I would like to broaden my musical horizons. What independent and/or little known artists can you recommend? Perhaps people who have a regional or local following. Perhaps artists who are affiliated with a major label but get little or no support. Please include their web address if you know it.

Thanks.

www.cracknation.com
www.skinnypuppy.com
www.cyanotic-online.com
www.16volt.com
www.officialcirclejerks.com

Based on a recommendation in another thread, I checked out a band...or a guy I think...called Aqualung. British...unreleased in the states. His second album "Still Life" is incredible, but is only available as an import in the $20 range.

Kristin Sweetland

If you're into the Replacements and pre-ballad Goo Dolls, than I would suggest a musician named Marc Soloman. There are three bands that I'll recommend.

He was in a band called "Perfect" with Tommy Stinson of the Replacements. They have an EP out called "When Squirrels Play Chicken" and a full album called "Once, Twice, Three Times a Maybe". The full length album just came out a couple of months ago after sitting on the shelf since 1996.

The second band from Marc is called "Clumsy". He put out an album called "Center of Attention Deficit Disorder". It's one of my favorite albums. This can be picked up pretty cheap on either half.com or amazon.

The third band is Marc's new band called "Solly". Their first album is due out anytime now. You can check them out at www.sollysounds.com
You can get a little information about all three bands here if you're interested. http://www.sollysounds.com/welcome.htm

If you like hard rock but not real heavy then check out Canadian band Helix. They were on Capitol in the 80's but are now independent although Capitol just released a "Best Of" cd and their 30th Anniv Concert on dvd. They are a great RnR band who released a killer cd last May. You can check them out at www.planethelix.com

EDIT: Not really indie but underrated is Enuff Z'Nuff. They just released a new cd called "?". They are on the small label Perris Records. They are similar in style to Cheap Trick but still got the 80's Glam look. They are definitly worth checking out.
Perris have allot of great new up and coming bands in the hard rock/glam vein if that's your thing.

What are some of your well-known favorites? It's difficult to make many good recommendations if we have no idea what you're interested in.

check out some of the labels for some great indie stuff:

www.bloodshotrecords.com
www.mergerecords.com
www.dragcity.com
www.kpunk.com
www.killrockstars.com

just to name a couple...

Gregory Isaacs
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p...1:2z8n1vyjzzpa

Probably not what you're looking for, but he's one of reggae's greats.

Also, I've been listening to him all day, so...

Lucid - www.mob.net/~lucid/mp3/lucid.html
Moxy Fruvous - www.fruvous.com
Gaia Consort - www.gaiaconsort.com

David Ryan Harris

http://www.carinaround.co.uk/

One of my favorite groups is a band from Manchester England called Shack. Unfortunately, most of their albums are only on import, but you can often find their one US release "HMS Fable" in used record stores. In particular, the lead singer (and main songwriter) Michael Head put out a solo LP called Michael Head and the Strands which is one of my top 5 albums of all time. If you like artists like Elliott Smith, Oasis, Doves, Beck (the acoustic stuff), give them a try.

www.shackgroup.com

I used to listen to Enuff Z'Nuff, I had their first 3 cassettes. Not bad stuff.

If you like female singers, I always recommend Jonatha Brooke

She had a song on Dawson's Creek and a song in the Disney movie Return to Neverland. Most people have never heard of her and when I mention her name, they always say who is Jonathan Brooke?

One of my favorites and also a local band Chainsaw Kittens and their lead singer, Tyson Meade's solo album Motorcycle Childhood. I would go with their self titled or their first one, Violent Religion

a few:

Mason Jennings - well-known in Minnesota and less-well-known in the independent folk circles, he reminds me a little of Bob Dylan, in that he has a very distinctive style and successfully combines folk and rock into highly memorable and musical tunes. recommended disc: Birds Flying Away

The Shins - they scored a highly regarded, small-but-well-recognized success very early this year/late last year with their album Chutes Too Narrow. they are a rock band with catchy tunes that sound unique - to compare them to anybody else is difficult to do. recommended disc: Chutes Too Narrow

The Slackers - a ska band from New York, they are very laid back and will not annoy you like the peppier ska bands (i.e. Reel Big Fish) might, nor are they ska-core (ska + hardcore, i.e. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones). they are more like a faster version of Bob Marley's reggae work. but even that is a bad description. they're just really frickin cool. recommended disc: Redlight

Tanya Donelly - formerly the lead singer/songwriter for the early-90's band Belly, she has a distinctive style that will either enthrall you or leave you apathetic. i was enthralled. recommended disc: Lovesongs for Underdogs (or Belly's King)

Sigur Ros - they're very difficult to describe. they're very relaxing to listen to. i would say they're composition focused - as close to a perfect combination of an orchestra and a rock band. unlike anything you've ever heard, probably. if you have heard anything like them, it's probably because whoever it was sounds like them. they created their own language and sing in it. they're from Sweden, i believe. recommended disc: ( ) - the title is an open and closed parentheses, really.

The Cardigans - you've probably heard "Lovefool", their song which was on the Romeo & Juliet soundtrack and is now a party staple, but i highly recommend giving their newest album Long Gone Before Daylight a listen. it's the polar opposite of "Lovefool" - whereas "Lovefool" was candy-coated pop, LGBD is a dark, emotional work that, in my opinion, is nearly flawless in its execution. recommended disc: Long Gone Before Daylight

lastly, Gang of Four (not an official website) - a long-defunct band dating back to the late 70's/early 80's, i believe. if you like The Clash, give them a try. (and if you don't know the Clash, get The Clash's London Calling this instant. it's widely considered one of the best albums ever made.) They are reuniting for some shows in 2005. recommended disc: Entertainment!

The Muffs

Victory Records has a couple of bands that are decent. I like Action Action, Silverstein, and Hawthorne Heights.

The Shins - Chutes too Narrow
Arcade Fire - Funeral


I just got some other new CDs that would fit this topic and haven't had a chance to check them out. I would recommend checking out metacritic.com for some generally good advice.

dan baird
the yayhoos
anything J mascis
roger clyne and the peacemakers
another vote for the chainsaw kittens

miles of wire

great local band. you can hear their entire first album streamed from the website.

kms

Good stuff. The guy's voice is excellent.

much better live. i plan on seeing them (again) this saturday.

kms

The http://www.pushstars.com/ (Push Stars) - I recommend After The Party, their best work so far. Specifically the song Drunk Is Better Than Dead - jsut a great song. You can sample some of their music on the website.

I got my dad the Rob Dougan album for Christmas and I liked it so much I had to get one for myself.