Walkman Named Top Music Invention

(MYFOX NATIONAL) - The original Sony Walkman, which just celebrated its 30th anniversary, was named the top music invention of the last 50 years by leading gadget magazine T3 magazine, according to the London Telegraph .

Despite its simplicity and awkward, clunky size, the Walkman beat out CDs and the iPod because it revolutionized the way we listen to music.

"It changed the way we access music, changed how often we could access music, and changed a generation," T3's Kat Hanniford said.

The first Walkman model was the Walkman TPS-L2. It was manufactured for retail after "the original Walkman was created for the co-founder of Sony, Akio Morita, who wanted to be able to listen to operas during his frequent plane trips between Japan and the United States."

Demand for the Walkman spread quickly as 50 million units sold for about $200 each in 10 years.

T3's list of Top Most Important Musical Innovations of the last 50 years:

1. Sony Walkman
2. MP3 format
3. Apple iPod
4. 1st Generation CD
5. Napster
6. Dolby
7. DAB radio
8. Boombox
9. Sonos Multi-Room Music System
10. Panasonic Technics DJ deck