Status: Mostly together, 7 albums.
Blur is the band that revolutionized British rock in the 90's. 4 dudes with STRONG accents started the band Blur and it's great music. I own 3 of their 7 albums, and my socks have been rocked by this band. 1994's Parklife is a must-have for any music fan, it has a wide range of music and not one of the 16 songs is 'bad'. Their next album The Great Escape is also great, it has a #1 hit on it and it's an overall good album although it's definately not as good as Parklife. If you really like the band after listening to Parklife get this one. Then in 1997 the band released an album that would change their image immensley, the album called only Blur. It has AMAZING music on it, this is another album that I highly recommend for any music fan. It also has the official "song of the 1990's" on it: Song 2 (also called Woo-hoo). If you haven't heard this song you're really missing something.
Albums not mentioned:
Leisure, 1991. I hear it's OK and very similar to Parklife
Modern Life is Rubbish 1993. I hear it's amazing, one of their best
13, 2001. Mixed reviews, I guess it's like the quieter songs on Blur
Think Tank, 2003. Explicit lyrics for some reason, I guess it's amazing though.
blur.co.uk
Status: Together, 3 albums out
Slipknot is a Rock/Metal band made of 9 members who all wear matching jumpsuits and strange masks, such as a gas mask and a clown mask. These people obviously have problems but they can play some pretty good music.
Slipknot's first 2 albums are filled with the F-word and other cussing, but the band came to their senses in 2003 to release their album Volume 3, which has a great and wide range of music, as well as VERY little cussing. Regardless of what kind of music you like, you'll love Volume 3, it's an amazing blend of all mediums of music, although most of it is Rock oriented. The other 2 albums may not be for you, but Vol. 3 can get anyone rockin' out. slipknot1.com
Status: Old news
Led Zeppelin was a Pioneer in hard rock in the 70's, and I only own their first album but it is amazing. There's several hard rock songs, for those of you who like that, one or 2 blues songs, an instrumental, and just plain rock on some tracks. It's a great cd that got 5 stars on Amazon.com, and anyone who likes music, once again, should buy it. I don't know a whole lot about this band except that they went on to be VERY big and that Mervyn's still sells Led Zeppelin merchendise, even though the band is long gone. The guitar playing is great on their debut album and it's a must have.
ledzeppelin.com
Status: Old News
Although I'm not a huge fan anymore, Dire Straits has always been one of my favorite bands. Mark Knopfler, the guitarist, is probably one of the most skilled in the world. Every song by Dire Straits has excellent guitar playing. The lyrics are also great although Mark often mumbles instead of singing. Dire Straits's debut album was a huge hit with the platinum song 'Sultans of Swing', and although their second album was a poor follow-up their 3rd was also a huge hit. Their 4th album contained one of the longest but best played songs ever released, "Telegraph Road". Their 5th album, Brothers in Arms, was one of the best selling albums ever. In England about 1 in every 8 households had a copy of this album.
Although Dire Straits is 80's rock, I recommend it to anyone who likes rock but not really the heavy stuff.
Status: Still Around, last album 2003
NOFX is one of the best punk bands around today. Their songs are often humorous with names like "Hobophobic: Scared of Bums" and "Freedumb of Speech". Lots of their music is loud and fun to listen to, some songs have phenominal guitar playing. But unfortunately NOFX plays some "ska" music which is really lame. This band's greatest hits album is a musthave for any music fan, I've let all my friends have a listen and they instantly become huge fans.The album costs about $10, but if you want free music you can legally download NOFX songs from Amazon.com.