Here's my list of favourites: No Doubt (actually it's Ska) Siouxsie and the Banshees The Velvet Underground The Smiths Andrew Bird Patrick Wolf Iron and Wine
I don't usually listen to indie/alternative stuff nowadays. A lot of them sucks or just bland, but I do find Datarock and Phoenix to be quite talented. The songs they made are really catchy, imo.
As for punk, Killing Joke. No contest. Seroiusly, their late 70s/early 80s stuff trumps a lot of other post-punk bands out there. Most of them incredibly unique or weird. Have a listen to this [link]
Oh, yeah. I found out about The Shin recently and I neglected to mention them earlier. Awesome band. I loved them as soon as I finished watching this one [link] (yeah, another video. Enjoy!)
I've tried listening to Sonic Youth in the past but it didn't really stick with me. Of course, it's been a while since then anyway. What albums would you suggest a new listener check out with Sonic Youth?
Here's my list of favourites:
No Doubt (actually it's Ska)
Siouxsie and the Banshees
The Velvet Underground
The Smiths
Andrew Bird
Patrick Wolf
Iron and Wine