What was better the 80s or 90s

Yet another reason why driving was a more pleasurable experience is that fuel was cheaper. In relation to the wages that you earned, it certainly felt like a smaller percentage of your pay packet was going on fuel. Although many car manufacturers claim that cars do many more miles per gallon these days, I am convinced that I find myself visiting the forecourt more often than I did back in the 80s. Maybe I'm just a miserable old git with a bad memory, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way!

There were more magazines to read. I used to be an avid reader of computer magazines, and I remember when certain publications used to be almost as thick as an Argos catalogue, with many hundreds of pages to read. I remember that Personal Computer World was so heavy that you needed an olympic medal in weightlifting just to get it out of the shop. Okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but the mags were certainly very good value for money.

Sadly, as the internet took over our lives, this led to the inevitable decline in magazine sales. In December , the final issue of one of my favourite magazines, Micro Mart, was published.

The weekly readership had dropped to just 5,, and the low number of pages made it hardly worth buying. There were also different publications for each computer, from Zzap! With many mags there would be a free cassette of games included. Call me a geek, but I used to find it quite enjoyable! Do you remember all of the pop music magazines? There were so many to choose from. Sometimes they would have a flexi disc stuck to the front.

It is sad that the enjoyment of going to your local newsagents and spending quite some considerable time browsing through a vast selection of magazines has disappeared. There are very few to choose from, and those that are available are very expensive and have very few pages compared to back in the 80s.

More space seems to be dedicated to superficial celebrity magazines these days. Quite frankly, I couldn't care less what those talentless reality show stars are up to. There is also an overwhelming choice of cheap TV listings magazines, whereas, back in the day there were just two - Radio Times and TV Times.

Which brings me one to my next subject Issue 1 of Zzap! TV shows and Films were so much better! Okay, so we have countless TV channels available on Freeview these days and a vast amount of programmes to choose from.

The problem is, they're mostly a load of old rubbish! The saying "less is more" springs to mind. We have endless channels full of repeats of everything you've already watched on the main channels, or classic shows that you already watched in the 80s! Then you have an overwhelming number of pay-to-view stations such as Netflix, Now TV and Amazon Fire TV begging for your money to watch American boxsets that I have absolutely no interest in.

And what happened to all the good comedies? The more channels that appear, the less time I find myself watching the TV, and what I do watch is classic comedy from the 60s to the 90s on ITV3 or Yesterday. Even the soaps had much better story lines back in the 70s and 80s.

Do you remember when Coronation Street was on just a couple of times a week? The quality of the writing was so much better because the script writers had more time to be creative.

When Ken Barlow married Deirdre on 27 July , that episode was watched by over 24 million viewers - more people than watched the Royal wedding! The array of programmes for kids was huge, too. Blue Peter was essential viewing at tea-time, as was Grange Hill.

Saturday mornings were filled with over three hours of live entertainment in the form of Swap Shop, Saturday Superstore, Tiswas and No. There also seems to be endless second-rate daytime game shows. They were so much more enjoyable when I was young, and the presenters had strong personalities and their own unique catchphrases.

For instance, there was Jim Bowen telling his contestants to "come and have a look at what you would have won" on Bullseye. And then there were the films. Today, it seems, that Hollywood is obsessed with CGI and remakes. Say what you like about fashion in the 80s — and many have — at least it made a statement. The 90s, meanwhile, was the decade fashion forgot. Perhaps designers were still reeling from the outlandish creations of the previous decade, so just threw everybody into overalls and baggy shirts.

Its silence spoke volumes. One of these musicians had a profound influence on the history of rap music. One of them did not. The production was impeccable, and even today her back catalogue is one of the few examples of synth-heavy music that still sounds great. The two singers were rivals, although they had very different music styles. The rivalry was real, and it fuelled some of the most important and creative music of the 80s.

Rock music had a major change in the s. Hard rock and arena rock absolutely exploded, with bands like Van Halen and ZZ Top bringing perfectly packaged rock music to millions. Largely connected with American acts, alternative featured bands like R. The s brought Hip Hop to life, and this decade saw what can only be described as the true pioneers of Hip Hop.

Hip Hop would never be as frantic and breathtaking as it was in this decade, and it would also never be as innocent and positive. Later Hip Hop developments meant that things became darker, and more commercial and more authentic, but we will get to that later. But back then in the 80s, you were looking at the best time to be a Hip Hop fan. It was all fresh and new. And it felt great. The 80s brought us some real legends in music, some of whom are still alive and making music today.

Also, we had an era that brought in MTV, which is firmly in the background today, but showed us the power of music videos. Oh, and if you need further proof that the 80s was simply a major part of music history, a little known man called John Lennon was sadly taken from us right at the start of the decade.

And don't get me wrong, many things about that decade were. But there was also a metric ton of sad, tragic, and scandalous stuff too. Since the '90s renaissance began, it has exalted all things '90s — including '90s kids. But somehow, over time, this has led some people to concur that kids born in the '90s are nostalgic treasures in and of themselves.

Does it matter that '90s babies probably don't remember much of the '90s? Not to the cult of renaissance. Poor '80s babies didn't get invited to the party, even though they were the ones who started it. Real talk: There has already been an '80s renaissance. Remember a few years back when people started buying legwarmers again? Fads are cyclical!