How did you come up with that? And what is segmented when it's at home?

Were you around during the 50s and 60s?

Well the sales would suggest that. Anyway, believe what you want. I'm leaving it at that.

Were they ever relevant?

i liked what i liked if it was popular great, if it was un-popular even better.

i really don't care about the Charts "Top ten" or wthv.. >_>

I don't get that. I've never minded liking something if it was popular or not.

I do think there is probably more of a disconnect now between what the media hype is for something and what the general interest is. Lady Gaga for example is probably better known for her image than for her music.

I don't know that that's necessarily true. I'd be willing to bet that back in the 1950s and 1960s it was a much narrower age demographic purchasing music.

I think they are a measure of sales, it doesn't demonstrate who the popular or talented artists is for me.

I think it does measure popularity, but not talent, of course. As has always been the case.

And of course they are relevant, and have always been, but not to everyone.

It was probably less segmented even in the 50s, there were fewer genres. Disco in the 70s is probably a good example of a genre reaching across age groups, even some old 60s stars did disco songs for their fans. And in the 60s a group like The Beatles, while not liked by everyone, were covered by artists from various genres and age groups.

I really doubt that many people born before, say, 1935 were fans of the Beatles.

Anyway, my point was simply this: People who were middle-aged and older during the 50s and 60s did not typically buy many records because, unlike their children, it's not something they grew up with. That's not to say those people didn't like music, it's just that they didn't consume it in the same way the younger generation of that time did. As a result of this, the music that made the charts during those decades tended to be skewed toward the listenening habits of the youth which, obviously, doesn't give you the whole picture.

Even if in that earlier period of the 50s and 60s they didn't actually buy music maybe many of the middle-aged people at least heard the music on the radio or TV and had more awareness of chart music than most people probably do now. And my point about music of some periods being remade for other audiences wasn't made flippantly. See The Hollyridge Strings and the success they had.

The Hollyridge Strings | AllMusic