Do you all agree when Prince said the 60s, 70s and 80s were the golden ages of music?

I often come here for advice, but when someone compares Prince to Green Day and calls him “overrated” I realize how absolutely idiotic forums can be.

I would say the evolution of many music types evolved starting in the 40-50s
classic Rock for sure cemented itself in the classics book 
beginning in the 60s  ,but back up a minute ,the greats 
like Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton  ,got their roots from greats from the 50s-40s The Blues,Muddy waters comes to mind ,          Buddy guy . Albert king just to name a few , the Beatles, Rolling Stones and many others all got their roots from the Blues artist mainly Black that were not promoted on the radio much back then , it took ground breaking artists 
like Little Richard, Fats Domino , and even Nat king Cole who was severely beaten up by whites for playing songs that whites had made down south in the 50s. We have Evolved and come along way👍 Screw all this new cancel culture, we are still the worlds melting pot of many cultures. That being said this administration 
needs to stop the flood gates of illegals coming in this is supposed to be a democracy,Thst being said,  Music 🎼 🎶 is what soothes the soul and that quiet spot to just escape everything and relax ,Amen !!

Oh my God, yes! Although only in my teens to 25 yrs old in the 80s, I can still remember sitting on a couch and thinking "The amount of real talent coming out of the woodwork is NOT normal". I didn't even think that deeply then, yet it was undeniable. Act after act could REALLY sing. No autotune or pitch correction. And the 70's? The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, and on and on...
The 60's? So amazing as we see modern music forming more than ever. But the 90's and 2000's were commercial BS radio play to my ears. As a lover of rock, and hard rock, luckily the past 5 years has had some amazing gems mixed in with the trash! But yes ...60s, 70s, and 80s were the Golden years imo.

Well, Prince included a decade that includes himself, of course. Mick Jagger agrees with him, but the reason being that the period coincides with a window within which the landscape of recording technology and merchandising allowed artists to vastly profit from their work on a mass market scale. With the introduction of digitization, it’s no longer possible and artists today, like in the 30s, 40s, early 50s, etc must tour and perform live to generate most of their income. Except for the infinitely small few who break through with tens of millions of video views, YouTube doesn’t provide a sustainable income.

I see how this shift has affected my daughter who is a professional singer songwriter performer.

This window not coincidentally coincides with a certain generation. The one that includes those obsessed with audiophile quality…us here on audiogon.

I agree that it’s three decades but I’d move the needle: mid 50s to mid 80s. Some good stuff in the 50s.

Anyone who thinks Prince is overrated does not know what they are talking about. Prince is by no means a personal favorite of mine, but his genius is impossible to ignore. Lyrically, maybe meh, but the music is dense, textured, complex. And he played all the instruments himself, did his own engineering, etc. A formidable talent in any generation.

My father would argue that the Big Band era of the 30's & 40's was the "Golden Age" of music. We all (or most of us) prefer the music we grew up with thus there is no right answer.