Artists A-Z
I’m stealing this from Don at Don’stuff! His list is really good…if you haven’t already been there, you should go check it out!
This is a list of some of my favorite Artists/Bands from A-Z. (These aren’t necessarily my actual favorite artist in each letter category). I’m choosing to feature mostly contemporary/current bands/artists. I might be tempted to do another list featuring my actual favorites of all time….but for now, I wanted to give props to the lesser known, the indies, and the new kids on the scene.
This post has taken me 2 days to complete! I was having a HARD time choosing….
Like Don, I’ve linked each artist to a YouTube video. (Because I wanna be just like Don!).
A lot of these artists are not mainstream…so you might not know them. I encourage you to take a listen to each one though. I will try not to pick anything TOO crazy…and I’m refraining from adding any of the harder edged stuff I like. I hope, if you are reading this, that you will take the time to check out each video…even if only for the first minute or so…I really do love each one of these songs for various reasons and I’ve chosen them because I hope other people will find some they love too:
- Amos Lee- Arms of a Woman (One of my all time favorites! It’s so beautiful.)
- Brandi Carlile- The Story (I was blown away the first time I heard Brandi sing.)
- Cold War Kids- Hang Me Up to Dry (I had a hard time choosing a song by CWK. They are one of my new fave bands.)
- Does It Offend You, Yeah?- Dawn of the Dead (This one makes me wanna dance, and the video is fun.)
- Eisley- Memories (Cool little song…cool little video…cool little band.)
- Fratellis- Flathead (Such a fun song. Definitely makes me bounce around and dance.)
- Gorillaz- Clint Eastwood (An oldie but goodie…I love this band!)
- Hush Sound, The- Honey (Adorable.)
- Interpol- The Heinrich Maneuver (One of my favorite songs right now.)
- Jamie Liddell-Multiply (This song makes me happy.)
- Keane-Spiralling (I definitely chair dance/car dance to this song whenever I hear it…and the video is super cool.)
- LaMontagne, Ray- Trouble (Probably his most well known song.)
- LaMontagne, Ray- Crazy Dreamers (This is the song that made me fall in love with Ray.)
- LaMontagne, Ray- Shuckin’ The Corn (Quit gossiping!)
- LaMontagne, Ray- Empty (So sweet, so sad…so me. This song is written on my heart….)
- LaMontagne, Ray- Three More Days (Groovy…bring it on home Ray!)
- LaMontagne, Ray- Hold You In My Arms (Absolutely one of the BEST songs that I’ve ever heard…so romantic. I LOVE Ray…can you tell?)
- Matisyahu-King Without A Crown (A Reggae rapping Orthodox Jew singing about God!).
- Nutini, Paolo- These Streets (Beautiful live rendition).
- OK Go- A Million Ways (Quite the dancers!)
- Postal Service, The- Such Great Heights (Side project of the Ben Gibbard…lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie).
- Queens of the Stone Age- No One Knows (Okay, so they are not that new…but finding a Q is hard!).
- Rodrigo y Gabriela- Diablo Rojo (Spanish guitars!).
- Spoon- Don’t You Evah (NOT ONLY DO I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS BAND, BUT THIS VIDEO IS AWESOME.)
- Teddy Bears- Cobrastyle (Seriously? What’s not to like??)
- Under the Influence of Giants- Mama’s Room (I totally dig the 70′s Disco-y vibe!)
- Vampire Weekend- A-Punk (Everytime this song comes on…I turn the radio up and bop around whatever room I’m in!)
- White Stripes- Doorbell (Did you really think I’d let the “W’s” pass without featuring the White Stripes?? I’m convinced that Jack White is a musical genius.)
- XTC- Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead (So, I totally cheated with a band from the 90′s…but YOU try finding a decent band that starts with an X…besides XTC.)
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Gold Lion (Karen O rocks…I love her!)
- Zero 7-In The Waiting Line (Giving props to another one of my girls…and I like the sentiment of this song.)
I obviously took creative license…especially when it came to a certain favorite artist. 
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! I AM THANKFUL FOR ALL THE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC THIS WORLD HAS TO OFFER. I’M THANKFUL FOR MY FRIENDS, FAMILY…FOR THE LESSONS OF THIS YEAR…FOR THIS BLOG!! THANKS FOR READING HERE!
November 28, 2008 at 5:57 am
I also love this list. This is really good list
Thank you so much! I took a lot of time putting it together. I’m glad you like it!
November 28, 2008 at 8:15 pm
I get the impression you like Ray LaMontagne. I’ll go through your list and watch the videos. I’m so old, the only bands/artists I knew were XTC and White Stripes. How bleak it must be to be me. Thanks for playing.
Hi Don!! Yes…I like Ray an eensy bit.
Well, you don’t have to go through my list if you don’t wanna. It’s not required…but maybe you’ll come across one or two artists that pique your interest!
November 30, 2008 at 11:00 am
I love to find new bands/artists, I was just surprised that I have fallen so far out of the loop that I’d only heard of two.
Well, to be fair…most of these artists are on the fringe. You aren’t likely to hear the majority of them on mainstream radio…although, a few of them have music featured on commercials.
November 30, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Aside to Don: I was surprised that I had heard of at least 11, although a few I have never heard their music. So this is quite an adventure.
To Leaving Evangeline: I’m up to E right now, but enjoying being introduced to new bands.
I’m also unfinishedrambler. This is my “alter ego” speaking.
Hey unfinished rambling person! I’m glad you are liking the music. I actually tried to choose songs I thought other people might like…so I feel successful!
December 1, 2008 at 10:11 am
I’ve made it up to the L’s and am enjoying hearing new bands. I’m working at the library today and I’m going to see if we have any of them on the shelves.
Cool! Yay! I’m so glad you are enjoying the bands thus far. I hope you DO find some at work today!
December 2, 2008 at 2:17 pm
I wrote down a few of the bands I really liked and we had a few Amos Lee , Keane & Brandi Carlile on the library shelves. I just finished the rest of your list and the Spoon video was so funny
Cool! I’m glad you found some you liked. I LOVE that Spoon video…it’s not the “official” video, but one that they collaborated on with the guy that made the dancing robot. It makes me laugh every time I see it.