Like, all of them of course, but I think the 1960s comes out in front. Not only a melting pot for so much of what would come with music, with no shortage of landmark albums, but it's also probably the most drastic shift in the space of 10 years. The most popular/beloved music of 1960 and 1969 have almost nothing in common.

 

That's a great point!

Screaming at you including a description

 

I would disagree with that description though, I am sure in some situations it is possible for things to revolutionise for the worse as well, or to be perceived by many people as doing so.

In terms of music as a whole, the 1960s as the presence of the Beatles encouraged deviation from a certain formula set up in the 1950s (although the 1950s deserve credit for setting up and popularising that formula itself) and musicians started to experiment a bit more. You can trace pretty much any musical development back to the 1960s in it's simplest form, even though it would be developed more in later decades.

 

That said, the other decades shouldn't be discredited as they all had a hand in revolutionising a certain aspect of music. The 1950s modernised rock and roll and though it was developed further in the 1960s, the 1970s was the true start of anarchy and punk rock, and electronic and dance music has a lot to hand to the 1970s and 1980s for. Of course, in terms of 'industry', the 2000s certainly marked a huge step with digital purchasing which would go on to where we are today of course.

 

I'd highly recommend the book 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die (there's playlists on Spotify somewhere, including one made by me) as you can really hear the style changing through the eras and choices they make!

The 1960s for me for all the reasons already stated. After that I'd have gone for the 1980s for the real progression made in terms of electronic music, definitely the biggest shift in genres for me. The progressions made later were largely around formats and censurability which I don't personally view as a progression for music itself, more a progression in technology.