Music; it can inspire, bring people together (hello, music festivals!), pump up a workout and even mend a broken heart. What would the world be with out music? Since the first cave man made a flute and a beat, music has been ever evolving. If you go to apple music today you'll see thirty-three different genres. Thirty-three! Within each of those genres are countless songs all with different variations creating their own mini-sub-genres that just goes on and on and on until your spiraling to the center of the universe. Okay, not really, but there are still so many different types of music it can be overwhelming in the best way. The most classic genres are the decades. There are playlists on every music app called "The *insert desired decade*'s," click on that and you're instantly taken back to that magical era. For someone with a passion for the super throwback songs, I thought I'd compile a list of oldies-but-goodies and they're modern matches for someone's music library to get revamped with some retro with a twist. So for our first decade, I'll take it waaaaaay back to...

1) The 50's

We'll start with the fifties because it encompasses styles from even longer before, while also showing promising change for more evolution in music. Since the twenties jazz-themed music stayed prominent in the "popular culture" of the times. The fifties brought on new songs from classic artists and new artists that would soon be classics themselves. Louis Armstrong was popular in the thirties but the decades didn't restrict him. You all know a Louis Armstrong song, even if you don't realize it (What a Wonderful World). Anyway, Elvis Presley. Everyone knows him and his classic sound and look, a look often adopted by those certified to marry strangers in Las Vegas. Elvis took jazz from the decades before and put a new rock twist on the music for his own iconic style.

Burning Love by Elvis Presley.

It would be hard to compare anyone to Elvis, but I will offer a modern song from a pretty unknown artist that takes the feel of jazz to another step in his music, More Than a Fool by RIVVRS. This is more of a slow homage to jazz alternative but worth mentioning.

Also, why not throw in a remix from a fifties one hit wonder? Fifty bucks to anyone who hasn't heard this song at a party once in their life.

2) The 60's

Oh, the 60's. Right in the midst of the Vietnam war, the music reflects the turmoil and rebellion of the time. The first of the baby boomers were becoming young adults and following the silent generation, they had a lot to say. There's The Beatles, The Doors, The Beach Boys, The Temptations, The Rolling Stones... it was an era for bands. This was the transition of the rock age that began in the fifties and would continue through the seventies. Here are some honorable mentions, and yes, it was extremely hard to pick just two.

The Doors were known for their psychedelic rock songs and their lead singer Jim Morrison. Jim was a known drug addict and the fan base more than supported him in that fact. Their song "Light my Fire" is a representation of their music that isn't quite as dark like some of Morison's music could be. The other end of their Spectrum is the song "The End" which is rock with an ominously dark twist.

There are more genres that resulted from the sixties other than the psychedelic rock like The Doors. Another song worthy of representing the sixties is Turn! Turn! Turn! by The Byrds. The group didn't reach fame quite like other bands of their time, but their songs were still influential in their realm of music. They helped pioneer the folk rock genre, with Bob Dylan, and also had psychedelic-esque songs like The Doors and The Beatles. This is also around the time when the Grateful Dead rose from the West Coast to join in the drug and music experimentation. Jimi Hendrix also helped to expand the sounds of the late Beatles Songs like Seargant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club band.

So, a modern song that can encompass all of the sixties? Again there is absolutely no way to do that. One song though, that is comparable to the style of the doors and their heavier music with a classic chiller and darker sixties vibe is the 2014 song from The Growlers (another band surprise surprise), Empty Bones.

3) The 70's

And we're on to the seventies. Rock was getting even more metal with bands like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Boston. There's also Fleetwood Mac with the soft rock of the era and Bob Marley and his Rasta culture music. The seventies was an expansion of music like no other. The Vietnam War didn't end until 1975 and was still hotly debated even in music, like Black Sabbath's song War Pigs that was released as their opening song of their 1970 album.

Another song I'll let speak for itself-- Goodbye Blue Sky by Pink Floyd.

Now, war songs weren't the only features of this decade, and they weren't even the most prominent of songs. Classic rock developed and suburban families feared their children would be listen to the devil's music, like Fez's host parents when he and Hyde were listening to the Kiss album.

A better example of this type of rock music can come from any of Zeppelin's harder rock songs like Black Dog.

The seventies is one of the hardest generations to allude to in new music. No one does rock quite like the bands of the seventies. One band that gets it the closest is Mayday Parade. Their alternative music has a heavy emphasis on their instruments just like classic rock bands.

Another song with the sound of the seventies is from Arctic Monkeys. Their song relies heavily on their guitars, roping in the seventies feels. The intro is also similar to Pink Floyds Goodbye Blue Sky intro.

4) The 80's.

The eighties were all about "hair bands" and alternative rock. The biggest of these bands include Guns & Roses, Poison and Bon Jovi. One of the power ballads from the eighties is Bon Jovi's song, Livin' on a Prayer. Then there's Michaels Jackson's solo career with his songs like Thriller and Billie Jean. Madonna really shot to stardom in the eighties as well. She was part of the up and coming popularity of pop music with an electric-dance vibe. One iconic song of hers from 1984 is Like a Virgin.

Another totally eighties song, and one that's not very popular, is Don't Dream It's Over by Crowded House

Now for the modern twist is In the Name of Fright by the Ceremonies. The Ceremonies create a power ballad with a twist of electrical music to add to the modern flair.

And then to hit on the more electrical side of the eighties, we have the song Electric Feel by MGMT.

5) The 90's

The nineties marks the beginning of rap music. The Chronic by Dr. Dre was released in the early nineties and featured other rappers like Snoop Dogg. There was also Tupac who was iconic for his political messages within his raps and the fact that his death is still a mystery. Then there's Eminem, Ice Cube and Notorious B.I.G. So, basically all of the kings of rap started in the nineties. The rap genre has seriously changed since then though, and there's nothing quite comparable to the original style. So here's an old Snoop Dogg song to take you back and something new from his new persona Snoop Lion. (Also indulge in the intro to Gin and Juice and all its nineties greatness.)

And with that, I'm sure there's enough music to keep whoever's reading this occupied while they were bored or waiting for class or even in class or all of the above. With new technology comes new music and it's obvious to see how much diversity in styles rose in popularity as the years went on. With so many different genres of music now it's interesting to think what songs might be worth an honorable mention for the decade in fifty years.