What less popular bands do you believe are most talented?

Railroad Earth. The Wailin’ Jennies. The Weepies. Alexi Murdoch. All are pretty well recognized in the business, but have not reached popular acclaim. They have strong “cult” followings.

The Shins! They’ve not gone entirely unnoticed, though, their songs did appear in a couple movies. They’re one of my all-time favorite bands.

I’ll add that my all-time favorite band on the face of this earth, past, present, and future will always be the Mountain Goats. They haven’t reached complete stardom yet, but the lead singer is one of the most talented song writers on Earth. :)

@Joker94 I love the Shins too! But I thought they were counted as “popular”. Their show sold out in about ten minutes last time they were in San Francsico.

I like Band of Horses.

Autotune makes me sad. I want to hear someone actually SING!

Like Neko Case (Youtube video)

And Anna Calvi is getting a lot of press, and she only has one album, so I don’t know if she counts. But whatever, I like this, especially the way the trio sounds like a much bigger band. Youtube

@Jude Band of Horses is one of my FAVORITE bands. <3

Me, too, girl. :)

Ah, @jaytkay. One of my favorite songs of all time.

Metaform
Nico Vega
Wax Tailor
Arcade Fire

@zenvelo Really? I don’t know a whole lot of people who know them, sadly :l I’m glad to hear they have a bigger fan-base than I thought, though!

I’d give my left nut to see the Shins.

The Shins don’t do anything for me, really. And Arcade Fire is really hurting for more accolades… Yeah. ;)

I recommend: Gliss, LoveLikeFire, Exit Calm. For Against has been around for a long time but is still active.

@Jude Careful, Neko Case will f*cking fight you!

I’m scared of heeerr!

The Aposematics

my husband and I got two of the members to join Fluther. They haven’t been here for quite a while though

Here’s their latest video Angel From Montgomery

Hot Hot Heat
Mothfight (RIP)
Unknown Hinson
This Mortal Coil
The Cocteau Twins
Tetrastar
The Baseballs
Lady Lamb The Beekeeper (I’m pretty sure I’m in love with ehr)
Colton and Zara

I still think Pavement never got the kind of recognition they deserve. They embodied the whole 90’s “Don’t give a fuck” attitude in their live performances and IMO really paved the way for bands like Modest Mouse or Surfer Blood.

To me, though Joy Division is the most underrated band of all time. They influenced Interpol, White Lies, The Killers, etc and still have a sound that I still think is completely unique even after so many bands have copied/been influenced by it. They were also the first band I ever heard that could properly put synthesizers into punk music.

I’m loving the younger Flutherites lovin’ the music I listened to when I was their age (maybe a little younger) and the bands were in their prime. This Mortal Coil and Joy Division. Sweet! =)

@jonsblond I love me some Joy Division too. And Bauhaus. The Cure is probably my second favorite band. Talking Heads are third.

China Crisis, a 1980s British band, was very talented, but not too well-known.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5p-s1aWA3c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj20LKdg8-8

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard I had Robert Smith posters all over my bedroom walls when I was a teen. I got to see them in 1988 in Chicago. Awesome show!

This is a predictable answer from me, but Angus and Julia Stone. They are not popular here in the US, anyhow… though I think that is starting to change.

80’s post-punk, eh? How about The Chameleons, the best band you never heard of. (Follow with a chaser of Sad Lovers and Giants)

@jonsblond here is a drawing of Robert Smith I did in ink for a drawing class I took.

Cloud Cult is good too.

I’ll always have a soft spot for VNV Nation. Also, Dax Riggs has a voice that makes me swoon. His solo stuff, as well as the stuff he did with Acid Bath before they broke up, tends to be pretty dark. It has such a unique and beautiful sound, though, imho.

I keep thinking of stuff while I’m sitting here. I have to stop typing now before I end up with a list.

Just to prove I’m a sucker for well-layered guitar work from the UK…
The House of Love
Kitchens of Distinction

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard very talented, I love it!

Steve Morse
and his other band the Dixie Dregs

I’d love to see Tegan & Sara and Feist get the recognition they deserve. They’re relatively well-known in Canada, but that’s about it.

Atreyu, Gojira, and The Aliens.

Nick Cave and the bad seeds

Hostile Takeover and Friends! Actually, that’s just a band in my school, but they’re good! You can say you heard about them before they were famous!
Also, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus because they have a cool name, and Blue Foundation because they have good music.

Nightwish aren’t very popular where I am but I think they are very talented.

@Leanne1986 Nightwish is pretty popular, I believe. I love them :)

@KatetheGreat I think they are popular in the States but whenever I mention them in the UK, it’s rare that someone knows who I am talking about.

@Leanne1986 They’re very popular in Norway, Switzerland, and Sweden. That’s their main fanbase.

The Sword, Black Lips, Sleigh Bells, The Black Hollies.

New Order is also really quite good. Also, They Might Be Giants haven’t been appreciated nearly as much these days as they should have been.

@Joker94 I was just watching Malcolm in the Middle and thinking that They Might Be Giants would have been perfect! They are one of my favorites!

@Blondesjon Sleigh Bells had the best album of 2010, IMO. At least the best new band.

Galaxie 500
The Ocean Blue

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard Lady Lamb is from my city, we used to play shows with her when her friend TJ was in her band and she was unknown. TJ ended up playing guitar in the band I used to play in after he was in her band and I had quit. Aly is pretty popular now, she just played in our town. She opened for Beruit and was great.

Throwing Muses
Bauhaus
Joy Division
Joni Mitchell
Vertical Horizon
Stabbing Westward
The Shaggs
Babes In Toyland (Courtney Love ripped off Kat’s image and style)
Rapeman
Flipper
My Bloody Valentine
Confusatron
Meat Puppets
Charles Manson
Mr. Bungle
The Jesus Lizard
The Breeders
Neutral Milk Hotel
Syd Barrett

There are so many under rated bands.. the list goes on and on!!

@raven2783 she’s awesome. The more I listen to her, the harder I crush on her. I want her to hurry up and release an album already.

And you’ve got some seriously good taste in music. My Bloody Valentine is one of my favorite bands. And The Breeders are awesome too. You ever listen to Sparklehorse?

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard Thanks for the nice comment! Loveless is an amazing work of art! That album is like watching the horizon. You get lost in it like watching a cloud. It’s fucking Ethereal. I have never listened to Sparkle Horse. Sweet! I’ll check them out.

@raven2783 I agree. I’m actually getting ready to buy a copy on vinyl that I found :D
Sparklehorse fits right in with the musical paradigm of your list. Cow is probably my favorite song of theirs.

Cool. I’m on last.fm a lot recently. I just discovered it through fluther actually. Someone referenced it as a good website to see if your band name is already taken and I’ve been using it to find new music. I’ll look for Sparklehorse.