According to Science, these are the best years in music

Science has revealed the best years in pop, as well as its nadir.

This is because music is a mathematically-quantifiable piece of data, and definitely not an emotive artform. Okay?

The study, conducted by Queen Mary University of London and Imperial College London, crunched data from Last.fm and the US Billboard Hot 100. Their analysis of over 17,000 songs has pinpointed the three most important years in the history of modern music. (Well, up until 2010, which is when their data runs out.)

The findings are surprising, because they go against the common perception that 1964 - the year of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and the "British Invasion" of the US charts - was the most significant musical event of the 20th century, though that year is considered one of "three revolutions" identified in the study.

"The greatest musical revolution in US pop history was not 1964, but 1991 when hip-hop arrived in the charts," the authors tell the Independent. 

1983 - flooded with new romantics, soul, synth and rock bands - is cited as the third most important year. 

1986's output, meanwhile, has been found to be the most formulaic.

The researchers also claim the data proves modern pop isn't as generic as we all think it is. 

“Contrary to current theories of musical evolution we find no evidence for the progressive homogenisation of music in the charts.”

So there. This modern stuff doesn't "all sound the same". Science says so. Now stop moaning.

Before you go, why not take a moment to remind yourself of Wang Chung and their joyless 1986 hit Everybody Have Fun Tonight. Yes, that's an order. When the haggard Sting lookalike - real name Jack Hues - is talking, you listen. 

[Via: The Independent]