What are some of your favorite bands/groups and why?

If I had to pick just one favorite, I’d probably go with The Decemberists. Just read some of their lyrics if you want to know why.

The Beatles
Pink Floyd
The Who
The Shins
Smashing Pumpkins
They Might Be Giants
All of them have some of the best lyrics I’ve ever heard, or the most inventive use of music I’ve ever heard.

I like a lot of music, I can’t pick a small number of favorites, but off the top of my head…
Elvis Costello
Lucinda Williams
Patti Smith
The Clash
The Rolling Stones

I also listen to a lot of classical & jazz but I ‘ll save those for another list.

Pink Floyd
Howlin’ Wolf
Norah Jones
Muddy Waters
Billie Holiday
Willie Dixon
Louie Armstrong
David Gray
Leon Redbone
Bad Company
Frank Zappa
The Beatles
Sarah Vaughan
Luciano Pavorotti
Frank Sinatra
Vivaldi
Rory Gallagher
Ray Charles
Roxy Music
Ottmar Liebert
Lightnin’ Hopkins
Bubba
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
John Lee Hooker…
to name a few

Nirvana
Melissa Etheridge
Kid Rock
Buck Cherry
Aerosmith
Sex Pistols
Patti Smith
Ten Nugent
and Stevie Ray Vaughn

I have 100 more bands that deserve recognition but these 9 bands have one thing in common and that is attitude…original bad ass rock and roll attitude that made killer tunes.

Johnny Cash
Muse
Kings of Leon
Snow Patrol
Nine Inch Nails
E.S. Posthumus
Evanescence
Mumford & Sons
Metaform
Smashing Pumpkins
Nico Vega
One Republic
The Ting Tings
The Kills
Florence And The Machine
Spice Girls :)

Death Cab For Cutie
Queen
Morcheeba
Depeche Mode

A Perfect Circle/Tool
Mumford & Sons
Incubus
POD
Atmosphere
Pink Floyd
Bob Marley
Sublime
Flyleaf
The Beatles
Smashing Pumpkins
The Birthday Massacre
Tiger Army
-Just a few of my favorites….Love their lyrics.

Green Day
Lily Allen
Tool/A Perfect Circle
Nine Inch Nails
AC/DC
CCR
I Hate Kate (I refuse to acknowledge their new, infinitely inferior name)
Glenn Miller

Right now, I’m really loving The Donnas. They have this “rock out with ya c*ck out” (a phrase I just learned and fell in love with) sort of feel, except really empowered and feminist. So “rock out with ya c*nt out” (which, honestly, as much as I enjoy the feminist aspect of it, is not only physically incorrect but looses that great rhyming aspect…)

The Jesus and Mary Chain
Godsmack
The Boondock Saints
Nazareth
Blind Faith

And what the hell; a little Black Sabbath couldn’t hurt.

Why? Because they are all divine.

Pink Floyd
Steely Dan
Heart
Eric Clapton
Tom Petty
The Animals
Dusty Springfield
Van Morrison
John Coltrane
Miles Davis
Billie Holiday
Alexi Murdoch
Foals
Doves
Klaxons
Broken Bells
The XX
Gorillaz
Caribou
Amon Tobin
DJ Krush
Zero 7
Massive Attack

Anything that you can relax to, really…

Talking Heads and The National are my favorites.

Depeche Mode
Tears for Fears
U2
Led Zeppelin
The Police
The Jam
Madness

Just cherry picking from a big old list here.

Screeching Weasel
The Riverdales
Alkaline Trio
Social Distortion
Bad Religion
Tegan and Sara
They Might Be Giants
Feist
Elvis Costello
The Weakerthans
The Misfits
CAKE
Billy Bragg
Operation Ivy / Common Rider / Classics of Love / Whatever Jesse Michaels is doing
Johnny Cash
Nerf Herder
Billy Joel
Weezer

…to name a few.

Radiohead
Fugazi
The Pixies
Modest Mouse
outkast
At the Drive IN
Nine Inch Nails
Iggy and The Stooges
Iron Maiden
The Shins
so many more.

My favorite band changes almost every other week, but here are the notables:

Metallica – kick a$$ guitars
Pearl Jam – first 3 albums are good, everything after kinda licks.
Soundgarden – Cornell is a brilliant lyricist and used to be an awesome singer
Nine Inch Nails – Trent’s lyrics are great, though the theme is often negative/angsty. He scrapes the bottom of the darkest pits of our souls, and he is unique in that sense.
Fear Factory – their riffs are killer
Blind Guardian – Hansi is one of the best vocalists I ever heard. Their music sends me to another world, literally. I also include Demons & Wizards under this.
Alice in Chains – RIP Layne Staley, another unique band
Tool/A Perfect Circle – Maynard’s vocals and lyrics are awesome, and so is the music
Hurt – Recently got into them. I don’t know what it is but I like their sound alot.
Stone Temple Pilots/Velvet Revolver – Weiland is the man when he’s not forgetting the songs

There are alot of other bands I like, but I can’t think of any others I would call favorites for the moment.

EDIT: Ok one more:

Yes – Because their music is so complex and awesome

Steely Dan—because their lyrics were so goofy and their tunes and arrangements were so intresting.

The Bird and the Bee and She & Him. Both have a cheerful, upbeat, retro sound.

Eminem, the script, lady gaga, katy perry, justice crew, bruno mars, pink, uncle kracker, train, rhianna , drapht, techno :)