It's a good question. I suspect the 50s were a better time to be born because you got to enjoy the 60s when things were getting better rather than worse and when you went looking for a job you could easily get one. But you did have to live through the 70s which were shite except for the music. But if you were born in the 70s you'd be too young to experience them and then you could burst out in the 80s with no social conscience and thinking purely about me me me. This makes life a lot simpler and you'd find being selfish quite natural instead of being tormented by it. I was born in the 60s. Not complaining. I haven't had to fight any wars.
Anything from the 1950's and onward would do me, pretty happy being born late 70's myself. But it's probably more to do where you were born, not when. Growing up in the 80's and 90's for me has been fantastic!
I can remember Sputnik, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the rise of The Beatles and I was a teenager during the swinging 60's, the three day week and power cuts, school friends fathers losing their jobs, went to University in the 70's and certainly agree with Glidd about the music. There was tremendous optimism in the 50's and a sense of rapidly advancing technology moving into space. 2000 seemed the distant future where we would all be driving hover cars and going to the moon for holidays. I am of my time and comfortable with it.
I was born in the 1940's and look what we had... Hitler, Super food like Spam and dried egg. Cosy nights n the air raid shelter. We also had people like Geoff Duke, John Surtees and riders that make the MGP brigade look like whimps.
