A-Z Music Challenge

 Well aren't I late to the party????  I was buried at work while all the A-Z Music Challenge posts were going on, but as I have caught up on my backlog of blog reading, I caught quite a few of them.  Loads of fun!  I had my memory jogged about artists I hadn't listened to in a long time, and found a few new ones to try out.

I compiled the picks from the posts of other bloggers that I read, and will include them after each of my picks for reference.  Also, I think it will be fun to see all these picks in the same place.  Sorry for any bloggers I missed (I am sure there are a few).  Those included are:

The Collector, Night Owl, Mint Condition, Card Buzz, My Sports Obsession, The Collective Mind, Diamond Jesters, Condition Sensitive

OK, about my selections.  I seem to have gone pretty mainstream, very few nobodies on my list.  Sorry about that.  I am also kind of old, so you will see a late 80s, early 90s heavy list. 

A - Alice in Chains  Grungy harmonies!  For me, even though there is a lot of appreciation for them out there, these guys are still underrated for me.

Selections from other bloggers: All Time Low, Alan Parsons Project, Arcade Fire, AC/DC 2,  Aerosmith , Avenged Sevenfold, Alterbridge, Audioslave

B - Barenaked Ladies  Hmm, interesting pick.  But I stand by it!

Others I like that weren't mentioned by other bloggers: Blues Traveler, The Beatles

Selections from other bloggers: Bush, Blondie, Blur, Bon Jovi,  Beastie Boys, Blake Shelton, Bonham, Barenaked Ladies, B.T.O - What, no bloggers like Beyonce???

C - Counting Crows   Yeah, I might be losing readers already!!  But I really love the Crows, even if their frontman looks like a weenie.

Others I like that weren't mentioned by other bloggers: The Cranberries, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Candlebox, Collective Soul

Selections from other bloggers: The Cure, The Cars, Coldplay 2, Chris Stapleton, The Cult, Jonathan Coulton, Corrupted 

D - Def Leppard  Straight 80s rock.  Just brings the old days right back.

Selections from other bloggers: Depeche Mode, Dire Straits, The Divine Comedy, Daft Punk,  Darude, DC Talk, Dokken, Deep Purple, Danzig 

E - The Eagles  OK, these guys were really before my time.  But as I hope these picks bear out, I am a fan of harmonization, and there are a ton of classic tracks in their catalog.

Selections from other bloggers: Electric Light Orchestra 4, Eminem , Eagles, Evanescence, Electric Wizard

F - Foo Fighters  For my money, they are not amazing, but consistently solid.  Like a .290 hitter with 30 homers, year in and year out.

Others I like that weren't mentioned by other bloggers: Five for Fighting

Selections from other bloggers: Fall Out Boy, Fleetwood Mac 2, Foo Fighters 4,  Fun, Fastway, Forteresse 

G - Guns N' Roses  One of my top five, dang it.  I feel funny saying that, but the first few albums hit on all cylinders.  Maybe a comparison could be Albert Pujols.  Sizzling first 10 years, followed by the second half of his career where he wasn't quite the same player.  Unlike the lead singers of most of the bands in my list, I would have no interest in hanging with Axl Rose.

Selections from other bloggers: Green Day 2, Garbage, Goo Goo Dolls 2, Guns N'Roses,  Genesis 3, Godsmack, Godspeed You Black Emperor!

H - Hootie and the Blowfish  These guys are too closely tied to some of the best times in my life.  Every time I hear them, I feel good.

Selections from other bloggers: Jimi Hendrix, Heart 2, George Harrison, Hall & Oates, Halestorm, Harvey Danger, Hate Forest

I - INXS  Not a lot of options for me at this letter, but INXS was decent, right?

Selections from other bloggers: I Don't Know How But They Found Me 2, INXS, Ice Cube, Ingrid Michaelson, Iron Maiden, Incubus, Iron & Wine

J - Michael Jackson  Just a legend.  Not really near the top of my list to just sit and listen to, but still good.  Since I have never really been a Red Sox fan, maybe this could be David Ortiz.  Not my favorite, but there was no denying his specialness, especially to Boston fans.

Others I like that weren't mentioned by other bloggers: Elton John, Journey

Selections from other bloggers: Joy Division, Jefferson Starship, Jamiroquai, John Mayer, Journey, Judas Priest 2, Jet

K - Kiss   Eh, whatever.  It's a pick that starts with a K.

Selections from other bloggers: Kent, The Killers 2, Killswitch Engage, Keith Urban, Kiss, B.B. King, Khanate 

L - Led Zepplin  Rock royalty, with an amazingly deep catalog.  Great musical talent, gifted even.  Maybe a Ted Williams comparison here?

Others I like that weren't mentioned by other bloggers: Linkin Park

Selections from other bloggers: Linkin Park 3, Little River Band, Lee Brice, Led Zeppelin 2, Looking Glass

M - Metallica  Like a lot of folks, I didn't get into Metallica until the Black album.  But after that, I was able to appreciate the rest of what they do.  Crazy guys.  So fast and powerful.  This comparison doesn't seem really right, but with that speed/power combo, I was thinking Rickey Henderson.  Though Jose Canseco might be more appropriate, especially with Jose's hair in the early days!

Others I like that weren't mentioned by other bloggers: Matchbox 20

Selections from other bloggers: Muse 2, Maria McKee, Michael Jackson 2, Metallica 2, Megiddo 

N - Nirvana  Legacy here.  Short and sweet career, but the impact and influence was real.  I don't like them as much as at least three or four 'grunge' bands on this list, but for the letter N, they'll do.

Selections from other bloggers: New Order 2, Nine Inch Nails,  Nirvana 2, Neil Diamond, Night Ranger, No Doubt, Nick Drake

O - The Offspring  These guys are just different from anyone else.  And I like it!  My current comparison is Randy Johnson.

Selections from other bloggers: Oasis 3, OMD, The Offspring 3, OneRepublic, Ozzy Osbourne, Om 

P - Pearl Jam  My all time favorite band.  I loved the early rockin, and love the later stuff when they slowed down a little.

Others I like that weren't mentioned by other bloggers: Presidents of the United States of America

Selections from other bloggers: Pvris, Pretenders, Pearl Jam 2, Prince, Pink Floyd 2, Tom Petty

Q - Queen  Another heavyweight, what's there to say?

Selections from other bloggers: Queen 4, Queens of the Stone Age, Queensryche 2, Quest for Fire

R - REM  Totally different and distinctive sound.  I'd like to compare them to a Brave, since they are Georgia guys, but the actual best comparison for me is going to be Rod Carew.  Just a little different, funky batting stance. But effective and fun to watch.

Others I like that weren't mentioned by other bloggers: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rush

Selections from other bloggers: Radiohead 2, REM 2, Russ Taff, Rage Against the Machine, Rusted Root, Ramones 

S - Stone Temple Pilots  Totally underrated.  Phenomenal musical ability.  Not necessarily their technical abilities, but the ability to put everything together and make something greater than any of them.  Maybe not the best comparison, but kind of like one of those recent Royals or Giants teams that won the World Series by just being a great team together.

Others I like that weren't mentioned by other bloggers: Sister Hazel, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Soul Asylum

Selections from other bloggers: Smashing Pumpkins 2, Simple Minds, Staind,  Sylvester,  Social Distortion,  Stone Temple Pilots 2, Skillet, Skid Row, Summoning 

T - Temple of the Dog  Surprise entry here, but maybe not a huge one, considering the amount of grunge on this list.  This was a grouping of Soundgarden and Mother Love Bone (Pearl Jam's predecessor).  A tribute to Mother Love Bone's lead singer Andrew Wood who died of an overdose.  One album only.  I really like it.

Others I like that weren't mentioned by other bloggers: Tesla

Selections from other bloggers: Thirty Seconds To Mars, Talking Heads 2, Third Eye Blind,  Tears for Fears,  Toad the Wet Sprocket, Taylor Swift, Twisted Sister, They Might be Giants 2, Thorns 

U - U2  Heavy hitter again!  What more is there to say.

Selections from other bloggers: U2 5, Unleash the Archers, Ugly Kid Joe, Ulver 

V - Van Halen  My first 'favorite song' ever was Jump by these guys.  I think I was 9 or 10.  Still love it, and there was a lot more to come after that.  Several other bloggers mentioned liking them more with Sammy Hagar, and I can't disagree.  But those early days are what first come to mind when I think of Van Halen.

Selections from other bloggers: Van Halen 4, Vampire Weekend, The Verve, Veruca Salt, Velvet Cacoon

W - Weezer  A strange group, but right up my alley.  

Others I like that weren't mentioned by other bloggers: The Wallflowers, Whitney Houston

Selections from other bloggers: The White Stripes, Weezer 2, Stevie Wonder, Steven Wilson, Whiteheart, Whitesnake, Weezer, Colter Wall

X - XTC  the only group starting with X that I could find that I knew a song by.

Selections from other bloggers: X, X Ambassadors, King's X, XTC 2 

Y - Weird Al Yankovic  Kooky, harmless and entertaining.  I'm making the comparison to Max Patkin, the Clown Prince of Baseball!

Selections from other bloggers: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Yes 2, Young the Giant 2, You + Me, Weird Al Yankovic, Neil Young

Z - ZZ Top  The default pick?  Yeah, but they still had me interested when I was a kid.  With all the beards in baseball now, There's gotta be a good comparison.  How about Justin Turner?

Selections from other bloggers: ZZ Top 3, Zombie Nation, Zac Brown Band, Frank Zappa, Zpoan Vtenz

Thanks for reading!!