Sigur Ros　

Named in part after a sister of one of the bandmembers, Reykjavik, Iceland’s Sigur Ros (Victory Rose) was formed by guitarist and vocalist Jon Por Birgisson (who later went by the name Jonsi) ..more

Jethro Tull　

Jethro Tull were a unique phenomenon in popular music history. Their mix of hard rock, folk melodies, blues licks, surreal, impossibly dense lyrics, and overall profundity defied easy analysis, but ..more

Sweet　

In some ways, the Sweet epitomized all the tacky hubris and garish silliness of the early ’70s. Fusing bubblegum melodies with crunching, fuzzy guitars, the band looked a heavy metal band, but were ..more

Lou Reed　

The career of Lou Reed defied capsule summarization. Like David Bowie (whom Reed directly inspired in many ways), he made over his image many times, mutating from theatrical glam rocker to st ..more

ABBA　

The most commercially successful pop group of the 1970s, the origins of the Swedish superstars ABBA dated back to 1966, when keyboardist and vocalist Benny Andersson, a onetime member of the ..more

Lorna Shore　

Arch Enemy　

Formed by ex-Carnage, Carcass, and Candlemass guitarist Michael Amott (also of Spiritual Beggars) with his brother Christopher (Armageddon), Arch Enemy took a straight-ahead ap ..more

Adele　

When the U.K. press began dubbing Adele the next Amy Winehouse in late 2007, the hype didn’t touch upon the singer/songwriter influence found in the Londoner’s music. Influenced by Roberta F ..more

The Last Dinner Party　

Hawkwind　

Any sci-fi fan with long memories probably remembers those 1970s’ DAW paperback editions of Michael Moorcock’s sword-and-sorcery novels, with their images of heavily armored, very muscular warri ..more

Zakk Sabbath　

Gary Numan　

One of the founding fathers of synth pop, Gary Numan’s influence extends far beyond his lone American hit, Cars, which still stands as one of the defining new wave singles. That seminal track hel ..more

Small Faces　

Small Faces were the best English band never to hit it big in America. Outside Europe, all anybody remembers them for is their sole hit, Itchycoo Park, which was hardly representative of their {\ ..more

Avril Lavigne　

Avril Lavigne first appeared in summer 2002, touting an addictive debut single (the spunky pop/rock gem Complicated) and a skatepunk image that purposely clashed with the polished glamour of m ..more

Primal Fear　

The European power metal combo Primal Fear has been kicking around the metal underground for years, refining their brand of melodic riffing and soaring vocals. Their sound, highly influenced by G ..more

Benson Boone　

Rage　

The German heavy metal outfit, Rage, originally formed in the early ’80s, and although the group has issued albums on a steady basis ever since, lead singer/bassist Peter Peavey Wagner is t ..more

Alter Bridge　

Alter Bridge resurrected the music-making portion of Creed. After that band’s 2004 dissolution, guitarist Mark Tremonti and drummer Scott Phillips tapped ousted bassist Brian Marshall f ..more

Alcatrazz　

Alcatrazz was originally formed as a vehicle for vocalist Graham Bonnet, but became famous for introducing budding guitar heroes instead, namely Swedish phenom Yngwie J. Malmsteen and ex-Fr ..more

Howard Jones　

Howard Jones was one of the defining figures of mid-’80s synth pop. Jones’ music merged the technology-intensive sound of new wave with the cheery optimism of hippies and late-’60s pop. Jones ..more