“Of the choices offered I eould agree the 60’s, but it was the 50’s that lead to 60’s. I’m most comfortable with a mix of 50’s and 60’s, because it was the time of my youth.”
Your taste agrees the most so far with me. I think there was a more gentle, romantic, balladic period through the 50’s, then the music roughened up with less pleasant harmony, less sophisticated music, cruder lyrics, scruffy looking performers, groups with weird names.
It’s sad that excellent composers, musicians and performers waste their skills on crap just for fame and money.
While each decade has it’s highlights I have to rank them this way:
1st - The 60s. This is because of the full body of work. The British Invasion, the experimentation with different instruments in classic rock & roll, the Motown sound which is the apex of the black influence (Rap and Hip-hop have tarnished the fantastic leaps of Soul music), the blending of audio and video to the public.
2nd - The 80s. The styles of the 70s were horrendous. Clothing, cars, hair, houses, etc. and the music reflected the same. The 80s were a breath of fresh air to lift us out of that. I grew up in the 70s and it sucked.
3rd - The 50s. Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, The Everly Bros. and Elvis got it going.
4th - The 70s. Well, listening to 70s music is still head and shoulders above anything since Rap and Hip Hop came on the scene.