Most Underrated Bands

Who do you guys think the most underrated bands are?

I would say the pretty things, Neil Young, Yes, King Crimson, Marillion, and Godspeed You Black Emperor.

Captain Beyond
Focus
King's X
James Gang
Love
Procol Harum

queensryche

Ian Moore (a local guy out of Austin, TX.) He's got some CD's out but they are real hard to find outside of Texas. He's got some amazing stuff.

official website

Burning Spear. When most people think of reggae, their mind immediately goes to Bob Marley & The Wailers, but the Spear has been Burning since 1969. They're still going strong, I saw them live recently at a small venue in my town. I don't know if they're underrated, but no one I know has ever heard of them.

Dropkick Murphys. Well known in the punk world, but not really to the rest of the music world. Their famous bag-piper (yes bag-piper), Spicy McHaggis recently left the band because he was getting married and had other interests, but they're still going strong.

Genesis, Alan Parsons Project

as for newer stuff:
Wallflowers
Widespread Panic


Btw...welcome to the machine! Enjoy your stay...the people are friendly, and you'll be sure to learn a lot.

Lol, my boyfriend likes them. Our friend has their shirt that says 'Kiss me, I'm shitfaced.'

Shane likes 'em?

Errr.....

I like Mates of State. Everyone seems to underestimate (even I did) the power of a set of drums and an electric organ.

Pigface is a very good live band; very good industrial stuff.

And I will certainly take this opprotunity to step up on my Avril Lavigne podium (to everyone's annoyance, I suspect). She's great. She's got potential. Her next album (May) is either going to be really awesome or really bad - and I'm assured it will be the former.

I've heard her live performances are somewhat of a blemish. People complain of the quality of not only the music, but her voice.

What's your take on this?

She wasen't too good live when she started out. Early on, it was embarassing, almost... she couldn't sing in tune, she ran out of breath all too often, etc. But she's gotten better - and what everyone seems to forget is that she was just starting out back then. (Who steps up onstage for the first time ever and puts out a flawless performance?)

Her live DVD that came out not too long ago I find rather entertaining, actually. She's gotten a lot better live.

Now, when you say 'a lot better', does that mean actual quality performances? I understand it would be difficult to answer that question truthfully because of your bias towards her, but as a third party, what would you rate them?

I think the Beatles and the Rolling Stones are disturbingly underratad

'A lot better' by her standards. For pure live-show standards, she wouldn't hold a candle to Radiohead, Pigface, or even the White Stripes (who were very entertaining, but not too impresssive live).

But doesn't the idea that her voice is being morphed and layered (especially on her first album) to fit the music (or to stop it from ruining the music) disturb you? How is this any different from the prepubescent hype and obsession of boy/girl bands that have indeed had much editing done to make the record sound 'polished'?

Kinda like cheatin', ain't it?