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ProfessorWolf
while i agree that 68-83 were there peak live and studio wise i didn't live thru this time and don't have any particularly special attachment to it

i became a fan when i was 17 in 2008

my era has been everything after that and that's the one i have the greatest attachment to because i've lived thru it

but i like every thing before that and have no real favorite

to me there's always been something interesting and cool about them at all points of there career

I'm a millennial and didn't live through most of it, but I have near zero attachment to the modern era. As a teenager in the early 2000's, their music that spoke to me was written when they were younger and hungry and not when they were elderly millionaires.

‘62 - ‘72, and jump ahead to ‘81/‘82

Anyone fortunate enough to attend the early crazy screamfests (probably couldn’t hear much of the songs) when they popped on the scene experienced the floodgates opening to a total shift in the popular music scene

I add ‘81 cuz I enjoyed that tour personally, Jagger wasn’t knighted yet, and the Stones still felt like the Stones: rebellious, a bit dangerous, and still had that rock ‘n roll don’t take ourselves seriously, but seriously enough to try and rock you out quality (the Tattoo You videos are still fun)

Considering that Tattoo You dates back to the GHS and Black and Blue sessions and Some Girls was written in '77, it's amazing to think that every single iconic song from Satisfaction to Start Me Up was created during a 12 year period (1965-1977). 12 years out of 64 years when they "did everything" that made them who they are.

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Send It To me
Considering that Tattoo You dates back to the GHS and Black and Blue sessions and Some Girls was written in '77, it's amazing to think that every single iconic song from Satisfaction to Start Me Up was created during a 12 year period (1965-1977). 12 years out of 64 years when they "did everything" that made them who they are.

Well hell - that's certainly an eye opener. I hadn't even thought of it that way, although Start Me Up, and obviously others and at least regarding Sonny Rollins recording on Neighbours, Slave and Waiting On A Friend - weren't finished until 1981. But that's finished lyrics and instrumentation.

You're pointing out the framework. From Heart Of Stone to When The Whip Comes Down. Time Is On My Side to Start Me Up. The Last Time to Hang Fire. Satisfaction to Miss You.

With exception to their mind set in 1977 because of not knowing what would or could happen with Keith, as much as the Stones may've put lightning in a bottle with BEGGARS and BLEED and STICKY and EXILE, it seems they weren't aware because they were simply doing what they did. I doubt they got to Kingston and said, Hey remember that time last year when... about recording in Keith's basement.

Never have I read anything when any of them said, This isn't as good as... while working on a new album. How would they know when they're just doing what they do?

There are some songs on SOUP, IORR and BLACK AND BLUE that are just a good as anything on BB-EOMS. Perhaps that's unlikely for many because of the way they sound in comparison. Musically EXILE was the end of their blending of inspirations and veering way off. Of course one could point to Can You Hear The Music, Winter, If You Really Want To Be My Friend, Fingerprint File, Memory Motel and Melody and say they were veering way off.

That's six songs covering 3 albums.

Remove Rocks Off, Tumbling Dice, All Down The Line, Happy and Stop Breaking Down from EXILE there's 13 veered off songs left, with a couple more leftover. Which took 3 years to record while recording for two previous albums - Shine A Light, All Down The Line, Loving Cup and Let It Loose were started in 1969; Sweet Virginia, So Devine, Shake Your Hips, I'm Not Signifying and Sweet Black Angel in 1970 before and after tour dates.

The rest in France, which, as noted throughout the years by various people named Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and a few other Stones, was not conducive to being creative. Yet the results...

They had no idea.

Then it was Kingston, Munich and Rotterdam. Just doing what they do.

The small room at Pathé Marconi was mostly because Chris Kimsey liked it and Mick chose to like it because it was cheap.

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TravelinMan

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ProfessorWolf
while i agree that 68-83 were there peak live and studio wise i didn't live thru this time and don't have any particularly special attachment to it

i became a fan when i was 17 in 2008

my era has been everything after that and that's the one i have the greatest attachment to because i've lived thru it

but i like every thing before that and have no real favorite

to me there's always been something interesting and cool about them at all points of there career

I'm a millennial and didn't live through most of it, but I have near zero attachment to the modern era. As a teenager in the early 2000's, their music that spoke to me was written when they were younger and hungry and not when they were elderly millionaires.

didn't mean to imply that all millennial fans feel that way nor do i think they do

i understand my view is different then most regardless of age

but the music that spoke to me was my mom's worn childhood copy of flowers in mono which i thought was pretty cool i should get some more of this and then the first album i bought a bigger bang which i loved

you know that story people tell on here of when they where 11 or 14 or something and they first heard ya-ya's or let it bleed or satisfaction and there minds where blown and they became obsessed and had to have more well that was a bigger bang for me

yes i know now it was far from there best album but it hooked me and made me a fan

then i got live licks, biggest bang and i think four flicks all at once (at best buy) and watched them non-stop

i remember how absolutely excited i was that mick was gonna be on snl and performing at the grammy's and then suddenly he was performimg blues songs at the white house

i recorded them and watched them constantly for weeks

same for that stones week thing fallon did for exiles reissue and all of keith's apperances there

then the unthinkable happened suddenly they were gonna perform live again something i thought was over and done and they even recorded some new songs and were talking about a new album and hey look is that mick taylor

they started back up and just kept going and going and i couldn't have been happier with results

this was my era was it objectively there best no but i can't help but be attatched to it

hopefully it goes on a little while longer



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026-01-01 22:53 by ProfessorWolf.

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Send It To me
Considering that Tattoo You dates back to the GHS and Black and Blue sessions and Some Girls was written in '77, it's amazing to think that every single iconic song from Satisfaction to Start Me Up was created during a 12 year period (1965-1977). 12 years out of 64 years when they "did everything" that made them who they are.

At least for some fans, EMOTIONAL RESCUE and UNDERCOVER count and feature iconic songs.

Obvious caveats that everyone will have their own opinion and no right answer but for me

Records: 1969-74 - hands down best band in the world for a few of these years (notable nod to Led Zeppelin also) - beggars, LIB, Exile, Sticky - what a run.

Live: again biased because I’m a fair bit younger so only started from 2003 seeing them live - But that licks tour man, it was something else. So tight, great shake up of setlists, and the greatest outing of Monkeyman also.

Without being there but based on the videos and my late uncle’s stories - my next shout would be 94-95 when they went on their stripped run of acoustic. I think the Street Fighting Man in the Paradiso in Amsterdam is the greatest version of it every played. And captured live. Arguably you could also say that of Like a Rolling Stone at Brixton Academy.

Well that’s my Penny’s worth anyway.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2026-01-02 01:12 by Juniorjackflash.

90s for me

I think the 2002-2003 tour, and the dvd-set following it, needs an honorable mention too. The setlist variation and the triple concerts in bigger cities was a new concept.
The MSG dvd from that tour is still a big favorite of mine.

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Stoneage
I think the 2002-2003 tour, and the dvd-set following it, needs an honorable mention too. The setlist variation and the triple concerts in bigger cities was a new concept.
The MSG dvd from that tour is still a big favorite of mine.

Yes, I completely agree: terrific performances; varied and interesting set-lists, and an interesting documentary and extras. They tried to replicate it with the AA Bigger Bang set, but it simply wasn't as good.

1962-1982

Musically 1966-1969
Touring 1969-1973
Finacially since 2012

I like reading of all your favorite era thoughts and agree 1968-1978 was peak creatively and raw performance.

I identify with ProfWolf about the excitement of their starting up again live in 2012 after an extended break. After following them internationally in the early 2000s, I was excited and dedicated to following them again where ever they would lead me.

If you saw the Stones in 2024 you saw the greatest band live of the 2020s.

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Big Al

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Big Al

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Mathijs
Best is 1965 to 1983 -Aftermath to Undercover.

Mathijs

Agreed!

Should be 1966-1983!

The recording of Aftermath started in December 1965

Ah, okay! He's technically right, then!

I guess I should have said 1966...the year of the big albums -Pet Sounds, Blonde on Blonde, Aftermath, Revolver, Fresh Cream, Beano Album...what a year!

Mathijs

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Mathijs

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Big Al

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DandelionPowderman

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Big Al

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DandelionPowderman

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Mathijs
Best is 1965 to 1983 -Aftermath to Undercover.

Mathijs

Agreed!

Should be 1966-1983!

The recording of Aftermath started in December 1965

Ah, okay! He's technically right, then!

I guess I should have said 1966...the year of the big albums -Pet Sounds, Blonde on Blonde, Aftermath, Revolver, Fresh Cream, Beano Album...what a year!

Mathijs

Arguably the year that the focus shifted from singles to albums.

1968 - 1974

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steffiestones
The years 1968 to 1978 were the high-water mark of The Rolling Stones, and that is not nostalgia talking. It was the decade when everything aligned: hunger, danger, talent, the temper of the times, and hard-earned craft. That kind of convergence happens once, if you’re lucky.

First, they were still young but already scarred. By ’68 they had absorbed the blues to the bone, learned not from textbooks but from smoky rooms, bad decisions, and nights that ran into mornings. They didn’t play tidy; they played because they had to. Every record sounded necessary, not approved by a committee.

Second, the internal friction worked in their favor. Jagger and Richards pulled against each other. No cosy brotherhood—creative tension. Keith dragged the music into the dirt and the blues; Mick sharpened it with sex, menace, and survival instinct. That push and pull made the songs breathe. After ’78 the tension softened; later it turned comfortable. Comfort kills rock and roll.

Third, the world was on fire, and they stood in the flames. Vietnam, student revolts, the end of innocence. The Stones weren’t commentators like Dylan; they were the grime under the fingernails of the era. “Street Fighting Man” could only exist then. Later, rebellion became a role. Back then, it was a fact.

Fourth, the records. Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main St.—not a run, a chain. Raw, imperfect, and honest. Exile in ’72 was the low point and the summit at once: addiction, exile, chaos—yet musically untouchable. After that, the workmanship often improved, but the urgency faded.

Fifth, the live shows. Between ’69 and ’78 you didn’t see a legacy act. You saw danger. You never knew if it would derail—and sometimes it did. That edge disappeared once the Stones became an institution. Understandable. Inevitably duller.

After 1978 there was still quality, sometimes even greatness. But the knife was no longer at the throat. And rock music—real rock music—only comes alive when there’s something to lose.

That’s the truth of it. Plain and hard.

This post is entirely AI generated. You're all replying to a bot or copy pasted text from Chat GPT.

I got into the Stones in 1985.

I think their best era was probably 1965 - 1982

I think their creative peak was around 1968 - 1972

Obviously, there are many songs that are incredible outwith 68-72, but as a collective body of work, to be able to rattle off those 4 albums in about 5 years, is nothing short of incredible.

1965-1981 with a mention to their real classic period of great creativity 1968-72.