who are the most under-rated band/bands...

[spoon man]

I was looking at my I tunes and there are a few bands that i think weren’t given enough credit and were/are very under-rated. So I thought that it would make a good thread to see what other people listened to that they had felt were under-rated and that needed to be given a shout so here are a small list of some of the bands who I think weren’t given enough if any credit.

The Vines
Mushroomhead
Transplants
chimaira
Jerry Cantrell
Alice In Chains

There are many more but these are the main bands i think need to be mentioned..

[The Menacer]

KISS and Mr. Big.

[BCains]

The Vines

They were big here in Australia with Highly Evolved like around 02',
craig had a very "rock star" attitude was quite the *******, then went
down hill with Winning Days (didn't even chart) - when you kick out at a
female photographer on stage your bound to lose some fans, then they
got dropped from the playlist (radio).

Seems like they are doing alot better now thou. :cool:

[yeroen]

I always thought Cheap Trick's highly melodic power-pop was woefully underrated.

[spoon man]

They were big here in Australia with Highly Evolved like around 02',
craig had a very "rock star" attitude was quite the *******, then went
down hill with Winning Days (didn't even chart) - when you kick out at a
female photographer on stage your bound to lose some fans, then they
got dropped from the playlist (radio).

Seems like they are doing alot better now thou. :cool:

yeah I heard Highly Evolved when it 1st came out and I was like wow that’s kick ass but they only had one song that was played loads which was "Get Free" in the U.K .Then they just faded out kinda like Silverchair they had one or two hits and just faded away I didn’t know that he kick a female photographer I know he (Craig Nicholls) was charged with some offence and that the bassis Patrick Matthews had walked off stage or some think .Then I later read some think about (Craig Nicholls) had Asperser’s Syndrome and that’s the last I heard of them for a while.. :(

[FullCollapse]

four year strong
hopesfall (even though they're not a bad anymore)
protest the hero
explosions in the sky, but only because i feel like everyone should know about and appreciate this band

and dave matthews band... :P

[zelmo]

voivod
king's x
10cc
badfinger
red rider
crack the sky

[JBazz]

Not so much underrated, but definately undersold....

Meshelle Ndegeocello

Roy Hargrove (RH Factor, Roy Hargrove Quintet, etc)

[rhett7660]

Dream Theater......

[nomar383]

THE FILMS!!!

and also Kevin Robles at http://kevinrobles.com

[thunderclap]

Porcupine Tree
Muse
Sparklehorse
Type O Negative
Supergrass

[KingYaba]

Rhapsody.

[jalagl]

Muse
Thievery Corporation
Cake
Groove Armada
UNKLE
Royksopp
Moloko
Pulp
Poe

and I could go on for hours....

[Mistershark]

Muse
Athlete
Snow Patrol
Vega4
Klaxons
Explosions in the Sky
Arcade Fire

[spoon man]

I was looking at my I tunes and there are a few bands that i think weren’t given enough credit and were/are very under-rated. So I thought that it would make a good thread to see what other people listened to that they had felt were under-rated and that needed to be given a shout so here are a small list of some of the bands who I think weren’t given enough if any credit.

The Vines
Mushroomhead
Transplants
chimaira
Jerry Cantrell
Alice In Chains

There are many more but these are the main bands i think need to be mentioned..


Yeah i need to add some more to the list

Napalm Death
Nevermore
Strapping Young Lad

[killmoms]

Definitely agree with jalagl on the Poe call.

Also, Enon. Amazing indie/punk/electronic trio from Philadelphia (via New York) that hardly anyone knows about. Their 2002 album "High Society" is damn near perfect.

[Macaddicttt]

and dave matthews band... :P

Really? I think they're ridiculously overrated.

[kidkaprie]

i agree with:

UNKLE
Snow Patrol

and would also like to add

Minus the Bear
Digitalism

[Surely]

The Joel Plaskett Emergency (http://www.joelplaskett.com/)

The Tragically Hip (outside of Canada, that is)

Sufjan Stevens

[killmoms]

The Joel Plaskett Emergency (http://www.joelplaskett.com/)

The Tragically Hip (outside of Canada, that is)

Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens is definitely NOT underrated. If anything he's overrated: Illinois was amazing, and one of my favorite albums, but the rest of his work has been middling to good... and he hasn't put out anything as impressive as Illinois since.

[Surely]

Sufjan Stevens is definitely NOT underrated. If anything he's overrated: Illinois was amazing, and one of my favorite albums, but the rest of his work has been middling to good... and he hasn't put out anything as impressive as Illinois since.

I respectfully disagree. It's surprising to me that he isn't as well-known as he should be. Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lakes State, and Seven Swans are both very good albums. Not as good as Illinois, but nevertheless very good.

He actually hasn't really put out anything at all since Illinois. Unless you want to count The Avalanche (an outtakes album) and Songs For Christmas (well, a Christmas album). I'm hoping that his next album will be another in the 50 states project. It looks like he's been working on this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufjan_Stevens#The_BQE), and that's probably why no new album in a while.

[iowamensan]

Crash Test Dummies :D

[BlakTornado]

This Band (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=272578810&s=143444) :D;)

But seriously, that guy is under-rated ;)



Oh, and I agree that Muse is under-rated. Seriously, they're incredible. Of course, they're nothing until you see them on Youtube, or actually live, but still... phenomenal band. Addictive like a drug.

[ghostguts]

Totally agreed with the Dream Theatre.

For Muse, I think they're a bit overrated.

[asrmatt]

dUES
Cake

...just to name a few
;)

[Mr Skills]

Underrated you say? Hmm, can't think of anyone. <<Looks at sig>>
;)

[twistedlegato]

Third Eye Blind

They are simply an amazing band yet they are hardly appreciated.

[Xavier]

Muse
Athlete
Snow Patrol
Vega4
Klaxons
Explosions in the Sky
Arcade Fire

I have all those and totally agree.

Explosions in the Sky is very under rated. they are extremely amazing

[stargurl84]

a lot of 90s bands are really underrated:

Goo Goo Dolls
Gin Blossoms
Oasis
Third Eye Blind

[riscy]

Just a few :

Spearhead (and/or Michael Franti)
The the
Cake

[Dobiewonkanobie]

Definitely Alice in Chains
Old, original Soundgarden (Screamin Life EP, Loud Love, up until Superunknown..crap)
Cake-silly lyrics but good music
Forget Cassettes-a lesser known rock band out of Nashville with an interesting sounding female vocalist
Schoolyard Heroes-again silly lyrics from a young girl, but the music phenomenal
Murder City Devils

[Melrose]

a lot of 90s bands are really underrated:

Goo Goo Dolls
Gin Blossoms
Oasis
Third Eye Blind

Weird.. I would have guessed Goo Goo Dolls were *over*rated... mebbe that's just me. I heard ever single one of their innumerable hits a million times were I work.

I'd add Simple Minds to the list. They're older than U2, but have a similar sound. Outside of Don't You Forget About Me you don't hear them at all on the radio...

[Hushbull]

Pearl Jam...face it, they are.

[vm1971]

JAPAN
Kent
EMBRACE ....

:)

[jdsam]

Third Eye Blind- I totally agree, way under rated

[bartelby]

Just a few :

Spearhead (and/or Michael Franti)


Oh yes. and The Beatnigs and The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy.

[slim tim slide]

well you could start with the Pink Fairies, work back to the Deviants detour via steve took and take it from there... the London Underground spawned a lot of great unrecognised bands as well as a lot of dross but those are the Biz, you might check out the Shagrat label for some real undiscovered wonders

[Mr Skills]

Why are so many people mentioning bands like Muse and Snow Patrol?

I agree that they make excellent music, but it's hard to count a multi-million-selling stadium-filling ultra-popular band as "underrated". A few million people evidently do rate them. :)

[stainlessliquid]

Can unknown or obscure bands really be considered underrated?

When I think of underrated I think of something people have heard of but dont give a chance.

For instance, Peter Gabriel, most people see him as that 80's guy with that weird Sledgehammer song thats just run of the mill pop, but most of his music is a lot deeper and totally different than what he portrays in his radio hits.

[mcarnes]

For instance, Peter Gabriel, most people see him as that 80's guy with that weird Sledgehammer song thats just run of the mill pop, but most of his music is a lot deeper and totally different than what he portrays in his radio hits.

Shock The Monkey!

[kunze50]

-Faint
-Lola Ray
-Strokes

[c-Row]

Fluke

Had their 15 minutes with Atom Bomb, but other than that they are somewhat seen as a poor man's Underworld. :mad: :(

[chucknorris]

ABC - best "New Romantic" band, maybe the only one that produced a great album ("The Lexicon of Love")

Television Personalities - can't fathom why they never hit it big, while The Jam did

Animal Collective - huge in indie circles, but nobody else seems to know that they're changing pop music forever

Babyshambles - contrary to popular belief, Pete Doherty's drug problems don't prevent him from making great music, sure he slurs his words, but so what?

John Prine - one of the greatest songwriters of the past 40 years, still churning out pretty good stuff mostly under the radar

Kris Kristofferson - huge in country circles, popularly known for writing songs others made famous, his versions are usually as good or better, though

Curtis Mayfield - overshadowed by Marvin Gaye, but equally excellent at making soul for the album era

Scarface - wonderful rapper and storyteller, known primarily as Geto Boy

Gang of Four - they influenced everybody but the public still hasn't caught on, anyone who isn't floored the first time they hear "Damaged Goods" probably doesn't like music

The Gerbils - overshadowed by other Elephant 6 bands and largely looked at as an ultra lo-fi curiosity, some great pop gems await those willing to give them a listen

Jens Lekman - another artist who gets a lot of attention from critics and indie fans, the thing is, though, he might be the best pop songwriter working today

The Jesus Lizard - I think about 10x as many people know this band for its awesome name rather than its ass-kicking brand of alternative rock

Kool Keith - has done his fair share to destroy his own career, but critics label 2/3s of his releases as **** when they aren't

Pavement - calling this band underrated should seem silly to anybody with alternative-leaning tastes, but c'mon, when is the world going to wake up and realize that Pavement not Nirvana nor any of its grunge counterparts was the rock band of the 90s?

Raekwon - most underrated Wu-Tang member, "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx" is as good an album as the collective made

The Replacements - generally, people who know about The 'Mats are aging members of the band's cult or younger music lovers who don't get the appeal, their image has always obfuscated their music, which is sublime

Silver Jews - again, a big indie band that is invisible to the world at large, David Berman has become a great songwriter in the Nashville tradition, his lyrics are some of the most poetic and evocative (and hilarious) around

Spoon - yeah, their songs have been on commercials and stuff, but they should be on every commercial

Why? - I can see how this band lacks mainstream appeal, but the indie world needs to stand up and applaud for a band that just released one of the best albums in recent memory ("Alopecia") to only moderate acclaim, the lyrics are that perfect combination of blunt and suggestive (and uproariously funny sometimes) and the music is often beautiful

The Traveling Wilburys - the super-group of super-groups got the notice its members naturally attract when it formed, but twenty years later "Volume 1" has aged better than it has any right to have aged, these are classic songs that stand alongside the best in the catalogs of the musicians who made them

[c-Row]

Babyshambles - contrary to popular belief, Pete Doherty's drug problems don't prevent him from making great music, sure he slurs his words, but so what?


Not underrated, it's just that he's Pete Doherty.

[Dagless]

Goldie Lookin Chain :D

Could also throw Bloodhound Gang in there too. Some pretty smart lyrics in there.


Oasis


You're not from the UK are you? :D

[chucknorris]

Not underrated, it's just that he's Pete Doherty.

I don't know what that means. The critical consensus is that Babyshambles is mediocre and album sales agree. They're a very good band, though, which means that they are underrated.

[macwall]

I think the Old 97's are underrated.

[psychofreak]

Lethal Bizzle and whoever does his background music - People judge him by how crap his songs sound, but really his live act is very fun

[Silencio]

Some pretty good suggestions so far. I like the mentions of Gang of Four (obviously hugely influential), Japan (best of the New Romantics IMO -- Duran Duran ripped them off to great effect), and Simple Minds (actually made some challenging and interesting music before they became faux U2).

And now for my own adds:

Wire. Their first three albums from 1977-1979 are absolutely essential listening to see where punk, post-punk, indie rock, post-rock, and god knows how many other genres were going to go over the following 30 years. Influenced everyone from U2 to REM to Elastica (whose big hit is a blatant ripoff of one of Wire's songs) to Yo La Tengo to even Fischerspooner.

Scott Walker. 60s existentialist crooner who made a serious move into infrequent but highly challenging releases from the late 70s onwards. His song "The Electrician" was a huge touchstone for European singer-songwriters through the 80s and beyond; you can hear its influence in Ultravox's "Vienna" and Japan's "Ghosts", and vast swaths of Bowie's Berlin-period albums.

A Certain Ratio. I can't say they came up with one outstanding release from start to finish (the compilation Early will suffice for all but the dedicated, to be honest), but they were the first band to truly marry heavy post-punk atmospherics with funk and latin rhythms. As the story goes, ACR opened for Talking Heads on their first UK tour and were directly responsible for leading David Byrne down the Tropicalia road... I hear echoes of their music in contemporary bands like The Rapture and LCD Soundsystem.

The Fall. As much as I love Pavement, they owe Mark E Smith a percentage. Despite all the personal and professional chaos they still put out worthy records to this day.

Galaxie 500. Feedback and reverb-drenched dream pop/slowcore demigods.

[easymac800g4]

Candlebox highly underrated! i saw them in birmingham, al and have been a fan ever since. Also Haste, although i dont think they are together anymore

[bartelby]

A band has just popped up on iTunes that I haven't heard for about 2 years, who were definitely underrated in their time.

Fudge Tunnel

[psychofreak]

If people weren't so against trying out some "world music", I'm sure Amadou et Mariam would be more successful.

[bartelby]

If people weren't so against trying out some "world music", I'm sure Amadou et Mariam would be more successful.

So would Ay-Kherel.

[nathanbookpro]

Thy Art Is Murder
At The Throne Of Judgment
Yiruma (classical piano)

[stainlessliquid]

I think John Mayer is underrated, everyone hates him because of his cliche pretentious love songs which the radios played, but hes actually really good at classic rock and blues, and hes a very underrated guitar player (I dont think Ive heard a better guitar player to come out of the "2000's" or the 90's)

[marbles]

Dust Junkys

[jammedpearl]

Alexisonfire and the Dallas Green's side project City and Colour

Hopesfall (though mentioned earlier, they truly deserve another hit) and the side project Of Sinking Ships

and my personal fave: Thursday.

Hushbull: this is an underrated topic - I think PJ has received a decent amount of credit for their contributions... they are legend... wait for it, and i hope you're not lactose intolerant...dary

[Babooshka]

MUSE ARE NOT UNDERRATED, at least not in Europe.

the sold out the new Wembely Stadium in London on two nights, and are one of Britain's best bands.

[twistedlegato]

My new favourite band, they're hardly known.


Margot & the Nuclear So and So's


Their music is pure genius, each track is something new and has a meaning.

[true777]

Air
Black Devil Disco Club
John Cale
CAN
Colder
Digitalism
The Fall
Fischerspooner
Foetus
Glass Candy
Goldfrapp and Ladytron (big in the UK, I know, but not so much in the US it seems)
Marc Almond (ditto)
Mount Sims
New Young Pony Club (again popular in Britain but not so much US I think)
Nick Drake (probably the most underrated artist ever)
Patrick Wolf
Popular Computer
Rex The Dog
Richard Davis
Sebastien Tellier
Solvent
Spiritualized
Suicide
Superpitcher
Syd Barrett
Telex
Tricky
Whitey

I could list hundreds, literally.

[iJohnHenry]

I could list hundreds, literally.

Thank you for not doing so. ;)

I agree on The Travelling Wilburys.

Two of my favourites are Traffic (broke-up too quickly) and Savoy Brown (still touring - in some form).

[LizKat]

Mmm, Savoy Brown. I love the title track on the Hellbound Train album. And "Tell Mama" from Street Corner Talking.

Sonic Youth - "Blink" (from The Destroyed Room) is a truly inspired piece of work. It's like an aging submarine wending its way down, slowly grinding past the hulls of ancient wrecks to join them on the ocean floor, or maybe an old subway car trying to make it around the Lex line curves into the station one more time.. meanwhile Kim singing lines like "I blink.. and see nothing... my body moves without me... "

Great Lakes Myth Society. Compass Rose Bouquet is a wonderful album, I can hardly wait to see where these guys take their storytelling next.

Spoon, definitely. Don't know if they are underrated but for me a day without them is a bummer. The Sister Jack video is my comfort food, I keep it on my iPhone.

Wolf Parade. All the tracks on their 2005 EP are nifty. And especially "Modern World" from the Apologies to the Queen Mary album. These usually get to stay on my iPhone too.

Little Feat. Their Dixie Chicken album is a keeper and a real hoot. I like to listen to their Let it Roll album on summer weekends if I'm driving somewhere.

[FullCollapse]

Really? I think they're ridiculously overrated.

yeah so do i, i was kidding. and to jammedpearl, thursday is one of my favorite bands also but i don't think they're underrated.

[nathanbookpro]

Alexisonfire and the Dallas Green's side project City and Colour

Hopesfall (though mentioned earlier, they truly deserve another hit) and the side project Of Sinking Ships

and my personal fave: Thursday.

Hushbull: this is an underrated topic - I think PJ has received a decent amount of credit for their contributions... they are legend... wait for it, and i hope you're not lactose intolerant...dary

Alexisonfire are a great band, and Dallas Green is an awesome musician.

I don't think Thursday deserve any more recognition than what they have had, they're somewhat disappointing in my eyes.

[echosmyron]

Any bands from the dunedin sound (80s/90s new zealand indie pop). the chills, the clean, the verlaines, etc. check them out!

[SLC Flyfishing]

Social Distortion.

Apart from Ball and Chain and Story of my Life, what else have you heard on the radio for more than a few months when the album was released. Yet they are one of those bands that I never get tired of listening to.

The album "Somewhere between Heaven and Hell" was incredible.

SLC