Fashion-wise, the 80's were brutal. Hair and clothing styles were abysmal to say the least. The funny thing is when you live in that moment, in that era, it felt like the cool thing to wear and look like.
I'm only 34 but I lived my middle and early high school years in the 80's. Asking somebody like my older brother and uncles and they'll tell you it was the decade of FUN. Drugs, like cocaine especially, were hugely popular.
The 90's were fun too. Things advanced so rapidly with technological advancements in communication and data availibilty via internet, media outlets such as reality shows, etc.
I prefer the 90's era only because of my age. I'm sure most people 10 years oldr would prefer the 80's for sure.