Now this is my kind of thread. My two favorite bands:

My Chemcial Romance:

Smashing Pumpkins:

I just can't get enough of these guys...as you can tell, I like the bombastic, rock oprha stuff.

Tie between Nightwish

And My Dying Bride

Favourite band:

Followed by:

Best Foreign Band:

CAPTCHA:
I take it there's no chance that calling Yoplait: "The next victim of my never-ending wrath" is going to bite me in the ass?

Rainbow, Dio, and Led Zeppelin
The best things your ears will ever encounter.

For me the "Big Three" favorites are
Jeff Buckley
Radiohead
Arcade Fire

All for completely different reasons. Buckley is romantic, intense, and has the voice of an angel. Radiohead is introspective, dark, and obsessive. Arcade Fire is bombastic, beautiful, and subtly depressing at times. All of them have their moments, but I think that Buckley's "Morning Theft" is the most beautiful song I've ever heard.

Anberlin :D

One of my favorite songs.

I appologize if my choices make me sound like a hipster, but to be fair I do listen to these groups regularly.

The Brian Jonestown Massacre (sixties revival sound)
The Kills (rock music duo. Chick Sings, guy sings and plays guitar, drum machine used, sex in stereo happens)
Massive Attack (founders of Trip Hop)
DJ Krush (instrumentalist disc Jockey. songs are atmospheric and ambient)
The Darkest of the Hillside thickets (Punk rock with H.P. Lovecraft themed Lyrics)
Kyuss (Stoner Rock, band that founder of Queens of the Stone age Josh Homme started in)
Black Pyramid (Doom Metal)
Sleep (Stoner metal, made an album called Dopesmoker, quite possibly the heaviest piece of music fashioned by mortals)
OM (Monk Metal? its a bass player and a drummer playing some heavy fucking music while the lyrics are a mix of vaguely mystical religious imagery from both eastern and western sources.)

I'll give you the top three...
3) The Residents
2) The Talking Heads
1) DEVO

Me and Blind Guardian = \m/ since 2000.

It used to be MUSE, but I'm sort of done with them... before them, it was Perfume Tree - a trip-hop band from British Columbia with a siren for a vocalist.

Now? Uh... not sure. Probably equal parts Silversun Pickups, Foo Fighters and also... Weezer... been voxtaring weezer lots in Rock Band lately - mostly because it's easy to play and sing weezer at the same time.

If pushed I'd have to say... Foo Fighters.

I just love them. Any musician who does this has my utmost respect and admiration.

If you don't mind not knowing the lyrics (Or happen to know Norwegian) I recommend Kaizers Orchestra.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCTT6cV8SLA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOKLu-jX7YQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utMixwWWOaA&feature=related

Three of many. Highly recomended.

This is tricky. My picks

50s: Muddy Waters
60s: The Kinks
70s: The Stooges/Iggy Pop
80s: The Minutemen, The Replacements
90s: Pavement
00s/10s: The National, Japandroids, St Vincent, Ted Leo

The best of all is probably the Minutemen

Rush.

The answer to any music related question is ALWAYS Rush.

Slipknot, but I don't listen to them much these days.

Over the past year or so, I've fallen in love with Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Brand New.

Also love Architects, Bring Me The Horizon, Gallows (although their new EP with their new singer sucked), Burial, Deftones, Glassjaw and Rammstein.

cloone8:
I prefer actual music, not things like dubstep and the likes. It has to be with actual instruments, not someone who holds their microphone next to his/her washing machine and calls it "dubstep")
So, let's get this party started! :D

EDIT:
First off, the washing machine thing was a joke. I still don't think that it requires a lot of talent though, although I have respect for people who make it, and have no problems with people who listen to it. The reason I don't think it requires much talent is because in my opinion anyone can push a couple of buttons and put some sounds together on a computer. That doesn't make it music. And once again to clarify, this is all my opinion.

This is a really ignorant opinion. Firstly, you don't know what dubstep is (I think someone else has already mentioned this), and (good) electronic music needs quite a lot of talent to make because of all its intricacies and subtleties. It takes a while to get the hang of the programs and using them to their full potential as well.
And either way, I don't understand how it isn't music. It doesn't need instruments, I'm sick of seeing people say this shit as if their way of making music is the superior and right way. I listen to a fair bit of electronic music and most of it's deeper and more emotionally captivating that most other music out there.
Sorry for unloading my frustrations on you

AnarchistFish:
I listen to a fair bit of electronic music and most of it's deeper and more emotionally captivating that most other music out there.

Rave music. What do you say to that, eh? All right, all right, how about this one? You remember this one? Unce, unce, unce, unce. Some electronic music is emotionally captivating, certainly, but I honestly think you'd be hard pressed to find electronic that's as emotionally powerful as, say, free jazz. There are electronic artists who create music with real depth, undoubtedly, but it's tough to argue that electronic music is deeper than the majority of all music, especially considering how much music actually exists. I mean, we all know that Davi Guetta is the best thing since Tchaikovsky, but music like Clark is just puerile drivel.

Pink Floyd, Manowar, Scorpions, Judas Priest, The Doors, and Johnny Cash.... just to name a few.

-Counting Crows
-Jimi Hendrix
-Artic Monkeys
-Nick Drake
-System of a Down

Nice mix of evertying i'd say

Reginald:

AnarchistFish:
I listen to a fair bit of electronic music and most of it's deeper and more emotionally captivating that most other music out there.

Rave music. What do you say to that, eh? All right, all right, how about this one? You remember this one? Unce, unce, unce, unce. Some electronic music is emotionally captivating, certainly, but I honestly think you'd be hard pressed to find electronic that's as emotionally powerful as, say, free jazz. There are electronic artists who create music with real depth, undoubtedly, but it's tough to argue that electronic music is deeper than the majority of all music, especially considering how much music actually exists. I mean, we all know that Davi Guetta is the best thing since Tchaikovsky, but music like Clark is just puerile drivel.

Rave music is a whole other thing in itself though. It's not supposed to be emotionally captivating or whatever, it's a fast and crazy beat to dance to (if you're into that.) But seriously, most of electronic these days is not just UNCE UNCE UNCE. Hell, even the horrid LMFAO don't make UNCE UNCE UNCE... they're still shit though.

Here Come the Mummies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbOz9nFOItY&feature=relmfu

It's impossible to see these guys live and not have a good time. I love their energy :)

EDIT: Found another good song of theirs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMEjleMe920

Been said lots of times.
Enter Shikari
Kaiser Chiefs
Red Hot Chili peppers

DugMachine:
But seriously, most of electronic these days is not just UNCE UNCE UNCE. Hell, even the horrid LMFAO don't make UNCE UNCE UNCE... they're still shit though.

That type of music is still electronic, and therefore still relevant to the discussion. Something doesn't cease to exist when it goes out of fashion.

Barenaked Ladies has got to be my favorite band right now. Their name is definitely off-putting if you don't know their style of music (pretty upbeat and usually funny).
Great instrumentals and great lyrics. Oh, and they sing the theme song to Big Bang Theory.
And of course, their most famous song - http://youtu.be/fC_q9KPczAg

(Can anyone tell me how to put the actual video in a post? Kinda new at this.)

American: Neon Trees
British: Arctic Monkeys
French: Pheonix
Canadian: Something Corporate

This is all alt/indie rock, though I also enjoy rap as well as bands like Gorrilaz and Flobots.

Times Of Grace.
Lamb Of God.
DevilDriver.
Metallica.

Blind Guardian (and their side project with Iced Earth, Demons & Wizards)
Kamelot
Loreena Mckennit (Folk, not metal, but she's amazing)
Sonata Arctica
Eluveitie
Ensiferum
etc

I am really enjoying surf bands like Wavves, Best Coast, Surfer Blood and Beach Fossils. But If I was going to tell you to check out 4 bands I would recommend:

Reginald:

AnarchistFish:
I listen to a fair bit of electronic music and most of it's deeper and more emotionally captivating that most other music out there.

Rave music. What do you say to that, eh? All right, all right, how about this one? You remember this one? Unce, unce, unce, unce. Some electronic music is emotionally captivating, certainly, but I honestly think you'd be hard pressed to find electronic that's as emotionally powerful as, say, free jazz. There are electronic artists who create music with real depth, undoubtedly, but it's tough to argue that electronic music is deeper than the majority of all music, especially considering how much music actually exists. I mean, we all know that Davi Guetta is the best thing since Tchaikovsky, but music like Clark is just puerile drivel.

"Most" was probably a bad word to use.
A lot of electronic music is deeper than a hell of a lot of music (especially stuff with "instruments" which gets overproduced to shit), but for some reason it gets picked on.

Personally, I find this more captivating and emotional than any jazz or classical I've ever heard.

My favourite band (even though it is mainly one guy) is Voltaire, especially from the album The devils bris

I also like Nine Inch Nails, Queen and Interpol, especially these songs:

INGESTED
http://youtu.be/HUkw-fGnMuc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=sleQZy8cPWw
This is the same song as the previous one, but with lyrics