**BLUR **
In the US, maybe - over there they seem to be known as “that song 2 band”, which is a bit of a shame. On our side of the pond they’re rather well-known, though.
I can think of a few dozen bands that I don’t think get their due, but for the most part I can see why they’re overlooked by most people.
I’ve never really understood why the Apples in Stereo aren’t more popular than they are, though.
Most of the ones that first came to mind have already been mentioned: Lyle Lovett, Apples in Stereo, Pete Yorn, Tragically Hip, Toad the Wet Sprocket, etc. I’ll add:
Belle and Sebastian, though they have a good following. Maybe they’re not as accessible as I think they are.
Spoon, though they seem to be getting a little more noteriety since the near-perfect album Girls Can Tell.
Beulah is making beautiful pop music, but I only heard of them on chance, and though I’ve had my ears open, haven’t heard much of them since.
Sparklehorse has perfected the production quirks Wilco tried to capture on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
Also, The Trashcan Sinatras put out fabulous music, but their song title Obscurity Knocks seems to sum up the exposure they received.
Lastly, Nick Cave is a modern lyrical genius as far as I can tell with amazing interpretation, but remains something of a cult figure, despite his multi-decade career with no sign of doing anything but maturing and improving.
He was talking about Roger’s solo works. Which I HATED.
[rant]
As a matter of fact, I hate all Pink Floyd solo albums, and I hate every Floyd album made after The Final Cut (Except for Pulse). This includes Nick Mason’s album, Gilmour’s solo albums, Roger’s albums, and even Syd Barret’s albums. And Lapse of Reason, Delicate Sound of Thunder, Division Bell, and everything before Meddle. Except for maybe Atom Heart Mother and Ummagumma.
[/rant]
Floyd is the best band ever, though.
I’ll add Frank Zappa and the Mothers, and The Band.
Oh yeah, and Galactic. The best band out right now. I saw them on Thursday; WOW.
i think a lot of bands coming out of virginia are really underrated. i say this because growing up here, anyone who’s not in the eastern seaboard compares any band to dave matthews band. i suspect that this happened to a lot of really great bands who came out of seattle in the early 90s who never got out of the shadows of nirvana, pearl jam, etc.
but anyway, since someone already mentioned the fantastic emmet swimming, here are some fantastic underrated bands:
virginia coalition - white boy go-go at its finest
o.a.r.
guster
agents of good roots
john mayer - gets no credit because he’s been made popular by vapid teenage girls who give him a bad name, but he writes great songs, and is an unexpectedly amazing guitar player…
I hear that, brother. Especially the Futureperfect material, which, in my opinion is definitely not as strong as previous stuff (primarily in production), but is a far cry better than most give it credit for.
I almost put them down on my list. They’re somewhat known in my little part of big ol Texas. Alot of people have heard their songs but don’t know it’s by Our Lady Peace. I really like them myself.
I would add another vote for Apples in Stereo, but I’ve only heard a few songs by them. What I’ve heard is pretty good though.
They’re very popular with young people (early 30s and younger) here and every single ends up in heavy rotation on the radio, but OTOH, we might have greater than average exposure to the band, given that Canada is only a three hour drive away.
Depeche Mode. Most people either scream and hold their ears or say ‘hey, I remember that song’ when ‘Personal Jesus’ comes on. Violator wasn’t Depeche Mode’s only CD; it was just the one with the most airplay.
And of course, the venerable Einstürzende Neubauten.
Geza X
Le Shok
Definetly Le Shok.
Fountains of Wayne. In a perfect world I’d be sick of hearing their music on the radio constantly.
Suzanne Vega. So much more than Luka and Tom’s Diner.
Wilco, very seriously. Aside from community radio I’ve never heard them on the airwaves, never seen one of their videos, and know perhaps five people who have ever even heard of them.
The Jayhawks. Excellent sense of melody, especially on their recent pop-oriented material.
Death Cab for Cutie. Literate and wistful.
The Tea Party (another Canadian band). They unfortunately get looped in with the likes of Nickelback and Our Lady Peace (whom I definitely think are overrated), but they make some really interesting, bombastic music with lots of crazy instruments.
Spirit of the West. Better than Great Big Sea and just as fun to get sloshed to.
Wesley Willis may be a one trick pony (or rather, a one track pony, given that the music for almost every song he plays is the exact same “Demo” button on a cheap synth) but it’s a great trick.
Sublime, maybe less so in America, but there almost underheard of in the UK 
Ben Folds Five/Ben Folds solo. They had pretty much one ever radio hit, “Brick”, which makes little sense because “Brick” sounds pretty much nothing like all their other songs.
Prong.
They totally followed their own muse and created some of the most interesting heavy metal of the 90’s. Cleansing and Rude Awakening are good places for newbies to start (Cleansing is the best example of the classic Prong sound. Prong introduced more industrial elements in Rude Awakening).
They received good critical acclaim but never got the sales they deserved. Due to this, the lead singer/guitarist decided a better gig was with Glenn Danzig and disbanded Prong. :wally
Failure was a great band that I will always miss. Anyone who isn’t familiar with them should give their album Fantastic Planet a shot. Great album that is pretty unique.
Damn, you need to find some new friends. Pretty much everyone I know is into Wilco on some level. I know at least a dozen people who bought Yankee Hotel Foxtrot the week it came out.
But I agree, they’re one of those bands you hear a lot about in certain circles but not at all in the mass media.
They’ve only made one video, though, that I know of. What’s the point of making a video if you’re not cute and people have to actually think about your songs?
As for underrated bands:
fIREHOSE
I’m listening to Flyin’ the Flannel right now and it always blows my mind. It’s such a great, varied, interesting album.
Ask anyone you know about fIREHOSE, and they’ll possibly start singing “Finally Found the Love of a Lifetime” by the horrible 80’s lite-hair-metal band Firehouse. Nobody knows who they are, which is sad.