to shine.

@stuartk good points, especially about the "melodic and harmonic limitations". From around 1956 to 1976 we had 20 years of experimentation and creativity on display within those parameters. That’s 20 years of music. Today, much is simply derivative of stuff that has already been done. (The same can be said for much of TV programs and movies). Maybe we are just old and "been there, done that" so we look upon new tunes that are more of the same old, same old, "three chords and the truth" as not being up to snuff.

I love jam bands. Been seeing them since the Grateful Dead, but even there, it is becoming formulaic. You know when a up and coming popular jam band like Goose resorts to doing a version of a Justin Timberlake song we have come full circle.

Fortunately for all of us, there’s plenty of old and new music to be discovered. A few years ago, I "discovered" electronica and ambient music, when my experience was mostly limited to Kraftwerk, ELP, and maybe John Cage. Then we have all the great jazz records that you could spend a lifetime examining and loving.

What will music become going forward? No one really knows. Hopefully it will be more than just the soundtracks to video games.

But this body of work is out there, waiting for future generations to discover and love.  I believe some of them will stand the test of time just as classical compositions have after hundreds of years. If something is "good" I think it always will be. 

@moonwatcher 

But I think my interest in jazz (from all eras) is a reflection that rock is dead. 

I was led to Jazz by "jazzy" Rock and by the fact that I grew bored with Rock's melodic and harmonic limitations. The liner noted in one of the many reissues of "Kind of Blue" mentioned that the Allman Bros.were avid fans of modal Jazz. Listening to them and the Dead seemed to ease the way for me into Jazz. 

I don't tend to think of Rock as "dead" anymore than I regard Jazz as "dead". As long as there are recordings in these genres I enjoy, that's "alive" enough for me. I don't see where Rock could've gone. Punk attempted to drag it away from corporate slickness and Steely Dan probably took it as far in a Jazz direction as possible without it crossing over into Fusion. 

@tony1954

Yes, my bad, should have seen those, not sure how I missed them!

Ignore the relativists- the list is correct, if incomplete. I’m not a boomer- history will confirm 1971 as the peak year in cultural history, warts and all!

PS 1973 comes close- I buy albums from then blind and am usually amazed at their great sound and energy.

I was born in 1958.  That is an impressive list that the OP compiled.  Music was very important to me and I definitely felt a few years later as if popular music had lost itself, and I drifted into Classical

I agree with @markmoskow ...I think '72 was great too. After than yeah, a long decline.  I mean, disco hit in the mid-70s, rock music had died by the mid-1980s, now it seems "popular" music is just a vehicle to sell singer branded merch and make them rich. It isn't even about the music. They become a "brand" that people want to associate themselves with...women buying handbags and perfumes with "Taylor" on them and all that. 

I mean listen to any average radio station today. It isn't the 1960s or 1970s anymore.  Different strokes for different folks.  I'm glad to have been able to take it all in from around 1965 till now and watch it (and hear it) zig and zag and change and move.  

But I think my interest in jazz (from all eras) is a reflection that rock is dead. 

'71 maybe. By end of 1972, it was all over. I was 18, bought The Jimi Hendrix Experience in 8th grade, and I think the last rock record I bought was as a freshman in college, Dark Side of the Moon. That's about as far as it went I think.  5 years. A massive creative output by a hundred or so bands all tolled. Not too many people realize that in those days you could hear everything. Every release made it to the shelves and there not that many each month. And between your friends and you, if you bought records, you basically knew what was out there. By '69 FM radio was the third leg. OLh yes, I did buy Blood on the Tracks, friends bought the next stuff, Springsteen, Al Steward, later Fleetwood Mac, later Bowie, but it had run its course.

Or , as most artists would answer the question of which is your best album? 

The next!

@jkf011 

Sorry, but it isn't my fault that you can't understand such a simple question.

"Every year is  better than the last."

Sure. Whatever you say.

Then why make the trolly statement in the first place? Manipulative narcissistic, AND nonsense. 

@jkf011 

"Saying it was "the best" means you only like that music and you are making the point that the year of any work of art you love was the high point of art. "

No. It certainly does not mean that.

What it does mean is that I have a long a varied experience of all types of music and I have the breadth of knowledge to make that statement.

I saw Tool for the third time a few weeks ago and just booked a trip to see Turandot at the Met in NYC next April. I listen to almost every type of music from almost any decade (except hip hop and rap of course).

Maybe I can explain this in a way you will understand.

Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world. But that doesn't mean that there aren't other tall mountains. It just means that Everest is the tallest.

 Nonsense. Every year is  better than the last. More music is added to the continuum of music.  Certainly the record companies were much more altruistic then - and they weren't very altruistic. Saying it was "the best" means you only like that music and you are making the point that the year of any work of art you love was the high point of art. 

@fred60 

Actually, I did include....

Imagine by John Lennon

Ram by Paul McCartney

The Yes Album

Madman Across the Water by Elton John

There are 20/30 year olds covering Blind Faith* I wonder how many of todays artists will be covered in 50 years?

I’d say about ‘67-72ish.  

*Foxes and Fossils apparently recently released one.

The answer is a big YES!  1971 was probably the peak in popular music.

You left out the amazing Skull & Roses by the Grateful Dead!  So many great albums.  Why?  Because it was the baby boom generation.

You also left out:

Imagine by John Lennon

Ram by Paul McCartney

The Concert for Bangladesh by George Harrison

The Yes Album

Love it to Death by Alice Cooper

The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys by Traffic

Nursery Crime by Genesis

Muswell Hillbillies by the Kinks

Mud Slide Slim by James Taylor

Madman Across the Water by Elton John

Tarkus by ELP

Electric Warrior by T. Rex

I'm sure there are several more.  AMAZING year for music!

Nice list , I’ve seen approximately half the bands on your list. Rory Gallagher passed way too soon. If the world doesn’t get past Taylor Swift, I’m going to go crazy. BTW I saw her with Jack Ingram before she was huge. My teenage daughter wanted to see her. Warners Theatre Fresno , Jack Ingram was good. 😆 1971 cars were fast and tubes were cheap. 

@tablejockey

I can enjoy the Bros. Johnson version because I like the SONG. I still prefer Shuggie’s version!

@czarivey

some folks sayin that 70s music best, some sayin 60s music and some sayin 80’s, but i really don’t understand them at all and continue to listen and finding great new stuff every day even more than once per day.

I admire your capacity -- wish I had it, too,but the older I get, the more evident it's become that my tastes are deeply ingrained and fairly inflexible. I still find new music to enjoy but this occurs far less often than 10, 15 years ago. It’s frustrating to know I am the limiting factor but I like what I like, for better or worse.

@ghdprentice

I realized like all other genre and time there are incredibly talented and leading edge musicians of all eras that are simply astonishing.

Yes.

My point was that for most people, the music they heard when they were 10 -25 ish years old, holds a really soft spot in their heart. And unless they have have deeply explored other times and genera, it is easy to think that. I grew up in the late 60’s and 70’s and thought it was the best stuff ever. It had many great bands that were original as the technology / culture allowed… The Who, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, The Beatles.

But I am currently listening to Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew… no question truly great music. Before that Stan Kenton, Count Basie, Fats Waller, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky…Bach. The list goes on. It also goes forward. There are great and innovative bands since the 70’s.

After my love of core music of my age, I learned about jazz fusion, then jazz, blues, classical, world, electronic. After about thirty years of getting “into” one type after another and exploring deeply… I rediscovered Rock. I realized like all other genre and time there are incredibly talented and leading edge musicians of all eras that are simply astonishing.