Ten years, one decade, one page each.
Every year guide below covers that year's Billboard number ones, key albums and genre shifts, with a playable tracklist right on the page.
1960s Music, Year by Year
Year Guide
1960
19 Billboard number ones and Elvis Presley's record year.
Year Guide1961
Motown's first number one and Patsy Cline's Nashville Sound breakthrough.
Year Guide
1962
Coming Soon
Year Guide
1963
Coming Soon
Year Guide
1964
Coming Soon
Year Guide
1965
Coming Soon
Year Guide
1966
Coming Soon
Year Guide
1967
Coming Soon
Year Guide
1968
Coming Soon
Year Guide
1969
Coming Soon
Explore by Genre
Every year above cuts across all eight genres on this site.
Go straight to a genre's full hub for artist bios, song stories and its own history.
Genre Hub
British Invasion & Beat Music
Chiming guitars, Merseybeat harmonies and a sharp-suited attitude.
Genre HubMotown, Soul & R&B
Tight rhythm sections, call-and-response vocals and Detroit polish.
Genre HubFolk Rock
Ringing twelve-string guitars and literate, socially aware lyrics.
Genre HubPsychedelic Rock
Swirling effects, feedback and long improvisational jams.
Genre HubGarage & Surf Rock
Fuzz guitar, cheap combo organ and untrained teenage energy.
Genre HubCountry (Nashville Sound & Bakersfield)
Pedal steel and Telecaster twang against smooth Nashville strings.
Genre HubPop & Brill Building
Professional songwriting teams and girl group harmony.
Genre HubJazz & Easy Listening
Crooners and orchestras meeting the bossa nova craze.