Oofta
Legend
I would say it's more like the Sir McStabsalot era. Why? Because it's AWESOME!I'd say the late 70s to early 80s were the golden age. If I had to give it an exact time, I would say ....
1977 - 1984
This includes all Moldvay/Cook and the BEC of BECMI, all the best core 1e books (though MM2), and all the truly classic modules. A flowering of talent and a huge boom in popularity. The ability to purchase games anywhere from Waldenbooks to Sears to KayBee Toys.
This is more like ... the platinum age. Comes later, with 5x the value.