doschicos(post 33) names 3 popular and influential punk/new wave bands, and I agree they got their start in the 70’s, but they really got popular for the mainstream as they came into their own in the 80’s. I think the same goes for Prince; he had only released 2 albums in the 70’s and neither got that much attention here in the U.S. For many people, it was his Controversy album(1980) or the later 1999 that really got attention. So for those 4, I associate them with the 80’s rather than the 70’s.
I’m going with 90’s alternative… Green Day, The Offspring, Blink 182, Sublime, Smashing Pumpkins, Cake, Weezer, STP, Jane’s Addiction, Foo Fighters … I’m leaving so many out… I could go on and on.
The late 60’s to late 70’s was the best. Hate the new wave stuff from the 80’s.A lot of good stuff came out of Seattle in the 90’s. So many of the 60s-70s songs that are memorable were inspired by the anti-war movement. I would think there must be songs inspired by the difficulties of the last 15 years, but I can’t think of any off hand, although I’m not up on current music. Some Pearl Jam songs come closest in that regard.
what can I say, @younghoss? I was definitely an early adopter/trendsetter. 
They’ll always have a late 70s association for me. I often lose interest when things become more mainstream. Plus, its great seeing acts in tiny venues like Mudd Club and CBGB at the time along with other small places in New England before they gained more widespread fame. Nothing like standing 10 feet from David Byrne.
The Clash’s best albums were their debut album in 1977 and London Calling in 1979.
The Talking Heads albums I played until they were worn out were their debut 77 (in 1977) and 1979’s Fear of Music.
I’ll also add in Elvis Costello, Blondie, the Cars…
I’m also choosing late '60s through the mid-'70s. Even though I was in elementary school in the '60s and early '70s, I’ve always gravitated to the singer-writers from this era, as opposed to the disco/punk that pervaded my high school and college years. Big fan of Joni Mitchell, Simon and Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, James Taylor, Jim Croce, Harry Chapin, Carole King, etc. D, sadly, cannot stand them.
@younghoss – post 40. Who cares when they went mainstream? It’s a matter of what you want to listen to. Right now, I have on my phone three Talking Heads albums – Talking Heads 77, More Songs About Buildings and Food, and Fear of Music. All released in the late 1970s. For whatever reason, I currently don’t have any of their songs or albums from the 1980s on my phone. So, I’m with Doschicos. (But the decade most heavily represented on my phone right now is the 2000s, truth be told).
For country music, I’d say the 90s were the best.
Sorry, folks, but I’m gonna go all cynical on you and say that Zach Weinersmith pretty much nailed it with this Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal: http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2011-05-22
Love that, but actually though, besides the 70s, I like the stuff in the current decade. Not the pop stuff and rap (although I do like some of it) but more the singer songwriter/folk rock stuff. There is very good music being created now. With the emphasis on music festivals, there is a resurgence of real musicians as opposed to studio created acts.
No love here for big band/swing of the 30s and 40s? Some of that stuff is great
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhyhP_5VfKM&list=PLg-jS7VWuFqcLEKIWQFcgeqjQXDgXpyld
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNcPnEc99UE
And let’s not forget Bossa Nova in the 60s. I’m a big fan although it didn’t hit my radar until late 70s. One can’t JUST listen to The Clash and The Talking Heads.
For country music 1978/1979 was the year. I lived in a camper and drove across the country most of that year. Great driving music.
Mama don’t let your baby grow up to be cowboys
Take this job and shove it
Georgia on my mind
I’ve always been crazy
Sleeping Single in a double bed
The Gambler
Tulsa Time
Devil went down to Georgia
Family Tradition
I associate Blondie, The Talking Heads (especially Psychokiller) and the Clash with all-nighters in architecture school. Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing!
If I really were heading to a desert island for a few years, and would be stuck with whatever was on my phone for that period, I’d want fresh stuff that I wasn’t sick of yet. I’d call Bob Boilen and ask him to load my phone up with his favorite stuff from the present decade, if I really were limited to a single decade.
I agree with @younghoss–it’s true that the Clash and Talking Heads began in the 70s, but they are definitely in opposiition to the mainstream drivel (sorry!) of that time and much more aligned with the alternative sound associated with the 80s and then 90s. I guess it’s a matter of going strictly by calendar or by dominant decade trends. So, yeah, London Calling was released in December 79, but we all listened to it in the 80s.
“I guess it’s a matter of going strictly by calendar or by dominant decade trends.”
I guess I’m going by what I personally listened to at the time rather than whatever was the dominant trend of the decade. I know exactly where I was in 77, 78, 79 while I listened to this stuff and (what albums I had on my turntable at that time since I spent my summer savings on them) while most others were busy listening to disco (although I did listen to a little Sugarhill Gang, probably because of the Debbie Harry connection.)
Psychokiller (circa 1977) seems perfect for all-nighters.
Psycho Killer is a great song, but the anthem for architecture students from Talking Heads 77 has to be Don’t Worry About the Govenment! (“My building has every convenience/ It’s going to make life easy for me / I will relax along with my loved ones/ Loved ones, loved ones/ Visit the building …”)
Not Burning Down the House or House in Motion, @nottelling? 
I think it’s Burning Down the House. But the two songs I associate with architecture school are Psychokiller and Take me to the Water.
60s. I listen to 60s satellite station all the time (along with my country stations). For country, my main genre, if I had to pick a decade it would be the 90s
I’m not much of a country music fan, but the stuff I do like is mostly 60s, early 70s - Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash.