Music doesn't just entertain – it marks time. Certain songs land so hard and so perfectly in their moment that they become inseparable from the era that produced them. You hear three seconds of one and you're instantly transported to a specific decade, a specific feeling, a specific version of the world.
This list covers ten decades of popular music, from the 1920s through the 2010s, and picks the one song that best captures the cultural mood, the musical innovation, and the sheer moment of each era. These aren't just hits – they're time capsules.
1920s – "Ain't Misbehavin'" by Fats Waller
1930s – "Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland
1940s – "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by The Andrews Sisters
1950s – "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry
1960s – "Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan
1970s – "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen
1980s – "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson
1990s – "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana
2000s – "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé ft. Jay-Z
2010s – "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus
What it is: A jazz and blues standard recorded at the tail end of the Roaring Twenties, written by Fats Waller and Andy Razaf. It was originally composed for the Broadway show Hot Chocolates and became one of the most recognizable songs of the era.
Why it defined the decade: The 1920s were defined by Prohibition, the Jazz Age, and a cultural explosion of Black American artistry centered in Harlem. Jazz wasn't just a genre – it was a cultural revolution, and Fats Waller was one of its most charismatic voices. "Ain't Misbehavin'" captured the playful, swinging energy of that era while also being a product of the Harlem Renaissance, one of the most significant cultural movements in American history.
Why it still matters: The song has been covered hundreds of times and inspired a long-running Broadway revue in the 1970s. It remains a touchstone of classic American jazz and a reminder of the decade that invented modern popular music culture.
Key takeaway: The 1920s gave the world a new sound. "Ain't Misbehavin'" is the sound of a culture finding its voice and refusing to be quiet about it.
What it is: Written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, this ballad was nearly cut from the movie multiple times before becoming one of the most beloved songs ever recorded.
Why it defined the decade: The 1930s were shaped by the Great Depression and a desperate hunger for escapism. Hollywood boomed precisely because people needed a way out of the bleakness of economic collapse. "Over the Rainbow" encapsulated that longing – it's a song about wishing for a better world somewhere beyond the present reality, and it hit the American psyche at exactly the right moment.
Why it still matters: The American Film Institute ranked it the greatest song in film history. It has been recorded by thousands of artists and covered across virtually every genre. It endures because the feeling it captures – hope in the face of hardship – is timeless.
Key takeaway: In a decade defined by hardship, this song gave people permission to dream. That's about as culturally essential as music gets.
What it is: A swing and boogie-woogie track released in 1941 and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. It tells the story of a jazz trumpeter drafted into the Army and became an anthem of the World War II home front.
Why it defined the decade: The 1940s were dominated by World War II, and music played a direct role in sustaining morale both overseas and at home. The Andrews Sisters were the soundtrack of the wartime generation – upbeat, tight in harmony, and able to make even a military draft sound like a dance party. The song bridged civilian life and military service in a way that resonated with millions of Americans who had loved ones fighting abroad.
Why it still matters: It remains the definitive piece of WWII-era American pop and a snapshot of how music was used as a tool of national unity. Bette Midler's 1973 revival introduced it to a new generation and proved its staying power.
Key takeaway: Music in the 1940s had a job to do. "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" did it better than almost anything else.
What it is: Released in 1958, this Chuck Berry track is widely considered the archetypal rock and roll song. It tells the story of a young guitarist from Louisiana who could play the guitar just like ringing a bell.
Why it defined the decade: The 1950s invented rock and roll as a mainstream force, and Chuck Berry was its most articulate architect. "Johnny B. Goode" had everything – a now-iconic guitar riff, a narrative about a young dreamer making it big, and an energy that was genuinely new. It blended rhythm and blues with country influences and created a template that virtually every rock band since has followed in some way.
Why it still matters: Keith Richards called Chuck Berry the father of rock and roll. The song was literally sent into outer space on the Voyager Golden Record in 1977 as a representation of human music. If that's not cultural significance, nothing is.
Key takeaway: Rock and roll had many pioneers, but "Johnny B. Goode" is the song that most perfectly bottled the decade's defining genre.
What it is: A six-minute single released in 1965, widely considered Bob Dylan's masterpiece and one of the most important recordings in the history of popular music.
Why it defined the decade: The 1960s were a decade of upheaval – civil rights, Vietnam, counterculture, and a generation questioning everything they'd been told. Dylan didn't just write protest songs; he rewrote what a song could be. "Like a Rolling Stone" was confrontational, literary, and completely unlike anything on pop radio at the time. Its release effectively blew up the boundaries of what popular music was allowed to say and how long it was allowed to say it.
Why it still matters: Rolling Stone magazine ranked it the greatest song of all time in multiple polls. It changed the relationship between pop music and serious artistic expression, paving the way for everything from The Beatles' later work to hip-hop's lyrical ambition.
Key takeaway: This song didn't just define the 1960s – it redefined what popular music could aspire to be.
What it is: A nearly six-minute operatic rock epic with no chorus, multiple distinct musical sections, and a music video that helped pioneer the form. It was written entirely by Freddie Mercury and released in 1975.
Why it defined the decade: The 1970s were a decade of genre explosion – glam rock, disco, punk, funk, and prog rock all competed for space on the airwaves. "Bohemian Rhapsody" somehow contained multitudes: it was bombastic and theatrical, technically ambitious, and yet wildly popular. It captured the decade's appetite for excess and experimentation without sacrificing accessibility.
Why it still matters: It reached number one in the UK charts twice – first in 1975 and again in 1991 after Freddie Mercury's death. The 2018 biopic reignited global interest and introduced it to younger generations. It remains one of the best-selling singles of all time globally.
Key takeaway: The 1970s dared musicians to go bigger and stranger. Queen obliged with one of the most audacious singles ever recorded.
What it is: The second single from Thriller – the best-selling album of all time – "Billie Jean" was a funk-infused pop track driven by a now-iconic bass line and produced by Quincy Jones.
Why it defined the decade: The 1980s were the decade of pop spectacle, MTV, and Michael Jackson at his absolute peak. "Billie Jean" was the song that broke the color barrier on MTV – before its release, the network rarely played videos by Black artists. It also gave the world the moonwalk during its Motown 25 performance, arguably the most famous moment in pop music television history.
Why it still matters: "Billie Jean" is a near-perfect pop record by nearly any metric – the production, the arrangement, the vocal performance, and the narrative all operate at an elite level. It still sounds contemporary decades later, which is the mark of genuinely timeless music.
Key takeaway: If you had to point to one song that explains the 1980s pop moment in full, this is it.
What it is: The lead single from Nirvana's Nevermind, released in September 1991. Written by Kurt Cobain, it became the anthem of Generation X and effectively ended the dominance of hair metal on mainstream rock radio almost overnight.
Why it defined the decade: The 1990s began with a cultural shift – away from the polished excess of the 1980s toward something rawer, more ambivalent, and more honest. Grunge arrived as the sound of that shift, and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was its lightning bolt. The song was simultaneously aggressive and melodic, anthemic and alienated. It gave a disaffected generation something to scream along to.
Why it still matters: Rolling Stone named it one of the greatest songs ever recorded. The music video remains one of the most-viewed in YouTube history. Its influence runs through every guitar-driven rock act that came after it and through the general cultural embrace of "alternative" as a mainstream identity.
Key takeaway: No song captures the 1990s' disillusionment and raw energy better. It didn't just top charts – it shifted culture.
What it is: The debut solo single from Beyoncé following Destiny's Child, featuring her then-boyfriend (now husband) Jay-Z. Built around a sample from The Chi-Lites' "Are You My Woman," it became one of the defining pop tracks of the decade.
Why it defined the decade: The 2000s were the decade of R&B crossover dominance, hip-hop and pop fusion, and the emergence of Beyoncé as a generational solo superstar. "Crazy in Love" had everything the era was built on – a horn stab that instantly commands attention, a hip-hop verse that gave the song street credibility, and a vocal performance that announced Beyoncé's arrival as a genuine force. It was commercially massive and critically respected at the same time, which was the sweet spot of 2000s pop.
Why it still matters: It won two Grammy Awards, topped charts in the US and UK, and launched one of the most significant solo careers in music history. The song reappeared prominently in pop culture through its use in film, television, and Beyoncé's own later performances, proving its endurance beyond the decade that birthed it.
Key takeaway: If the 2000s had a coronation song, this was it.
What it is: Originally released as a short demo on SoundCloud, "Old Town Road" became a phenomenon after going viral on TikTok before being remixed with Billy Ray Cyrus and officially released in 2019. It set the record for the longest-running number one single in Billboard Hot 100 history at the time – 19 consecutive weeks.
Why it defined the decade: The 2010s were shaped by social media, streaming, and the democratization of music distribution. A teenager with a $30 beat from a Dutch producer and a SoundCloud account had no business making the biggest song of the year – and that's exactly what made it so perfect for the era. "Old Town Road" blended country and trap in a way that shouldn't work and absolutely did, triggered a genre classification controversy that said everything about the music industry's discomfort with genre-blending, and broke records through viral momentum rather than traditional label machinery.
Why it still matters: It represented a genuine shift in how music could be made, marketed, and consumed. Lil Nas X's story is the defining music industry narrative of the 2010s – unconventional path, internet-native strategy, mainstream dominance.
Key takeaway: The 2010s broke all the old rules. "Old Town Road" was the perfect song to do it with.
Each decade produces thousands of songs, but only a handful become genuinely defining cultural artifacts. The ten songs on this list didn't just top charts – they changed something. They reflected their moment so precisely that hearing them decades later is almost like time travel. That's what the best music does: it becomes the decade.
Why isn't "Thriller," "Respect," or "Good Vibrations" on this list? All of those are legitimate candidates and defining songs in their own right. This list picks one song per decade that best captures the full cultural moment, not just musical quality. Different criteria will produce different lists – that's part of what makes music conversation so engaging.
Were these the most commercially successful songs of each decade? Not necessarily. Some were massive hits; others were critical touchstones that influenced more music than they charted. The goal was cultural impact, not sales figures alone.
What about the 2020s? The 2020s are still being written. Songs like "drivers license" by Olivia Rodrigo, "As It Was" by Harry Styles, and "Anti-Hero" by Taylor Swift are strong early candidates, but you need some distance to properly evaluate how a song defines a decade.
Is there a science to what makes a song "define" a decade? Musicologists and cultural critics generally look at a combination of factors: chart performance, cultural ubiquity, influence on subsequent music, connection to the broader social and political moment, and endurance beyond the original release period. No single metric captures it – it's a combination of all of them.
Can a song define a decade without being popular at the time? Yes. Some songs that are now considered defining were cult records that became more widely recognized over time. Their influence on musicians who came after them makes them culturally defining even without mass commercial success in the moment.
Music is the closest thing we have to a time machine. Put on any one of these tracks and the decade it came from comes rushing back – the mood, the anxiety, the optimism, the chaos. That's not an accident. It's what music is for.
American Film Institute – AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs – https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-songs/
Rolling Stone – 500 Greatest Songs of All Time – https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/
NASA – Voyager Golden Record: Music from Earth – https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/golden-record/whats-on-the-record/music/
Billboard – "Old Town Road" Chart History – https://www.billboard.com/music/lil-nas-x/chart-history/HSI/
Smithsonian Magazine – How "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" Captured WWII America – https://www.smithsonianmag.com
Grammy Awards – "Crazy in Love" Award History – https://www.grammy.com/artists/beyonce/7208
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Chuck Berry – https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/chuck-berry
