# most underrated bands **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2003, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122 "2003-02-06T03:31:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![thirdshiftgrottoslack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@thirdshiftgrottoslack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdshiftgrottoslack)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/1 "2003-02-06T03:31:36Z")
felt like we needed the other side of the coin. with all the mentions of wilco on the “most overrated” post, i’d have to add another former uncle tupelo member to this one; jay farrar. wilco is good, but farrar and son volt are absolutely amazing. “trace” and “straightaways” are classics, just heartbreakingly beautiful rock. not the overblown, overwrought, maudlin-ass crap that’s popular these days, but the kind of music rock was SUPPOSED to be. i think the country leanings kind of turn people off, but if you take time to really absorb the music, you’ll understand. the afghan whigs (sadly now defunct) are/were also tragically underrated. they were always the critical darlings, but never got much radio play. it’s weird, too, because they seemed pretty accessible to me. greg dulli is a master of shaping guilt into art. at their best, the whigs made you feel dirty, depraved, but strangely proud of it. get “black love” and “gentlemen.” hell, get all their shit, you won’t be disappointed. as a side note, these guys did the best covers. i usually hate covers, especially as lead-off singles. it’s just a lazy practice. but the whigs changed the music so much, and injected so much sleaziness into the songs, they were basically unrecognizable. check out their cover of tlc’s “creep.” ---
**Author:** ![Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/db5fbb/32.png) [@Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fred)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/2 "2003-02-06T03:41:08Z")
Hear are some bands I think get a bum rap from most folks: The Strokes The Vines The White Stripes The Hives Timbaland The Neptunes/NERD And by extensions, Justin Timberlake’s new album. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/3 "2003-02-06T03:41:37Z")
H.P. Lovcraft ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/4 "2003-02-06T04:35:33Z")
Cake ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/5 "2003-02-06T05:56:32Z")
‘Cream’, definetly. Clapton was at his best in this era. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/6 "2003-02-06T07:27:35Z")
Marry Me Jane Possum Dixon Mighty Joe Plum Dishwalla And, to some extent, Guster. ---
**Author:** ![23skidoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/f04885/32.png) [@23skidoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/23skidoo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/7 "2003-02-06T07:54:10Z")
CCR and Devo ---
**Author:** ![AchimbaProphet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@AchimbaProphet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AchimbaProphet)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/8 "2003-02-06T09:08:54Z")
Siouxsie & The Banshees The Cardigans Portishead ---
**Author:** ![Dryga\_Yes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@Dryga\_Yes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dryga_Yes)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/9 "2003-02-06T10:31:53Z")
Love Suicide Can ---
**Author:** ![Reuben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/54ee81/32.png) [@Reuben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reuben)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/10 "2003-02-06T11:34:18Z")
The Bolshoi. (Not the ballet.) ---
**Author:** ![Jberto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@Jberto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jberto)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/11 "2003-02-06T13:05:25Z")
Pete Yorn - He’s only had one album, “musicforthemorningafter,” but its an incredible masterpiece. Freedy Johnston - he creates some of the most complex characters in his songs. D Generation PJ Harvey King’s X ---
**Author:** ![S.Mussberger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@S.Mussberger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/S.Mussberger)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/12 "2003-02-06T13:28:36Z")
\Soundtrack Of Our lives\, although they seem to be catching on a bit. \Monster\, The Clasish and brilliant… \Ten Years After\, you try and sit still when they go at it. ---
**Author:** ![Felonious\_Mink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Felonious\_Mink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Felonious_Mink)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/13 "2003-02-06T14:08:14Z")
VNV Nation - just can’t live without 'em. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/14 "2003-02-06T14:21:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ISiddiqui \* > \*\*‘Cream’, definetly. Clapton was at his best in this era. \*\* Wow. In the 70s, Cream would have been called one of the most overrated. After they broke up there were a large number of second-rate live albums and repackagings, and their reputation fell like a rock. That may be why they seem to be underrated today. Though I would say that, listening to Disraeli Gears, it’s obvious that Jack Bruce’s contribution is sorely overlooked. For groups of the era, I’d say, Traffic is vastly underrated. Never had a US hit (“Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” gets airplay nowadays, but it wasn’t a hit because of its length), but put out one fine album after another. I’d also add: Flash and the Pan The Siegel-Schwall Band Kak Lyle Lovett ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/15 "2003-02-06T14:27:27Z")
I think its a pity that the _Tragically Hip_ never made it really _big_ in the world other than Canada. While not the best band evah, they are pretty damn good. I think _Big Sugar_ has a really good cross section of sound and underated too. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/16 "2003-02-06T14:30:07Z")
Don’t know how to define underrated exactly, but as for bands that didn’t get the commercial success they deserved or live today in semi-obscurity, I think the following may fit the bill, though they are rated fairly highly in the critical world: Big Star The Zombies The Soft Boys The Magnetic Fields Thin White Rope Wire On the other hand, I could see the argument that these bands were never underrated. Maybe “under-heard” would be a better way to caregorize these guys. ---
**Author:** ![MemoryGongs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58f4c7/32.png) [@MemoryGongs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MemoryGongs)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/17 "2003-02-06T15:20:52Z")
PJ Harvey Boards of Canada (although if Carmen Electra suddenly name-dropped them, or Brooke Burke for that matter, I would be forced to disembowel myself) Underworld Thievery Corporation The Sundays ---
**Author:** ![CuriousCanuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@CuriousCanuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CuriousCanuck)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/18 "2003-02-06T15:41:26Z")
I agree with The Hip and Big Sugar. I would like to addd The Philosopher Kings to that list… Non Canadian artists, I would have to say Jeff Buckley’s “Grace” was one of the greatest albums put out ever. It’s a shame he died… ---
**Author:** ![MemoryGongs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58f4c7/32.png) [@MemoryGongs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MemoryGongs)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/19 "2003-02-06T15:51:51Z")
Big Sugar yes but after being in Winnipeg for all my life I am sick of the Hip. Great band but around here every hoser treats them like they wrote the national anthem. Fully Completely yes, everything else…hmmm 50-50 ---
**Author:** ![Feynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@Feynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feynn)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122/20 "2003-02-06T16:12:53Z")
Bands and artists in Canada that other people really should know about and perhaps look up… The Tragically Hip, Wide Mouth Mason, Colin James (with or without the Little Big Band), and Jeff Healy… who IMHO is the one of the greatest blues guitarists ever. and… Ry Cooder - Another phenomenal guitar player. Take a listen to “Get Rythym”. Lyle Lovett - R&B, Country, Blues, Rock … and a lyrical genius to boot. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-bands/153122.md?page=2)