As someone who grew up during this era, I find some of the nostalgic preferences of today's culture to be amusing and nearly random.
In addition to ABBA, others that come to mind are Queen and Bob Ross. Not that there's anything wrong with these people, but if you were to go back in time and ask around, I think the overall response would be "why them in particular?"
Queen, for example, had a few great songs, but Supertramp overall was better band with a similar musical aesthetic. I have no idea why Queen is now considered one of the greatest acts of all time, while Supertramp is more or less forgotten.
ABBA had a bunch of lite rock/pop hits, but to see them talked about seriously in The London Review of Books in 2025 is downright hilarious to me.
Supertramp were bigger in the US than the UK/Australia (for example) where Queen were a much more popular group.
Similarly, ABBA were a phenomenon that rivalled Beatlemania in Australia (although I think a touch less so in the UK) where the US largely ignored them in period.
In addition to ABBA, others that come to mind are Queen and Bob Ross. Not that there's anything wrong with these people, but if you were to go back in time and ask around, I think the overall response would be "why them in particular?"
Queen, for example, had a few great songs, but Supertramp overall was better band with a similar musical aesthetic. I have no idea why Queen is now considered one of the greatest acts of all time, while Supertramp is more or less forgotten.
ABBA had a bunch of lite rock/pop hits, but to see them talked about seriously in The London Review of Books in 2025 is downright hilarious to me.