Who is the artist out there that you enjoy that you feel not many other people know about or is not widely known? I have been listening for the last couple of days to Everything but the Girl. I have 4 of their CDs in "Idlewild", "Amplified Heart", "Walking Wounded", and "Temperamental". I need to get a couple more, but all of these albums are excellent. "Idlewild" and "Amplified Heart" are more folk-pop with a jazzy flair to them. "Walking Wounded" and "Temperamental" are electronic albums with great beats and the unbelievable singing voice of Tracey Thorn. To me, there is no better female vocalist than Tracey Thorn. Her voice is so smooth, so pleasant to listen to. It is hard to compare her voice to anyone else, but there are songs by EBTG in which her voice is absolutely haunting and sends chills down my spine. Tracey also sings "Protection" on Massive Attack's CD of the same name, and on the D 'N' B album by Adam F on a song called "The Tree Knows Everything". Oh and if all you know about EBTG is "Missing", then I implore you to look further. Yes, "Missing" is a great song, both the original and the Todd Terry re-mix that was so popular, but there is so much more to this group than that one song. I highly recommend downloading some of their tracks off "Amplified Heart" and "Idlewild" (especially the song "Apron String").
Nick Lowe. Quite possibly one of the greatest songwriters and producers ever, and he has never gotten his due.
Damn, Manny...you mean you HAVEN'T done a thread like this already? You're slipping... I'd have to go with Cake. The only two songs of theirs that have gotten any kind of airplay are "The Distance" and "Short Skirt/Long Jacket"
I think that Nomar would argue that the Backstreet Boys are clearly head and shoulders above N'Sync and 98 Degrees, and it is vastly underrating them to even mention them all in the same breath. As for myself, I still maintain that Van Morrisson and Prince are two of the musical geniuses of the last 50 years, and neither get their proper respect...Speaking of which, Otis' original was better.
I'll pick two groups that have massive followings, but most people still haven't heard them: Ben Harper (maybe not as much) Widespread Panic I'd also nominate The Tragically Hip, moe., The String Cheese Incident, Sonic Youth, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, and Guy Forsyth.
I just picked up one of their cds for the first time...not bad. Another one is O.A.R. Oh crap, I forgot my biggest underrated music artist: <B>Matthew Sweet</B>
Jilly Flilly Do I win? Am I cool now? Do my oh-so-non-mainstream musical tastes make me the envy of the board? God, I hope so.
Bad Religion and Less Than Jake. Yeah, most people at least have heard of one or the other, but they dont get enough props for the music they produce. But thank God, they will probably never go main stream (ie. Pop.)
I'd have to nominate the worlds favorite coked out pixie Bjork though she has a loyal following, I think she still fits in this category
Actually, their CD with Short Skirt/Long Jacket was their worst selling major label CD. Their first two CDs both went platinum and I dont even think the SS/LJ one has gone gold.