Sure there were a lot of great albums released during that time period, and a lot of great albums released every year since then. Why would you think that the entire human race suddenly lost the ability to make good music within the span of two decades?

I'm not talking about music in general, I'm talking about metal. There may be the same output but there's not the same quality (in my opinion).

Are you sure you don't mean the sort of metal you like? Dio is dead, Metallica is off their game, and Sabbath is resting on laurels.

If we're just talking about metal I'd actually say the quality right now is as good if not better than the late 80s/early 90s. There's certainly a lot more diversity.

No substance
 

I think alot of the music from this generation is lacking substance. Sex,drugs,
and I believe people are tired of hearing the same repitition, But its selling.
The radio stations are playing it. but is anybody really listening to the lyrics and not just the beat. we wouldnt teach are children about some of the things that we hear in the songs, but will let the radio teach them with the garbage they are playing. Real Music With Substance or a lack there of.

seeing your nick just reminds me of the boy band Let Loose

which I actually used to really like

Well, if that's the case, that's great. Who would you recommend?

It depends what you're into I guess, but here are some of my favorite metal tracks from the past 5 years. I'd definitely recommend all of these bands:

There's not too much to complain about. As usual, if you look around, there's bound to be good sounds. The fact that you don't even have to leave home and travel to Hell and Back to hear and even buy them is pretty cool.

Still, I do have some complaints and worries but there are not really directed on the quality.

The main thing about a lot of the mainstream music is that it sounds too compressed, a small complaint I have had since the 90's - I'm more of a vinyl listener, actually. I even love my Electronic music on a good 12 Inch disc with a huge cover for more effective graphics.

Also, a lot of Independent/Unsigned bands have been put into the position of being both the artist and promoter, which I think sometimes puts more of a load on the musicians than what should be dealt with. This usually takes out a lot of spontaneity and raw edge - the bands setting the barriers themselves. I know, it's a more competitive arena out there, and that means a lot of careful planning to sound and look like your chosen "genre." On the plus side, there's a better control of the money being earned, although some may have to watch out for the usual dodgy Distributors, and now clever Internet thieves if one's not careful.

It's a good time to be creating, though. The Pop Scene will always be the Pop Scene, although I do have to say that on the plus side of the stuff I don't listen to unless I catch it by You Tube or Accident is that there's more beats and attitude to it now despite the abundance of soft music still being played in some areas of the Industry. I don't know if any one of you would like to go back when The Carpenters were all around the charts with their safer than safe sounds or when FM radio played it too safe with it's Styx/Journey overkill when it turned into a business in The US. As for the so-called Magical 60's that did have a lot of great stuff achieving success in an era when the industry was far from it's mega-million dollar world, there was a lot of crap to rebel against as well, trust me.

I'm of a few generations ago, but I do still have some interest in the more underground areas that are still happening now.

This is a great post. Really well said man!