10) Kaiser Chiefs (Indie Pop/rock)
First song heard: I Predict A Riot
Made me fall in love: I Predict A Riot
Fave song: Saturday Night
Fave album: Employment
I liked the wild side to their music. I played their first album on CD all the time in summer 2006. I liked the other two albums, but I think their debut will always be the best one. Ricky's voice is a bit average at best, but everything seems to work for me. Despite the lyrics not being very breath-taking or amazing, I do find a lot of it though provoking with hints of blunt honesty. They're an odd group, which is why I love them.
9) Placebo (Alternative Rock)
First song heard: My Sweet Prince
Made me fall in love: My Sweet Prince
Fave song: My Sweet Prince
Fave album: Without You I'm Nothing
Discovered the band by accident in 2005 while watching fan-made music videos. The original video I found that introduced to the song has been removed for copy-right reasons, but My Sweet Prince still remains a haunting and blunt ballad to me. I love the eeriness in Brian Meko's vocals and how it blends with the deep lyrics. In the progress of saving money up so I can get all the albums on CD.
Garbage (Alternative Rock)
First song heard: The World Is Not Enough
Made me fall in love: #1 Crush
Fave song: #1 Crush
Fave album: Undecided on this one.
I love the grungy tone in Shirley's vocals and her deep tone makes her stand out from the crowd. They've been consistently great with a lot of thought provoking songs that end up being dark and beautiful at the same time. When I heard they were recently working on a new album, I was pleasantly surprised.
7) Evanescence (Alternative/Gothic/Symphonic Rock)
First song heard: Bring Me To Life
Made me fall in love: Going Under
Fave song: Haunted
Fave album: The Open Door
Some very deep and sometimes depressing music, but for some reason it makes me happy. Amy Lee's vocals pleased me beyond expectations in The Open Door, especially in The Weight Of The World. One band I would definitely would love to see live.
6) The Sins Of Thy Beloved (Gothic Metal)
First song heard: My Love.
Made me fall in love: Until The Dark
Fave song: Forever
Fave album: Perpetual Desolation
Favourite music discovery of 2010 for me. Very dark and beautiful. It's a shame they haven't done anything new in over ten years. I like the mellow tone in Anita's voice and the violins made their music stand out even more. I saw some clips from their live concert recorded on video and I think they sound much better live than on the studio versions. I really want to own the live CD and video but they're a very rare items because they were poorly distributed.
5) Destiny's Child (R&B)
First song heard: With Me
Made me fall in love: Survivor
Fave song: Bills, Bills, Bills
Fave album: The Writing's On The Wall
Very upbeat and satisfying music. I like the attitude thrown in with their songs. The Writing's On The Wall was one of my saviours at college last year and one of the few albums I ended up buying twice. Their debut is really underrated in my opinion and I think they make fantastic single choices.
4) Nightwish (Symphonic Metal)
First song heard: Walking In The Air
Made me fall in love: Phantom Of The Opera
Fave song: While Your Lips Are Still Red
Fave album: Dark Passion Play
Nightwish have made a huge impact on me. Their cover of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom Of The Opera", brought me into the fanbase of The Phantom Of The Opera. It made me buy the movie, soundtrack, see it in theatre and made me love Sarah Brightman. Tuomas is very imaginative when it comes to song writing and I like his arrangements. My favourite album with the first lead singer, Tarja is Oceanborn, while my favourite overall is Dark Passion Play. They keep on improving and continue to get stronger as a band. They've made many risks in their career, but I think every one of them worked.
3) Within Temptation (Gothic/Celtic/Symphonic Rock/Metal/Pop)
First song heard: Angels
Made me fall in love: Memories
Fave song: The Dance
Fave album: Enter/The Dance/ Mother Earth/The Silent Force/The Heart Of Everything/The Unforgiving/Black Symphony
Despite a lot of gradual reinventions of themselves, I think all of their albums have been consistently good. I like how each album sounds very different to the other while having a special trademark in Sharon's voice. They're one of the most diverse bands around.
2) Depeche Mode (Synthpop/ New Wave/Electronic)
First song heard: Just Can't Get Enough
Made me fall in love: Only When I Lose Myself
Fave song: Dressed In Black
Fave album: Black Celebration/Violator
Simply beautiful. A lot of their music sounds very experimental and I feel like I'm in another world when I'm listening to their music. Black Celebration and Violator in my opinion ticks all the boxes of how I would describe a perfect album because I love their dark atmosphere in the music.
1) Sugababes (Pop)
First song heard: Overload
Made me fall in love: Overload
Fave song: Stronger
Fave album: Three
Favourite band for a long time. I've always found their glaring line-up changes very interesting while still constantly enjoying their music. They've long past their peak and currently into a very black era. A lot of people think this black era of the Sugababes began when Keisha left, but I think it started since Mutya left because they lost a lot of originality with Mutya. I still love all the line ups and albums though. I've made lots of memories with this group's music.
Honourable mentions:
Muse, Spice Girls, T.a.T.u., Eths, Arch Enemy, Tristania, Therion, Iron Maiden, Flyleaf, Kamelot, Atomic Kitten, Eternal, Busted, Fightstar, Take That, Epica, Alestorm, Nirvana, The Beatles, Leaves' Eyes, Mindless Self Indulgence, Queen, TLC, The Veronicas, Levellers, Metallica, Gorillaz and Kamelot.
It's probably my favorite song right now...
