Soft Machine　

Soft Machine were never a commercial enterprise and indeed still remain unknown even to many listeners who came of age during the late ’60s and early ’70s, when the group was at its peak. In their ..more

Sonic Youth　

Sonic Youth were one of the most unlikely success stories of underground American rock in the ’80s. Where contemporaries R.E.M. and Husker Du were fairly conventional in terms of song structu ..more

Sonata Arctica　

Finnish prog metal quartet Sonata Arctica specializes in a soaring, orchestral variation on European heavy metal, fusing the sweeping, romantic bombast of bands like Europe with the over-t ..more

SODOM　

This German black metal band’s early lineup consisted of Tom Angelripper (bass/vocals), Aggressor (guitar/vocals), and Chris Witchhunter Dudek (drums). They were heavily influenced by thras ..more

Sex Pistols　

The Sex Pistols may have only been together for two years in the late ’70s, but they changed the face of popular music. Through their raw, nihilistic singles and violent performances, the band revo ..more

Supertramp　

Supertramp followed an unusual path to commercial success in the 1970s, fusing the stylistic ambition and instrumental dexterity of progressive rock with the wit and tuneful melodies of British pop ..more

Siouxsie & The Banshees　

Siouxsie and the Banshees were among the longest-lived and most successful acts to emerge from the London punk community; over the course of a career that lasted two decades, they evolved from an a ..more

Svalbard　

Slowdive　

Commonly identified as shoegaze, Slowdive nonetheless exhibited a broader set of inspirations -- one that spanned four decades, including folk-rock, dub, and ambient techno -- than the majority of ..more

Slayer　

Slayer were one of the most distinctive, influential, and extreme thrash metal bands of the 1980s. Their graphic lyrics dealt with everything from death and dismemberment to war and the horrors of ..more

Slade　

Slade may have never truly caught on with global audiences (often narrow-mindedly deemed too British-sounding), but the group became a sensation in their homeland with their anthemic brand of {\g ..more

Slipknot　

Slipknot’s mix of grinding, post-Korn alternative metal, Marilyn Manson-esque neo-shock rock, and rap-metal helped make them one of the most popular bands in the so-called nu-metal explosion ..more

Slash　

As the lead guitarist for Guns N’ Roses, Slash established himself as one of hard rock’s finest and most soulful soloists during the late ’80s, technically adept yet always firmly grounded in th ..more

Smashing Pumpkins　

Of all the major alternative rock bands of the early ’90s, the Smashing Pumpkins were the group least influenced by traditional underground rock. Lead guitarist/songwriter Billy Corgan fas ..more

Sufjan Stevens　

Sparks　

The Snuts　

Stray Cats　

The key group of the early-’80s rockabilly revival, the Stray Cats scored several big hits on both sides of the Atlantic thanks to a striking visual style tailor-made for the early days of {@MTV ..more

Stryper　

Heavy metal has been associated with ol’ Beelzebub ever since its inception, but a few acts took the opposite route and put their Christian beliefs in hard-rocking songs, such as Stryper. Formed in ..more

Stereolab　

Combining an inclination for melodic ’60s pop with an art rock aesthetic borrowed from Krautrock bands like Faust and Neu!, Stereolab were one of the most influential alternative ban ..more