Timeline of musical events

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This page indexes the individual year in music pages. 2000s - 1990s - 1980s - 1970s - 1960s - 1950s - 1940s - 1930s - 1920s - 1910s - 1900s - 1890s - 1880s - 1870s - 1860s - 1850s - 1840s - 1830s - 1820s - 1810s - 1800s - 1790s - 1780s - 1770s - 1760s - 1750s - 1740s - 1730s - 1720s - 1710s - 1700s - 1690s - 1680s - 1670s - 1660s - 1650s - 1640s - 1630s - 1620s - 1610s - 1600s - 1590s - 1580s - 1570s - 1560s - 1550s - 1540s - 1530s - 1520s - 1510s - 1500s - Early history

2000s

Main article: Music in the 2000s

Live 8 concerts took place in 9 countries worldwide during 2005.

• 2008 in music, 2008 in British music - Deaths of Artie Traum, LeRoi Moore, Eric Darling, Isaac Hayes, Richard Wright, Nick Reynolds
• 2007 in music, 2007 in British music - Deaths of Beverly Sills, Max Roach, Oscar Peterson, Izumi Sakai, Luciano Pavarotti and Don Arden; Live Earth, Led Zeppelin reunion; said to be the "largest demand for one show in history" due to overwhelming response at ticketing website; Radiohead splits from EMI and independently releases the highly anticipated In Rainbows as an online download with a method of payment that allows the buyer to choose their price, sparking a fair amount of controversy and praise. ^The mars volta Release one of the firsts USB Flash Drive album, as part of their The Bedlam in Goliath
• 2006 in music, 2006 in British music, 2006 in Swiss music - Deaths of James Brown and Syd Barrett.
• 2005 in music, 2005 in British music, 2005 in Swiss music - Death of Luther Vandross, Live 8 benefit concert
• 2004 in music, 2004 in British music - Death of Ray Charles; The Grey Album-sparks day of electronic disobedience by internet filesharers against EMI.
• 2003 in music, 2003 in British music - Death of Johnny Cash;
• 2002 in music, 2002 in British music - Death of Waylon Jennings, Dave Van Ronk, Layne Staley, Lisa Left-Eye Lopes and Joe Strummer;
• 2001 in music, 2001 in British music - Napster's popularity peaks; Deaths of Aaliyah, George Harrison, John Lee Hooker, John Phillips; Metallica and Dr. Dre sue Napster over illegal distribution of their music;
• 2000 in music, 2000 in British music -

List of 10 most sold albums of the 2000s:

1. The Beatles 1'' - 31 million - 2000
2. Britney Spears Oops I Did It Again - 25 million - 2000
3. Eminem The Marshall Mathers LP - 22.8 million - 2000
4. Norah Jones Come Away With Me - 22.5 million - 2002
5. Eminem The Eminem Show - 20.5 million - 2002
6. Linkin Park Hybrid Theory - 16.5 million - 2000
7. 'N Sync No Strings Attached - 16 million - 2000
8. Avril Lavigne Let Go - 15.7 million - 2002
9. Usher Confessions - 15.5 million - 2004
10. Evanescence Fallen - 15 million - 2003

It should be noted that for various reasons - including music downloading and possibly a decline in quality of pop - few albums made after 2004 have sold in amounts top albums traditionally sell, which is why all the Top 10 of the 2000s are from the first half of the decade.

1990s

Main article: Music in the 1990s

• 1999 in music, 1999 in British music - Arrival of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Slipknot, and Jennifer Lopez; Death of Rick Danko; Blur (band) - 13 (Blur album), Insane Clown Posse - The Amazing Jeckel Brothers
• 1998 in music, 1998 in British music - Arrival of Eminem; Death of Frank Sinatra and Hide; Lauryn Hill - the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill; Offspring - Americana; "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith becomes the first song by a rock band to debut at #1; Manu Chao releases Clandestino. Insane Clown Posse dropped from Disney record label Hollywood Records in order for Disney to prevent a violent Southern Baptist Church protest due to Disneyworld's Gay Days events.
• 1997 in music, 1997 in British music - Death of John Denver, Jeff Buckley, The Notorious B.I.G., Michael Hutchence ,and Velvet, Radiohead's OK Computer U2 release album Pop (album)
• 1996 in music, 1996 in British music - Death of Ella Fitzgerald, Arrival of The Spice Girls death of Tupac Shakur, and Brad Nowell, Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar, Beck's Odelay
• 1995 in music, 1995 in British music - Death of Jerry Garcia, Phyllis Hyman, Selena, Burl Ives, Eazy-E, The Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Oasis's (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, Living Colour disbands, The Battle of Britpop
• 1994 in music, 1994 in British music - Death of Kurt Cobain, arrival of Oasis(band), arrival of Weezer, Blur (band)'s Parklife
• 1993 in music, 1993 in British music - Death of Marian Anderson, Frank Zappa, Dizzy Gillespie; Aerosmith release Get a Grip which becomes their bestselling studio album worldwide with over 15 million copies sold
• 1992 in music, 1992 in British music - Death of John Cage, Yutaka Ozaki, Dr. Dre, The Chronic'U2 start the Biggest Concert of The World: Zoo TV Tour
• 1991 in music, 1991 in British music - U2 release Achtung Baby. Nirvana's Nevermind, Death of Miles Davis, Death of Freddie Mercury, Metallica's Black Album, Pearl Jam's Ten, Red Hot Chili Peppers's Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Guns N' Roses's Use Your Illusion I and II
• 1990 in music, 1990 in British music - Death of Sarah Vaughan, Leonard Bernstein, Arrival of Mariah Carey; Milli Vanilli exposed as a music fraud.

List of 10 most sold albums of the 90s:

1. Whitney Houston / Various artists The Bodyguard - 42 million - 1992
2. Shania Twain Come on Over - 36 million - 1997
3. Celine Dion Falling into You - 32 million - 1996
4. Mariah Carey Music Box - 32 million - 1993
5. Celine Dion Let's Talk About Love - 31 million - 1997
6. Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill - 30 million - 1995
7. Backstreet Boys Millennium - 30 million - 1999
8. Celine Dion / James Horner / Various artists Titanic - 30 million - 1997
9. Britney Spears Baby One More Time - 29 million - 1999
10. Michael Jackson Dangerous - 27 million - 1991

1980s

• 1989 in music, 1989 in British music - Madonna releases the hit Like a Prayer album.
• 1988 in music - Living Colour releases first studio album Vivid; Bon Jovi releases New Jersey, which charts five consecutive Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, the most ever for a hard rock album; Formation of the Traveling Wilburys, Death of Roy Orbison.
• 1987 in music - Michael Jackson releases the album Bad, which is the first and only album to have 5 consecutive #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Guns N' Roses releases Appetite for Destruction, Def Leppard releases Hysteria, U2 release the mult-platined album The Joshua Tree with the hits: With Or Without You, I Still Haven't Found... and Where The Streets Have No Name, Whitney Houston releases her second album Whitney with one of the biggest hit singles of 80s I Wanna Dance With Somebody
• 1986 in music - Aerosmith re-records "Walk This Way" with rap group Run-DMC which blends rock and rap music, introduces rap music to a mainstream audience for the first time, and marks the beginning of the resurrection of Aerosmith's career, one of rock's most remarkable comebacks; Bon Jovi releases Slippery When Wet which stays at #1 on the Billboard 200 for 15 weeks, the longest ever for a hard rock album; Death of Benny Goodman, Richard Manuel, Cliff Burton Madonna releases the hit album True Blue; Pixies form in Boston.
• 1985 in music - Death of Rick Nelson, Live Aid and Farm Aid benefit concerts, Whitney Houston releases her first self-titled album which becomes the most successful feminine debut album of all time
• 1984 in music - Death of Marvin Gaye, Jackie Wilson, release of Bob Marley & The Wailers collection Legend, the best-selling reggae album of all time; Akhnaten by Philip Glass premieres in Stuttgart, Prince releases the album and film Purple Rain, Van Halen release the Diamond-certified 1984, which contains the #1 single "Jump" and becomes their last studio album to feature David Lee Roth on vocals
• 1983 in music - Death of Muddy Waters, New Order release "Blue Monday"; Def Leppard releases Pyromania, The Police's Synchronicity tour starts
• 1982 in music - Death of Thelonious Monk, Lightnin' Hopkins, Glenn Gould, The compact disc is introduced; Michael Jackson releases Thriller, the best-selling album of all time
• 1981 in music - MTV first airs; Death of Bob Marley
• 1980 in music - Joy Division singer Ian Curtis commits suicide,Bon Scott dies, John Lennon is murdered outside the Dakota Building in New York City, accidental death of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, Death of Tim Hardin, U2 release first album: Boy.

1970s

• 1979 in music - Death of Richard Rodgers, Charles Mingus; Sony Walkman goes on sale; The Clash - London Calling, Pink Floyd's The Wall Death of Sid Vicious. Official birth of Rap music with rap group Sugarhill Gang's release of Rapper's Delight.
• 1978 in music - The Who release Who Are You, Death of Keith Moon, Arrival of Prince, Arrival of Dire Straits
• 1977 in music - The Sex Pistols release Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols; Death of Elvis Presley; Fleetwood Mac releases Rumours
• 1976 in music - Death of Paul Robeson, Phil Ochs
• 1975 in music - Death of Dmitri Shostakovich, Soviet composer and pianist, Tim Buckley; Bob Dylan begins Rolling Thunder Revue; Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run; Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks; Led Zeppelin - Physical Grafitti; Aerosmith - Toys in the Attic; Patti Smith – Horses.
• 1974 in music - Death of Duke Ellington, Nick Drake
• 1973 in music - Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon , Birth of Ferry Corsten, The Who's Quadrophenia Released
• 1972 in music - Birth of The Notorious B.I.G.The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main St.
• 1971 in music - Birth of Tupac Shakur,Snoop Dogg,Death of Igor Stravinsky, Russian composer, Death of Louis Armstrong, Death of Jim Morrison; Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV Marvin Gaye - What's Going On , The Who's Who's Next Released
• 1970 in music - The Beatles disband; Death of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin; John Lennon - John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

1960s

• 1969 in music - Death of Brian Jones; Woodstock music festival held in Bethel, New York; Birth of Tiësto and Jennifer Lopez; The Beatles - Let It Be, Bob Dylan - Nashville Skyline, The Who's Tommy (Album) Released
• 1968 in music - Van Morrison - Astral Weeks, Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet, The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland, Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin, The Beatles - The Beatles (The White Album), Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison, The Band - Music from Big Pink
• 1967 in music - Birth of Kurt Cobain; Death of Woody Guthrie, John Coltrane, Otis Redding; The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground and Nico, The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced & Axis: Bold as Love, The Doors - The Doors (with the hit single, Light My Fire), Bob Dylan - John Wesley Harding; Monterey Pop Festival,
• 1966 in music - The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds, The Beatles - Revolver, Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
• 1965 in music - The Beatles - Rubber Soul, Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited, - Like A Rolling Stone, The Rolling Stones - Out of Our Heads, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, Herman's Hermits debut; Death of Edgard Varèse
• 1964 in music - Death of Sam Cooke, Milton Babbitt; Ensembles For Synthesizer, Bill Lear invents 8-track tape cartridge; Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A Changin', British Invasion begins
• 1963 in music - First cassette tapes made by Philips, Birth of Paul Oakenfold, Birth of Whitney Houston; Death of Edith Piaf; Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
• 1962 in music - Love Me Do released as a single by the Beatles; Birth of Anthony Kiedis, Birth of Flea,
• 1961 in music - Death of Cisco Houston, Moss Hart
• 1960 in music - Birth of Bono; Death of Oscar Hammerstein II

1950s

• 1959 in music - Death of Billie Holiday, Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and Big Bopper, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian composer and guitarist, Motown Records created; Motown's first hit (Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)"); Miles Davis - Kind of Blue, .
• 1958 in music Cannonball Adderley, Somethin' Else, Bruce Dickinson, Prince, Madonna and Michael Jackson are born.
• 1957 in music - John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet in Liverpool, That'll Be the Day by Buddy Holly and The Crickets becomes a US #1 hit
• 1956 in music - The first Eurovision Song Contest is held on 24 May, Elvis Presley appears on the Ed Sullivan Show
• 1955 in music - Death of Charlie Parker, Rock Around The Clock becomes first worldwide #1 Rock and Roll record; Birth of Yo-Yo Ma, Harry James signs with Capital releasing Harry James in Hi-Fi
• 1954 in music - Elvis Presley releases That's Alright Mama on Sun Records; First Fender Stratocaster produced
• 1953 in music - Death of Hank Williams, Death of Sergey Prokofiev, Soviet composer and pianist
• 1952 in music, 1952 in music (UK) - Birth of Joe Strummer, The official UK singles chart is launched; Recording Industry Association of America (or RIAA) established
• 1951 in music - Rocket 88 is recorded by Ike Turner and hailed as the first rock 'n' roll song; The Rake's Progress by Igor Stravinsky premieres in Venice
• 1950 in music - Death of Kurt Weill, Al Jolson

1940s

• 1949 in music - Death of Lead Belly, Richard Strauss, German composer and last great champion of European Romantic classical music, Birth of Bruce Springsteen, Mark Knopfler, RCA Victor introduces 45 RPM records
• 1948 in music - Columbia Records introduces 331/3 RPM (LP) records. Birth of James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Robert Plant, John Bonham (both of Led Zeppelin).
• 1947 in music - Birth of Elton John, Bob Weir, Carlos Santana, Emmylou Harris, Arlo Guthrie, Tracy Nelson, Paul Brady
• 1946 in music - Birth of John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin bassist), Donovan, Linda Ronstadt, Marianne Faithfull, Cher, Debbie Harry, Freddie Mercury, Patti Smith.
• 1945 in music - Birth of Bob Marley, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Carly Simon, John Fogerty, Itzhak Perlman; Death of Jerome Kern; Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten premieres in London
• 1944 in music - Birth of Diana Ross, Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin guitarist), Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, Marvin Hamlisch; Disappearance of Glenn Miller
• 1943 in music - Birth of George Harrison, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Jim Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, Robbie Robertson, John Denver, Richard Manuel, Gavin Bryars; Death of Lorenz Hart, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian composer, ultra virtuoso pianist and conductor, Formation of Rodgers and Hammerstein
• 1942 in music - Births of Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Brian Jones, Jerry Garcia, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Carole King, Rick Danko, Lou Reed, Paul Butterfield, Jerry Jeff Walker, John P. Hammond; Death of George M. Cohan
• 1941 in music - Les Paul builds one of the first solid-body electric guitars; Birth of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Aaron Neville, Charlie Watts, Neil Diamond, Richie Havens, Wilson Pickett
• 1940 in music - Birth of Frank Zappa, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Phil Ochs, Levon Helm, Smokey Robinson, Rick Nelson, Tim Hardin, Dionne Warwick

1930s

• 1939 in music - Birth of Judy Collins, Marvin Gaye, Ray Manzarek
• 1938 in music - Birth of Peter Yarrow, Gordon Lightfoot, Death of Robert Johnson, Benny Goodman presents a jazz concert in Carnegie Hall; Death of Dan W. Quinn
• 1937 in music - Death of George Gershwin, Birth of Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Garth Hudson, Tom Paxton, Phillip Glass
• 1936 in music - Birth of Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Kris Kristofferson, Bill Wyman, Dave Van Ronk, Steve Reich, Billboard Magazine publishes first U.S. music chart
• 1935 in music - Birth of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Phillips, La Monte Young, Terry Riley; Audiovox produce first electric bass guitar; Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin premieres in New York
• 1934 in music - Birth of Leonard Cohen, Jackie Wilson, Deaths of Elgar and Holst
• 1933 in music - Birth of Willie Nelson
• 1932 in music - Birth of Johnny Cash, Death of Sousa; Birth of John Williams; Adolph Rickenbacker produces first electric guitar; Bell Labs creates first stereophonic sound recordings
• 1931 in music - Birth of Sam Cooke
• 1930 in music - Birth of Ray Charles, Odetta

1920s

• 1929 in music -
• 1928 in music - The Threepenny Opera by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht (libretto) premieres in Berlin; Bo Diddley is born.
• 1927 in music - Birth of Harry Belafonte monkeys are cool
• 1926 in music - Birth of Chuck Berry; Turandot by Giacomo Puccini premieres in Milan
• 1925 in music - Birth of B. B. King, Big record labels begin using electric microphones for recording; 78 RPM adopted as standard for records; BBC makes first radio broadcast in stereo; Wozzeck by Alban Berg premieres in Berlin
• 1924 in music - Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue premieres in New York, Death of Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini, Italian opera composer
• 1923 in music - Birth of Hank Williams, First recordings by Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, and many other African-American artists
• 1922 in music - Birth of Ali Akbar Khan, The first commercial radio station in the United States begins broadcasting
• 1921 in music
• 1920 in music - Birth of Ravi Shankar, Isaac Stern; Death of Alberto Nepomuceno, Brazilian composer, pianist, organist and conductor; Vladimir Horowitz's first recital

1910s

• 1919 in music - Birth of Pete Seeger, Vladimir Horowitz graduates at the Kiev Conservatory, playing Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto (Rach 3)
• 1918 in music - Phonograph cylinders become obsolete, - Death of Claude Debussy
• 1917 in music - Birth of John Lee Hooker, First hit jazz recordings by Original Dixieland Jass Band
• 1916 in music
• 1915 in music - Birth of Billie Holiday, Tom Brown starts billing his group as a "Jass Band"; Birth of Frank Sinatra
• 1914 in music - St. Louis Blues published; first calypso music recordings
• 1913 in music - Birth of Muddy Waters, Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is premiered in Paris.
• 1912 in music - Birth of Woody Guthrie, Lightnin' Hopkins, John Cage; Vladimir Horowitz, enters the Kiev Conservatory
• 1911 in music - Birth of Robert Johnson, Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss premieres in Dresden, Death of Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer and conductor
• 1910 in music

1900s

• 1909 in music - Elektra by Richard Strauss premieres in Dresden, Sergey Rachmaninoff finishes composing his 3rd Piano Concerto in D Minor, one of the greatest Piano Concerti ever composed and a great challenge to ultra virtuosi
• 1908 in music
• 1907 in music
• 1906 in music - Dmitri Shostakowich, soviet composer and pianist, Victor begins selling the Victrola phonograph player for $15.00
• 1905 in music - The Merry Widow by Franz Lehár premieres in Vienna; Salome by Richard Strauss premieres in Dresden
• 1904 in music - Death of Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer, Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini premieres in Milan
• 1903 in music
• 1902 in music - Birth of Richard Rodgers, Pelléas et Mélisande by Claude Debussy premieres in Paris
• 1901 in music - Birth of Louis Armstrong, Death of Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer; Sergey Rachmaninoff plays all movements of his Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor in a public performance
• 1900 in music - Tosca by Giacomo Puccini premieres in Rome, Sergey Rachmaninoff plays the 2nd and 3rd movements of his Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor in a public performance

1890s

• 1899 in music - Birth of Duke Ellington.
• 1898 in music - Birth of George Gershwin, Paul Robeson
• 1897 in music - Ragtime music becomes popular in the United States; Death of Brahms, Birth of Marian Anderson
• 1896 in music - Death of Carlos Gomes, Brazilian composer and opera composer and Anton Bruckner, Austrian composer and organist
• 1895 in music - Birth of Oscar Hammerstein II, George W. Johnson becomes first Afro-American recording artist with The Laughing Song
• 1894 in music - Birth of Anton Rubinstein, Russian composer and ultra virtuoso pianist
• 1893 in music - Death of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikowsky, Russian composer
• 1892 in music - Dan W. Quinn makes first recordings in New York City
• 1891 in music - Birth of Sergey Prokofiev, Soviet composer and pianist
• 1890 in music - John Philip Sousa makes first recordings with Columbia Phonograph Company

1880s

• 1889 in music - Effie Stewart records first serious classical music at Edison's Menlo Park; First Phonograph Parlor opens in San Francisco
• 1888 in music - Birth of Lead Belly, Death of Charles-Valentin Alkan, French composer and ultra virtuoso pianist, Wax phonograph cylinders commercially marketed; Emile Berliner invents lateral-cut disc records
• 1887 in music - Birth of Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian composer and guitarist
• 1886 in music - Franz Liszt dies
• 1885 in music - Birth of Jerome Kern
• 1884 in music
• 1883 in music - Birth of Edgard Varèse, Death of Richard Wagner, German composer
• 1882 in music - Birth of Igor Stravinsky, Russian composer, Parsifal by Richard Wagner premieres in Bayreuth
• 1881 in music
• 1880 in music

1870s

• 1879 in music
• 1878 in music - Birth of George M. Cohan
• 1877 in music - Phonograph and phonograph cylinder invented by Thomas Alva Edison
• 1876 in music - Siegfried and Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner premiere in Bayreuth
• 1875 in music - Birth of Joseph-Maurice Ravel, French composer and pianist; Carmen by Georges Bizet premieres in Paris
• 1874 in music - Boris Gudonov by Modest Mussorgsky premieres in Saint Petersburg; Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II premieres in Vienna; Richard Wagner concludes Götterdämmerung, finishing the The Ring Cycle
• 1873 in music Birth of Sergey Rachmaninoff, Russian composer, ultra virtuoso pianist and conductor
• 1872 in music
• 1871 in music - Richard Wagner concludes Siegfried; Aida by Giuseppe Verdi premieres in Cairo
• 1870 in music - Die Walküre (the Valkyrie) by Richard Wagner premieres in Munich

1860s

• 1869 in music - Death of Hector Berlioz, French composer, Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner premieres in Munich
• 1868 in music - Death of Gioachino Rossini, Italian composer, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by Richard Wagner premières in Munich; Ein deutsches Requiem by Johannes Brahms premières in Bremen; Wiegenlied by Brahms (Brahms' Lullaby)
• 1867 in music
• 1866 in music - Birth of French composer Erik Satie.
• 1865 in music - Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner premieres in Munich, marking the beginning of the end for traditional tonality
• 1864 in music Birth of Richard Strauss, German composer, Alberto Nepomuceno, Brazilian composer, pianist, organist and conductor
• 1863 in music
• 1862 in music - Birth of Claude Debussy
• 1861 in music -
• 1860 in music - Birth of Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer and conductor

1850s

• 1859 in music - Faust by Charles Gounod premieres in Paris; Richard Wagner concludes Tristan und Isolde
• 1858 in music - Birth of Medardo Rosso and Giacomo Puccini, Italian opera composer, Orphée aux enfers by Jacques Offenbach, the first operetta, premieres in Paris; Hector Berlioz writes Les Troyens
• 1857 in music - First public performance of Franz Liszt's Piano Sonata in B Minor
• 1856 in music - Death of Robert Schuman, German composer and pianist; Richard Wagner, German composer, concludes Die Walküre
• 1855 in music
• 1854 in music - Richard Wagner, German composer, concludes Das Rheingold
• 1853 in music - Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi premieres in Rome; La traviata by Verdi premieres in Venice
• 1852 in music
• 1851 in music - Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi premieres in Venice
• 1850 in music - Lohengrin by Richard Wagner premieres in Weimar; Foster's Plantation Melodies by Stephen Foster, including "Camptown Races"

1840s

• 1849 in music - Death of Frédéric Chopin, Polish composer and pianist
• 1848 in music - Death of Gaetano Donizetti, Italian opera composer
• 1847 in music - "Oh! Susanna" by Stephen Foster published
• 1846 in music - Adolphe Sax invents the saxophone
• 1845 in music - Tannhäuser by Richard Wagner premières in Dresden
• 1844 in music
• 1843 in music - Minstrel show premieres in United States; The Flying Dutchman by Richard Wagner premieres in Dresden
• 1842 in music - "Lisztomania" sweeps Europe
• 1841 in music - Birth of Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer
• 1840 in music - Birth of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer; Death of Niccolò Paganini, Italian composer and ultra virtuoso violinist

1830s

• 1839 in music
• 1838 in music
• 1837 in music
• 1836 in music - Birth of Carlos Gomes, Brazilian composer and opera composer, Les Huguenots by Giacomo Meyerbeer premieres in Paris
• 1835 in music - Death of Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini, Italian opera composer, Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti premieres in Naples
• 1834 in music - Die Neue Zeitschrift für Musik first published by Robert Schumann
• 1833 in music - Johannes Brahms born
• 1832 in music
• 1831 in music
• 1830 in music

1820s

• 1829 in music - Birth of Anton Rubinstein, Russian composer and ultra virtuoso pianist
• 1828 in music - Franz Schubert dies
• 1827 in music - Ludwig van Beethoven dies; Winterreise by Franz Schubert
• 1826 in music - Death of Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber, German opera composer, String Quartet No. 14 in C Sharp minor by Ludwig van Beethoven
• 1825 in music - Songs from Sir Walter Scott by Franz Schubert, including "Ellens dritter Gesang" (Schubert's Ave Maria)
• 1824 in music - Birth of Anton Bruckner, Austrian composer and organist; Beethoven's 9th Symphony
• 1823 in music - Die schöne Müllerin by Franz Schubert
• 1822 in music
• 1821 in music - Der Freischütz by Carl Maria von Weber, premieres in Berlin
• 1820 in music

1810s

• 1819 in music - Birth of Clara Schumann, composer and pianist;
• 1818 in music - Hammerklavier sonate by Ludwig van Beethoven
• 1817 in music
• 1816 in music - Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) by Gioacchino Rossini, premieres in Rome
• 1815 in music
• 1814 in music
• 1813 in music Birth of Charles-Valentin Alkan, French composer and ultra virtuoso pianist, Richard Wagner, German composer and Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer
• 1812 in music
• 1811 in music - Franz Liszt born
• 1810 in music - Birth of Frédéric Chopin and Robert Schumann, Fifth Piano Concerto Emperor by Ludwig van Beethoven

1800s

• 1809 in music - Birth of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, German composer, pianist, organist and conductor; Death of Joseph Haydn, Austrian composer
• 1808 in music - Beethoven completes his 6th Symphony "Pastoral", Beethoven's 5th Symphony
• 1807 in music - La Vestale by Gaspare Spontini
• 1806 in music - Fourth Piano Concerto,Violin Concerto by Ludwig van Beethoven
• 1805 in music - Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven
• 1804 in music - Symphony No. 3 'Eroica' by Ludwig van Beethoven
• 1803 in music - Birth of Hector Berlioz, French composer
• 1802 in music - Bach's Sonatas and partitas for solo violin are published by Bote and Bock
• 1801 in music - and Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini, Italian opera composer, Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata
• 1800 in music -

1790s

• 1799 in music -
• 1798 in music -
• 1797 in music - Birth of Franz Schubert, Austrian composer and pianist and Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizecci, Italian opera composer
• 1796 in music -
• 1795 in music -
• 1794 in music -
• 1793 in music -
• 1792 in music - Birth of Gioachino Antonio Rossini, Italian composer
• 1791 in music - Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute); death of Mozart
• 1790 in music -

1780s

• 1789 in music - Mozart's Così fan tutte
• 1788 in music - Death of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German composer and keyboardist
• 1787 in music - Mozart's Don Giovanni
• 1786 in music - Birth of Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber, German opera composer, Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro (The marriage of Figaro)
• 1785 in music - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composes his Piano Concerto No. 21
• 1784 in music -
• 1783 in music -
• 1782 in music - Birth of Niccolò Paganini, Italian composer and ultra virtuoso violinist; Death of Johann Christian Bach, German composer, Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio)
• 1781 in music -
• 1780 in music -

1770s

• 1779 in music -
• 1778 in music -
• 1777 in music - Il mondo della luna by Joseph Haydn, premieres in Esterháza, Hungary
• 1776 in music -
• 1775 in music -
• 1774 in music -
• 1773 in music -
• 1772 in music -
• 1771 in music -
• 1770 in music - Ludwig van Beethoven born

1760s

• 1769 in music -
• 1768 in music -
• 1767 in music -
• 1766 in music -
• 1765 in music -
• 1764 in music - Death of Jean-Philippe Rameau, French composer and music theorist
• 1763 in music -
• 1762 in music - Orfeo ed Euridice by Christophe Willibald Gluck, premieres in Vienna
• 1761 in music -
• 1760 in music - La buona figliuola by Niccolo Piccini, premieres in Rome

1750s

• 1759 in music - George Frideric Handel dies
• 1758 in music -
• 1757 in music - Death of Domenico Scarlatti, Italian composer and harpsichordist
• 1756 in music - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart born
• 1755 in music -
• 1754 in music -
• 1753 in music -
• 1752 in music -
• 1751 in music -
• 1750 in music - Johann Sebastian Bach dies

1740s

• 1749 in music - Bach's Mass in B Minor premiere
• 1748 in music -
• 1747 in music - Johann Sebastian Bach finishes his Musical Offering
• 1746 in music -
• 1745 in music -
• 1744 in music - Johann Sebastian Bach finishes the Book II from The Well-Tempered Clavier
• 1743 in music -
• 1742 in music - première of Messiah by George Frederick Handel, in Dublin
• 1741 in music - Bach's Goldberg Variations are published
• 1740 in music - Death of Antonio Lucio Vivaldi, Italian composer and violinist

1730s

• 1739 in music -
• 1738 in music -
• 1737 in music -
• 1736 in music -
• 1735 in music - Birth of Johann Christian Bach, German composer
• 1734 in music -
• 1733 in music - La serva padrona by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, the first opera buffa, premieres in Naples; Hippolyte et Aricie by Jean-Philippe Rameau, premieres in Paris, Death of François Couperin, French composer and harpsichordist
• 1732 in music - Joseph Haydn born
• 1731 in music -
• 1730 in music -

1720s

• 1729 in music -
• 1728 in music - The Beggar's Opera by John Gay and Johann Christoph Pepusch, premieres in London
• 1727 in music - Zadok the Priest (the coronation anthem) by George Frideric Handel, Johann Sebastian Bach finishes and presents his St Matthew Passion
• 1726 in music -
• 1725 in music - publication of Twelve concerti, Op. 8 by Antonio Vivaldi, including the Four Seasons
• 1724 in music - Giulio Cesare by George Frideric Handel premières in London, Johann Sebastian Bach presents his St John Passion
• 1723 in music - Vivaldi composes The Seasons
• 1722 in music - Johann Sebastian Bach finishes the Book I from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Traité de l'harmonie by Jean-Philippe Rameau causes a revolution in music theory.
• 1721 in music -
• 1720 in music - Johann Sebastian Bach presents his Brandenburg Concertos to Christian Ludwig

1710s

• 1719 in music -
• 1718 in music -
• 1717 in music -
• 1716 in music -
• 1715 in music -
• 1714 in music - Birth of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German composer
• 1713 in music - Death: Arcangelo Corelli, Italian composer and violinist
• 1712 in music -
• 1711 in music - Rinaldo by Handel, premieres in London, the first all-Italian opera performed in London
• 1710 in music - Agrippina by Handel, premieres in Venice

1700s

• 1709 in music -
• 1708 in music -
• 1707 in music -
• 1706 in music - Johann Pachelbel dies
• 1705 in music -
• 1704 in music -
• 1703 in music -
• 1702 in music -
• 1701 in music -
• 1700 in music -

1690s

• 1699 in music -
• 1698 in music -
• 1697 in music -
• 1696 in music -
• 1695 in music - Henry Purcell dies
• 1694 in music -
• 1693 in music -
• 1692 in music -
• 1691 in music -
• 1690 in music -

1680s

• 1689 in music - Dido and Aeneas, opera, by Henry Purcell and Nahum Tate (libretto) performed
• 1688 in music -
• 1687 in music - Death of Jean-Baptiste Lully, French composer
• 1686 in music -
• 1685 in music - Birth of: Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friedrich Häendel (German composers, organists and harpsichordists); Domenico Scarlatti, Italian composer and harpsichordist
• 1684 in music -
• 1683 in music - Birth of Jean-Philippe Rameau, French composer and music theorist
• 1682 in music -
• 1681 in music -
• 1680 in music -

1670s

• 1679 in music -
• 1678 in music - Birth of Antonio Lucio Vivaldi, Italian composer and violinist
• 1677 in music -
• 1676 in music -
• 1675 in music -
• 1674 in music -
• 1673 in music -
• 1672 in music -
• 1671 in music -
• 1670 in music -

1660s

• 1669 in music -
• 1668 in music - Birth of François Couperin, French composer and harpsichordist
• 1667 in music -
• 1666 in music -
• 1665 in music -
• 1664 in music -
• 1663 in music -
• 1662 in music -
• 1661 in music -
• 1660 in music - Birth of Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer and harpsichordist

1650s

• 1659 in music - Henry Purcell born
• 1658 in music -
• 1657 in music -
• 1656 in music -
• 1655 in music -
• 1654 in music -
• 1653 in music - Arcangelo Corelli, Johann Pachelbel born
• 1652 in music -
• 1651 in music - La Calisto by Francesco Cavalli
• 1650 in music -

1640s

• 1649 in music - Giasone by Francesco Cavalli, premieres in Venice, the first opera to separate aria and recitative
• 1648 in music -
• 1647 in music -
• 1646 in music -
• 1645 in music -
• 1644 in music - Ormindo by Francesco Cavalli, premieres in Venice
• 1643 in music - death of Claudio Monteverdi
• 1642 in music - L'incoronazione di Poppea by Claudio Monteverdi, premiered in Venice
• 1641 in music -
• 1640 in music - Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria by Claudio Monteverdi, premieres in Venice

1630s

• 1639 in music -
• 1638 in music -
• 1637 in music -
• 1636 in music -
• 1635 in music -
• 1634 in music -
• 1633 in music -
• 1632 in music - Birth of Jean-Baptiste Lully, French composer
• 1631 in music -
• 1630 in music -

1620s

• 1629 in music -
• 1628 in music -
• 1627 in music -
• 1626 in music -
• 1625 in music -
• 1624 in music -
• 1623 in music -
• 1622 in music -
• 1621 in music -
• 1620 in music -

1610s

• 1619 in music -
• 1618 in music -
• 1617 in music -
• 1616 in music -
• 1615 in music -
• 1614 in music - Marco da Gagliano, Sacrarum cantionum
• 1613 in music -
• 1612 in music -
• 1611 in music - William Byrd, Fantasia a 6, No.3
• 1610 in music -

1600s

• 1609 in music -
• 1608 in music - Arianna by Claudio Monteverdi
• 1607 in music - La Favola D'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi
• 1606 in music -
• 1605 in music -
• 1604 in music -
• 1603 in music -
• 1602 in music -
• 1601 in music -
• 1600 in music - the first oratorio: Rappresentatione di Anima, et di Corpo by Emilio de' Cavalieri

1590s

• 1599 in music -
• 1598 in music -
• 1597 in music - John Dowland's First Book of Lute Songs; Dafne, the first known opera
• 1596 in music -
• 1595 in music -
• 1594 in music - Orlande de Lassus completes Lagrime di San Pietro (posthumously published); Orlande de Lassus dies
• 1593 in music -
• 1592 in music -
• 1591 in music -
• 1590 in music - Claudio Monteverdi, Il secondo libro de madrigali a 5

1580s

• 1589 in music -
• 1588 in music -
• 1587 in music -
• 1586 in music -
• 1585 in music -
• 1584 in music -
• 1583 in music -
• 1582 in music -
• 1581 in music -
• 1580 in music - Appearance of three Fantasias for viol consort by William Byrd

1570s

• 1579 in music -
• 1578 in music -
• 1577 in music -
• 1576 in music -
• 1575 in music -
• 1574 in music -
• 1573 in music -
• 1572 in music -
• 1571 in music -
• 1570 in music -

1560s

• 1569 in music -
• 1568 in music -
• 1567 in music - Birth of Claudio Monteverdi, Italian composer and singer
• 1566 in music -
• 1565 in music -
• 1564 in music -
• 1563 in music -
• 1562 in music -
• 1561 in music -
• 1560 in music - First works for Viol Consort attributed to William Byrd

1550s

• 1559 in music -
• 1558 in music -
• 1557 in music -
• 1556 in music -
• 1555 in music -
• 1554 in music -
• 1553 in music -
• 1552 in music -
• 1551 in music -
• 1550 in music -

1540s

• 1549 in music -
• 1548 in music -
• 1547 in music -
• 1546 in music -
• 1545 in music -
• 1544 in music -
• 1543 in music -
• 1542 in music -
• 1541 in music -
• 1540 in music - Thomas Tallis begins writing his first works for the Latin church service.

1530s

• 1539 in music -
• 1538 in music - printing of the first protestant hymn-book, Ein Hubsch new Gesangbuch; publication of the first book of madrigals by Maddalena Casulana, the first printed book of music by a woman in European history.
• 1537 in music -
• 1536 in music -
• 1535 in music -
• 1534 in music -
• 1533 in music -
• 1532 in music -
• 1531 in music -
• 1530 in music -

1520s

• 1529 in music -
• 1525 in music - birth of Palestrina
• 1522 in music - death of Jean Mouton (c. 1459 – October 30, 1522)
• 1521 in music - death of Josquin
• 1520 in music -

1510s

• 1517 in music -
• 1516 in music -
• 1511 in music -
• 1510 in music -

1500s

• 1507 in music -
• 1502 in music -
• 1501 in music - publication of Harmonice Musices Odhecaton by Ottaviano Petrucci, the first printed collection of polyphonic music
• 1500 in music -

Early history

• 1499 in music
• 1490s in music
• 1360s in music Guillaume de Machaut composes Messe de Nostre Dame, the first complete polyphonic ordinary of the mass
• 20th century BC in music