A Century of
Sound
and Rhythm
From Vinyl to Streaming
Exploring the transformation of music trends, genres, and artists collaborations across the century.
By Ho Do Minh Quan November 8, 2025
Throughout human history, in both good times and hard times, people have always found joy in expressing their ideas and feelings through music. We were born with music through the songs from our childhood, we grow up with the music of our time, and we enjoy the music from the generations before us.
No one knows exactly how many songs have been made or all the people behind them, but we all know how music has been and always will be an important part of our lives. Today, we embark on a journey into a slice of our long music history, exploring the story of Sound and Rhythm.
"Without music, life would be a mistake."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
MUSIC DIVERSITY ACROSS DECADES
A Legacy
of Genres
As we journey through the decades, we see how different types of music emerged and evolved. Jazz filled the speakeasies of the 1920s, rock exploded in the 1960s, and the 2000s and 2010s brought a diversity with countless new genres. Each era left its mark, and together they tell the story of how music production and diversity changed over time.
As technology advanced, allowing music to be shared among wider groups of people, more music was produced. The visualization shows this dramatic growth from the early decades through to the 2010s, reflecting how recording technology and distribution methods democratized music creation.
As production increased, so did genres, which became richer over time as new genres emerged from the combination of older ones.
ℹ️ Hover each bar to reveal the genre details and decade summary
Music is a legacy that is passed onto us by the last generation. Each generation’s music built upon the last and further enhanced it with the taste of the current cultural movement. This happens alongside other pop culture like fashion and films, creating a continuous stream where music from one decade influences the next and connects people across all eras
TRACKS AND GENRES EVOLUTION
A Journey
Through Sound
The sound of music itself has transformed over time. What started as acoustic recordings gradually gave way to electronic production. Music became louder and more energetic, and the emotional tone shifted with each decade. Through danceability, energy, acousticness, and other characteristics, we can hear how the very nature of music changed across the century.
ℹ️ Hover the bars to show the decade music shape in the radar chart
"Music is the literature of the heart; it commences where speech ends."
- Alphonse de Lamartine
ℹ️ Hover the lines to reveal the music features details
ARTIST NETWORKS AND CONNECTIONS
A Lens
Into Collaboration
Artists work by mixing different sounds into rhythms to create the music we hear. In earlier decades, artists often worked alone or within small local groups. But as digital technology emerged, these networks grew bigger. Artists began connecting across different styles, different eras, and different places.
1950s
Playlist source: Spotify. Retrieved from open.spotify.com/playlist/1NAvBnDnwslhdNC9gNJ16D
Use mouse scroll to zoom. Node size represents number of collaborations.