1. The Beatles- Favorite Band Ever. So many great albums, so many great singles... innovators, genius wordcrafters... just damn good and consistent. Check out I Am The Walrus, Roll Over Beethoven, Strawberry Fields Forever, A Day In The Life, I'm Only Sleeping, Tomorrow Never Knows, Rain, She's A Woman, Abbey Road (album), Get Back, Revolution, Hey Jude, Help! (album), heck, just check out all you can.
2. Coldplay- You either love them or hate them. I believe they are musically sound. Check out Don't Panic, Shiver, Everything's Not Lost, Clocks, and Fix You.
3. The Who- Just so many great songs- esp. I Can't Explain, Baba O'Reilly, Substitute, Anyway Anyhow Anywhere...
4. The Moody Blues- THE most musically sound band I can name. Brilliant musicians, and great melodies, and one of my favorite concept albums of all time- Days of Future Passed. Check out that album, or at the very least, Nights In White Satin.
5. The Shins- There's something golden about this band. They sound retro, but modern. They have great little melodies. Their lyrics are SMART. Check out New Slang (a brilliant song), Kissing The Lipless, Baby Boomerang, and So Says I (< a song about communism... who else can pull that off?!).
6. Green Day- So many great singles. And unlike many people, I absolutely loved American Idiot. I thought it was very well done, and the songs were ALL great. Check out Holiday, St. Jimmy, Hitchin' A Ride...
7. Crosby Stills and Nash- Greatest harmonies around. I don't know how they do it. Check out the albums Crosby, Stills, & Nash, and Deja Vu (which has a side of Neil Young).
8. Jet- A Modern Rock Band that sounds pretty old fashioned... except very loud. Sure they ripped off other bands... a lot (Look What You've Done vs. Sexy Sadie), but their album is pretty neat, especially if you tack Sgt. Major (a very good song) on the end- its 7 sets of A & B side singles. And most of the songs are pretty good.
9. Pink Floyd- A crazy little band. Their songs have so many absurd things going on in them. Listen to Dark Side Of The Moon, The Wall, and Wish You Were Here.
10. Bob Dylan- What LYRICS! I can only listen to him for so long, but his lyrics are so incredible. Inspiring even. Check out Blowing In The Wind, Like A Rolling Stone, The Times They Are A-Changing, and (snigger) Rainy Day Woman
11. Rooney- an odd choice, but I like their sound. Along with Jet, I want another album from these guys badly. Check out Blueside, The Floor (funny song that one), and If It Were Up To Me.