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Guess the Year: Music History Challenge
Think you know your music history? Ready to test how well you can place songs in their era? This musical time machine challenges you to guess exactly when famous songs were released. No peeking at the answers until you've written down your guesses!
How to Play

1

For each song, write down the year you think it was released

2

Score yourself:
  • Exact year = 3 points
  • Within 1 year = 2 points
  • Within 2 years = 1 point

3

Check the answers at the end - add up your points to see how you did!
Classic Rock
  1. "Stairway to Heaven" - Led Zeppelin
  1. "Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen
  1. "Hotel California" - Eagles
  1. "Sweet Child O' Mine" - Guns N' Roses
  1. "Sweet Home Alabama" - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Pop Hits
  1. "Like a Virgin" - Madonna
  1. "Billie Jean" - Michael Jackson
  1. "I Want It That Way" - Backstreet Boys
  1. "...Baby One More Time" - Britney Spears
  1. "Shape of You" - Ed Sheeran
The Alternative Scene
  1. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana
  1. "Creep" - Radiohead
  1. "Mr. Brightside" - The Killers
  1. "Seven Nation Army" - The White Stripes
  1. "Yellow" - Coldplay
One-Hit Wonders
  1. "Macarena" - Los Del Rio
  1. "Take On Me" - a-ha
  1. "Come On Eileen" - Dexys Midnight Runners
  1. "Mambo No. 5" - Lou Bega
  1. "Somebody That I Used To Know" - Gotye
Finished? Let's see how you did!
Scroll down to see the answers…
Answers…
Classic Rock
  • "Stairway to Heaven" - Led Zeppelin (1971)
  • "Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen (1975)
  • "Hotel California" - Eagles (1976)
  • "Sweet Child O' Mine" - Guns N' Roses (1987)
  • "Sweet Home Alabama" - Lynyrd Skynyrd (1974)
Pop Hits
  • "Like a Virgin" - Madonna (1984)
  • "Billie Jean" - Michael Jackson (1983)
  • "I Want It That Way" - Backstreet Boys (1999)
  • "...Baby One More Time" - Britney Spears (1998)
  • "Shape of You" - Ed Sheeran (2017)
Alternative Scene
  • "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana (1991)
  • "Creep" - Radiohead (1992)
  • "Mr. Brightside" - The Killers (2003)
  • "Seven Nation Army" - The White Stripes (2003)
  • "Yellow" - Coldplay (2000)
One-Hit Wonders
  • "Macarena" - Los Del Rio (1996)
  • "Take On Me" - a-ha (1985)
  • "Come On Eileen" - Dexys Midnight Runners (1982)
  • "Mambo No. 5" - Lou Bega (1999)
  • "Somebody That I Used To Know" - Gotye (2011)
How Did You Score?
0-10 points:
Music Time Traveler
(Needs some calibration!)
11-25 points:
Casual Music Historian
26-40 points:
Serious Music Buff
41+ points:
Human Music Encyclopedia
The trickiest ones? Many people place "Stairway to Heaven" later than 1971, and are surprised that "Mr. Brightside" came out as far back as 2003. And "Blue Monday" in 1983 often catches people off guard because it sounds so ahead of its time…
How did you do? Challenge your friends to beat your score!
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