Top 5 anime series

so yeah been thinking about making this list for a while, without further ado:

1. Death Note

Yup, I put it as #1. One of most famous and popular animes, and deservedly so I reckon, really awesome story, very original (when it came out) also and pretty cool characters that you really get to like (everyone loved L, well he was very cool). NetFlix tried to capitalize on this anime by remaking it in their live action netflix fashion but apparently it was crappy lol, I like NetFlix but yeah sometimes they annoy me with stuff they produce. Btw some good anime is on NetFlix though! Fun fact: I once cosplayed L at a halloween party xD

EDIT: I've now seen the Netflix live action it was OK, some acting a bit silly at time but I guess worth watching

2. Gantz

Really excellent anime, that loads of people never even heard of I noticed. Really gnarly story that keeps you gripped. Showed it to an old girlfriend, who really wasn't into anime, and she loved it and was hooked, it's gotta be the mark of a really good anime.

3. Beserk (Golden Age film trilogy)

I still haven't seen Game of Thrones, well except for first couple of episodes. I guess I'm just not that into that genre? I have seen this though (and I'd bet maybe I'd like it better than GOT if I got round to watching it), and it really is excellent. Like what if someone who was a big fan of Dark Souls made an anime like it, though the story isn't like Dark Souls (does DS even have a story?), actually the story probably somewhat similar to GOT, I guess many of these genre kind of have to revolve around that kind of (his)story. It certainly is dark at times though, incredibly and grippingly so. Amazing for me, will make you want to swing a redcape around your shoulders and cosplay as Guts.

EDIT: I've seen more GoT and kinda gotta eat my words, it's also excellent

4. Welcome to the NHK

Like all my picks on this list, these anime shows were so great, they're not like any TV show or anything that has been put out in the west. Basement dwelling NEETs, recluses, drop-outs, etc. (Hikikomori they're called in Japanese) These guys do exist perhaps more so especially today. But has there been a cool show about one? Welcome to the NHK, recommended to me by some geeky acquaintance a year or 2 ago, I avidly watched it all, it was really good.

5. Elfen Lied

Kind of a weird one. Again far out story, fairly short series but it gripped me from the 1st episode, cutesey looking animation though it is fairly brutal anime and mixes in a bit of OTT female nudity (which I'd agree is unnecessary). But definitely this is good enough to make my #5, interesting fact I only learnt Lied meant song in German after watching this. German language of course is popular in Japanese as is English (a Japanese guy told me that).

Other notable or over-rated animes that didn't make the list

Steins Gate - I don't know why I didn't mention this one before, I guess I hadn't seen yet. Very good anime that I should list above tbh.

Outlaw Star - I noticed most people seem to prefer Cowboy Bebop when it comes to the old anime series but I liked this one, first saw it years ago on Toonami cable channel when I was in college

Ghost in the Shell SAC - how come ppl like this so much?? Story ain't great, hard to make sense of and uses deus ex machina type of plot twists (e.g. 'omg they hacked his eyes')

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood - yeah this is good I guess, though it did start to bore me into the 2nd season

Neon Genesis Evangelion - yeahhh what whoa good at first I guess but gets weird

Really good anime on Netflix

Some really good anime on there, I'm impressed:

Devilman Crybaby - I kinda remember the old manga film from the 90s though I never saw, but this series was cool, very watchable

Baki - Lol I really think this is quite an awesome program, good for Tekken and martial arts fans

Castlevania - At first I thought kinda meh, but the setting and characters were cool, quite dark and atmospheric. Certainly I enoyed it more than Full Metal Alchemist which also recently came to Netflix.

7seeds -wow latest one I seen, like the tv show Lost except with actually a good story

Top 10 songs to inspire, get over your past to and move foward to

Do we all need songs like this? I don't know... I'd guess? I will admit that I think I do. People experience bad stuff in their lives and need help getting over those things and moving on. Therapy through music is a great way to help with this, hence this list :)

1. Monty Python - Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life

Taken from their hilarious film Life of Brian xD

It's a really simple and catchy song but, maybe the simplest delivery of positive pop psychology out there. Hum along to this and you're sure to instantly brighten up your day or night. Unless of course you're actually being brutally executed or something like in the film xD ahh that dark comedy.

2. 2pac - Me Against The World

At number 2 we have 2pac. Why not right? In the final verse, this song contains the awesome lyrics, "Always do your best, don't let the pressure make you panic and when you get stranded, and things don't go the way you planned." Nice huh? I'll always remember these. As long as you did your best and all that, don't you remember people saying that all the way back to your youth? The best is all we can do, and it's OK. It's OK.

3. Pearl Jam - Alive

The chorus is simple, catchy and powerful. Whatever happens at least you're still alive right!? Whatever doesn't kill us, makes us stronger... well, I'm not sure if I'd go that far... perhaps a more refined version of that saying would be, "Whatever doesn't cause us permanent injury will make us stronger"? I'm reminded of David Brent's funny seminar in The Office, you should definitely look it up if you don't know what I'm talking about.

I actually listened more closely to this song recently, and apparently it's about the singer being told his father isn't his real father and just his adoptive father? I suppose this news and the event of its telling could be fairly crushing and monumental to a young boy (to the point where the writing or listening to this song would help him), but it's not that bad I would say... I'd like to think this song has helped people (older people and stuff) through situations worse than that, like I don't know losing money or relationships or important things like that.

4. Katy Perry - Firework

"Do you ever feel like a plastic bag? Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?" sings Katy in the first line to this song. And if you're reading this blog list with seriousness, and it means something to you, then yes the answer probably is - you have felt like this at some point, maybe even often sadly that you do.

But you are worthy of course! And if you want to really feel someone telling you that passionately then this song is for you. Katy really digs deep into you to pull out the hope and light and confidence you still have (and must always have) within you. Listen to this one as you step out your house for a walk somewhere.

5. Jimmy Eat World - In the Middle

"Every thing will be all right" and "It just takes some time" he sings in the chorus; aww it's so comforting. I also used to think he sang, "a little bit, little bit of alkali" - this made sense to me, as alkali is the opposite of acid, and it neutralises acid,  so for me it was a metaphor for maybe a bitter (acidic) feeling inside being soothed by a "little bit of alkali." In other words, "chill out a little bit" I guess, "calm yourself" etc. Maybe also I thought of a more direct type of metaphor of taking drugs? Alkali is a chemical after all. Yeh, I guess, maybe, who knows.

Apparently he doesn't say though but yeh this song is still a really uplifting pop rock emo song help you in your life.

6. Oasis - Don't Look Back in Anger

I never used to actually like this song much when I was younger. But yeah as I got older I realised the message and the song were quite fantastic, "Don't look back in anger," - fairly excellent advice from the Gallagher boys.

Top 7 Rap Metal or Nu Metal CDs

Is rap metal the same as nu metal? Yes? No? Kind of? I would say kind of, I would say nu metal for sure started off as rap metal, then perhaps some nu metal became harder to indentify as rap metal e.g. it only used rap metal style beats and riffs, or the raps became more alternative rock-like.

Before anyone tells me, "Nah dude, nu metal started off with Korn's first album blah blah blah" to quote Seth in Dusk Till Dawn, "That's a matter of opinion and I don't give a fuck about yours."

Oh yeh I decided to do a Top 7 for this one. Why the hell not?

1. Rage Against The Machine debut album

Yeh I had to put this in at number 1 really, everyone knows this is an excellent album. As far as any rap-rock list goes, this should probably always go in at 1. Every track is really good in some way or another, except for maybe track 8 Fistful of Steel (despite having a cool name). Not only a testament to fantastic rap rock but also a really amazing album for it's time. It came out in 92 but the production was quite excellent, and sounds just as good as music put out today. The actual music on the album too still sounds quite fresh to this day e.g. the 7th track Wake Up (which was used for film The Matrix), still sounds hip and rockin' today! OK maybe some of the lyrics don't quite sound quite so contemporary, but they're still relevant in my opinion, with some simple adaption.

All of RATM albums are very good tbh, though they only had 4 of them so I suppose it's not a totally incredible feat. IMO it's better a great band only have few albums, 5, 4 or even 3 and they're very good rather than embarrassingly put out consistently bad or mediocre albums.

2. Limp Bizkit 3 Dollar Bill Y'all

OK Fred and his band picked up their clown reputation around about their 3rd album (which actually wasn't that bad). Their second album was good, though I've chosen their first album here, which I thought was a really good rap metal album.

Rap metal I'd say is pretty hard to do well consistently which is why I'll say that this album unfortunately did have 1 or 2 filler songs which I can't even remember how they go looking at the track list. They must have been pretty bad as to have eradicated them from my memory, but also looking at the back cover track list I must say I've listened to this album alot and enjoyed the songs very much.

3. Deftones Around The Fur

Yeh OK, here is where the term 'Rap Metal' gets stretched some. If you were looking for some 'purist' rap metal, you probably wouldn't find what you were looking for in this album. This album is excellent though. It's very alternative sounding, but you could definitely say the lead singer Chino is kind of rapping on many of the songs. Alternative Rap Metal? Why the hell not, it sounds great.

A song to pluck as an example is the track that featured Max Cavelera (I'd bet that maybe these nu-metal guys got the idea to feature fellow peer musicians maybe from rap artists that worked with each other alot around this time). Kind of a hardcore style of rap-rock rapping at the beginning of the song. "We're rocking through this world!" an apt quote from the song :D

4. Korn Issues

Yeh I guess the 'rap' from rap or nu metal goes out the window on this entry (I had to put it in there though). Everything else, save the vocals, on this album are funky and hip hoppy, blended incredibly well with heavy metal. Kinda like Korn's massive hit 'Freak on a leash' from their album before this one, kinda like they took that song and remade it a bunch of times to make this amazing album. Did that sound negative in any way? It shouldn't as this is Korn at their funkiest best.

5. Papa Roch Infest (Special Edition)

This was like a Top 10 (possibly even no. 1) album when it came out, I don't think I need to say much about it. I had to add it though, even I'd admit it was really pretty good. You have to get the Special Edition version though (released in UK and I think in other parts of Europe)! The extra song Legacy is up there with the many great songs of the album, and the live track is good too.

6. Cypress Hill Skull and Bones

Only half (well, more like a third really) of this album was rap metal (the rest was simply rap, which tbh wasn't that good). But it was awesome enough of course to top off the list.

Their albums one before and one after this had one or 2 rap metally songs on them too. Actually I'd say their album before this (called IV) is maybe their best album, it was pretty cool.

7. Bloodhound Gang Hooray for boobies

I recently saw a guy doing Mope at a kareoke (weird I know), and I was impressed. To me it sounded like ICP, and when I heard the song for real it also reminded me of ICP (which I'm also a fan of). I guess this is more kinda weird rap rock than rap metal. I only knew em before for their Chasey Lain and Discovery Channel songs heh.
But yeah I since went and bought the album, it's dope as hell.


Runners-Up
Linkin Park - almost but not quite
Slipknot - first album was hardcore, perhaps too hardcore to put on this list
Machine Head - I used to think their Burning Red album was really good I guess, there album after (Supercharger) also I thought was pretty good
Twiztid - Freek Show album, ICP affiliates really rocked it with this album

Top 15 PS2 games

actually I had this list written for a few years but thought now would be a good time to brush-up and publish. I was watching a TV show about guys in prison the other day, and they were saying they had PS2s in their cells and complaining like, 'But who even plays a PS2 anymore?' Hey PS2 had one of the greatest game libraries of all time! Being imprisoned with a PS2 and the best games it had to offer I don't think would be THAT bad

1. GTA3, Vice City & San Andreas (triple pack)



That's right! The 3-in-1 pack I think is allowing me to put all 3 of these games in at number one! These games were the best on the ps2, I actually played 'em backwards, starting with S.A. pretty late (like around 2005?), as was my personal trend in buying games and games consoles long after they had been released. To think the first one came out in 2001 (15 years ago), so guys were playing it back then... warm fuzzy feeling :P

2. Canis Canem Edit ('Bully')

Comin in at number 2 and made by the same guys as the above product. This game was hilarious and the best. It also reminded you of sweet days at school or college, as long as you played when you weren't too old xD I remember I got this after I had graduated college and had moved back home to my parents house, and was going through a kind of lazy, transitional phase, I was at Blockbuster Video (do those places still exist?) and some random guy was just like, 'this game, this game is great' haha he was right!

3. Breath Of Fire: Dragon Quarter

One of the first games I ever played on ps2, and I was blown away. Just look at that screenshot, can't you just tell that this game oozed quality? The Breath of Fire franchise was already known to fans by this stage (from their quality Super Nintendo and PS1 games), so Capcom did not want to disappoint, and sure enough they did not. At least to me they did not! If I remember correctly this game was met with mixed reviews, in-fact I believe it was round about this time when I started taking official game reviews far less seriously, yes it was around this time (or soon afterward), where the gaming community was basically hijacked by first person shooter games *sigh*. Anyway, yup I'd have to say still remains to this day one of the best games I ever played, incredible story, setting and gameplay.

4. Final Fantasy XII (FF12)

yes, the lead character and game art was somewhat homo-erotic, this I'll have to admit... but this game was fantastic. I actually never played Final Fantasy 10* for the precise reason that the lead character(s) and story seemed kind of queer. The story for FF12 seemed a bit weak to me at times, a heavy medieval setting (similar I suppose to FF9, which I didn't like btw), but the game overall is quite amazing. For it's time, incredible game mechanics, world, combat system and graphics.

*I still haven't played FF10 to this day, though I plan on picking up the FF10 Remaster for the PS3. Actually a few ps2 games were remastered to great effect on ps3, which I'll talk about next

5. Jak II

I used to think this was the best platformer on the PS2, easily. I just thought it was so cool when I first started playing it, and then loved it even more as I got into it. Based in a amazing futuristic and free-roaming city, I was really impressed at what Naughty Dog (guys that made Crash Bandicoot) had done with this game. Not only the gameplay and setting were excellent but the characters also, the game was sleek, refined, fun and even quite sexy! The other Jak games were brilliant also with 1 being more like a Mario-style 3D platformer and 3 more similar to 2 (shooting etc.), I got them all again in the Remastered Collection for PS3! Sony Playstation did so well with this game aswell as...

6. Ratchet & Clank

Another EXCELLENT 3D platform game, which I used to think was marginally worse than Jak games. However in time I would be hard placed to choose a better game. I loved the the characters in Jak & Daxter games and I almost loved them as much here, the story was excellent I must say and very amusing at times. They even brought out a Ratchet & Clank animated film a month or 2 ago which I really wanted to go see but they were only showing it very early on a saturday morning or something xD As per above, I picked up the Ratchet Remastered Collection for the PS3, I don't mind paying good dollar for this stuff for playstation :P

7. Tekken 5

as you may know I'm a huge Tekken fan so this is no suprise. A shame T5:Dark Res or T6 never made it to the ps2 but this was still a great game, the platform/scrolling/Tekken Force side game was fantastic. I've always like those side game Tekken games, reminiscent of old school scrolling fighting arcade games (e.g. Final Fight or Cadillacs & Dinosaurs, my favourite was one called Punisher & Nick Fury), this one in T5 was great, it included jumping platform elements too. The T6 (for ps3/xb360) scenario game I found excellent also, and will probably write about at some point :)

8. Street Fighter Alpha Anthology

Street Fighter 3 never made it to the PS2 in Europe, though annoyingly it was available for Xbox, Sega Dreamcast and American/Asian PS2 gamers. Instead, I suppose we got this game, which was playstation exclusive. Fair enough, this game was quite fun to me, more oldschool seeming than SF3 (which I must admit I loved, especially the character Twelve), but still really good.

9. Warhammer 40,000 Fire Warrior

This was a massively over-looked game on the ps2. Actually many good Games Workshop games seem to be over-looked, the excellent Space Marine for PS3 and xb360 was underrated also. Fire Warrior was a suberb 1st-person shooter that reminded me a lot of Doom - this can only be a good thing!

10. Legacy Of Kain Defiance

Not only is this game excellent, really fun action adventure, the voice-acting and story are something else. Journey with Rahziel and Kain through a mystical world of demons, gods and vampires. I actually loved Legacy of Kain so much I made a rap song (using sample from the Soul Reaver game theme, it was so cool :P) based around it, which you can find on my YouTube channel :D

Actually, I can link my rap vid right here xD

Like it and comment and stuff!

11. Armored Core: Nexus

Just an amazing game, creating, controlling and fighting with your mech here is a dream. I believe that actually 7(!) Armored Core games came out for the PS2! But Nexus (the 4th I think) was the first that allowed you to control your mech by moving with one analogue stick and aiming with the other (like a modern FPS). The ones beforehand I think you had to aim up and down with the shoulder buttons or something silly like that! Anyhow, Nexus was quite excellent, it even had a bonus game disc that was as good as the main game, though very short. The sequel Last Raven I never played but was told was just as good.

The Armored Core games are best Mech action games I ever played, 4 Answer on my xbox 360 did not disappoint me at all, it was awesome.

12. Black

I think people said this was the best 1st-person shooter on the PS2 and tbh it's easy to see why. Set in modern, realistic settings it's a great game. Also the graphics for this game were just really amazing, it was more like a next-gen game. I actually checked out a gameplay video on YouTube to remind myself of this game and the top voted comment was "this game felt like a ps3 launch title, it was a head of its time" lol.

13. Max Payne

Aptly placed at 13, the story to this game was just brutal. It reminded me of the Marvel Comic The Punisher, gritty, grimy and tragic. The voice-acting was incredible and accompanying Max Payne on his dark adventure is really sublime. My favourite bit is in the Ragnorak club!

The sequel was really good also but the original is best for me, Max Payne 3 on PS3/xb360 was impressive also but I still think the groundbreaking original is best!

14. Scarface

OK quick confession, though I owned this (the cool Collectors Edition version, in metal box), I never got round to playing it on my PS2. I did play the game however, the xbox version, which I played on my xb360! The versions were basically identical.

This came out late in the PS2 and XB lifespan, but it was really good. I loved the beginning, they change the story from the film so that Scarface survives at the end, he escapes out the back of his house when they come for him lol. The guy who does Scarface's voice in the game is not Al Pacino but sounds just like him! 'Ey, I bury dese cockroaches.

Another confession, I didn't actually play that much of the game (I got stuck at one point and never came back to it, a reason being is that my xb360 was left behind at my parents' house) but it was really good what I did play, really similar to a GTA game, with great soundtrack (including a cool Cypress Hill song I noticed) and funny dialogue.

15. Def Jam Fight for NY

Really impressive brawling action featuring famous rappers and other celebrities (of late 90s early 00s era), create-your-own fighter and really amazing graphics.

Yup this had to make the list.

Runners-Ups

Megaman X8 - this was a fantastic 2D platform game, pretty short though

Wild Arms 3 - one of the first games I got on PS2, I liked it alot

Dragon Quest 8 - OK everyone goes on about how great this game was! But I never played it save for 15 mins haha. I'm sure it's great though =/

God of War - holy hell I just started playing the remastered Collection on ps3, could the ps3 be the GOAT due to all the awesome ps2 remasters? something for me to think about

Top 10 Most Beautiful Women (in no particular order)

yes, in no particular order, all of these women are very, very beautiful and I remember them well in their prime mostly from when I was growing up ^_^

1. Joana Krupa

I first saw her whilst I was browsing imdb and instantly noted her beauty. After that, I saw her briefly on show The Superstars (which I didn't really like) and then again on Real Housewives of Miami. She is quite a stunning woman, from Poland originally and moved to USA with her family when she was 5.

Funnily enough she looks very similar to the English actress Rosie Huntingdon-Whitely xD

2. Jayne Middlemiss

I remember her from TV alot from when I was growing up, and yes I found her very sexy indeed. She was on many shows that discussed and reported things on music like Top Of The Pops and The Ozone. Even when I was in my mid-20s, I was able to enjoy seeing her on little show on Channel 5 (Live from Studio 5 it was called), for a short while, which made me happy ;D

3. Amy Lee

She is obviously a very beautiful woman. But her voice of course makes her totally alluring, I can't believe any guy who heard and saw her video (or her band's video I should say) of 'Bring Me To Life' and didn't fall a bit in love with her :P

4. Kaley Cuoco

Dat feel when you are watching Big Bang Theory just to see her xD

5. Rose McGowan

Wow, the most alluring one from Charmed, quite easily. Actually there was an episode of Charmed that featured Kaley Cuoco also and she was interacting with Rose, it was like watching the sweetest candy on screen xD

Rose unfortunately these days seems to have gone through some trouble, I think she was involved in a car accident and had to get plastic surgery or something? I'm not sure, anyway she looks nothing like she did in her days of Charmed some 10 to 15 years ago. She actually looks a bit like Michael Jackson did nowadays xP and it seems she has cut her hair short into ugly mannish haircut also -_-

6. Kelly Brook

wow, from presenting The Big Breakfast when she was 19 to her TV and film cameos of today, I have to say: fair enough. Very sexy woman.

7. Emma Watson

I'm not a fan of Harry Potter (at all) but can't deny I noticed this cutie, whilst lazily browsing one of the HP films on TV. Can't say I lingered much thinking about her, she was very young after all. But I was pretty sure she would be a total hottie in a couple of years and lo and behold I was right xD

8. Britney Spears

Was this every guy who was a teenager in the 90s dream girl? I really would have thought so.

She had a tough life though also (so to speak), seemingly similar to Rose McGowan. I remember I even watched her cute Crossroads film, her sweet southern US accent was enchanting. But I also remember the madness with her shaving her head and smashing cars with golf clubs, shotgun weddings and divorces and strings of seemingly ONS style relationships.

Oh Britney, oh well who knows what's really going on.

9. Lucy Watson

No relation to the above. Or is there? Maybe that would explain incredibly good genes for very sexy women xD

I really hate the show Made In Chelsea btw but cannot deny that this woman is incredibly beautiful, angelic like.

10. Ronda Roussey

Yes I like strong women. What?

Runners-Up:
Gillian Anderson looks good even today 
Melisa Joan Hart once met a girl that looked like her
Taylor Swift 1st album very good 
Kym Valentine gl aussie girl
Natalie Portman very good actress
Katy Perry I like woman with a good voice
Rihanna goodlooking woman my ex hated for some reason
Shakira when she was younger 👌

Top 10 British Rock Bands

1. Funeral For A Friend

oh yes it's the guys from Wales that did emo-metal as well as any band from America when they came out! Debut album was superb, and although they went more rock, and less metal, after that, the following albums were still very good. The drummer of this band in particular I loved, he was great! Definitely my no.1 :)

2. InMe

I believe I first heard these guys' track Underdose in the days of Napster =| But yeah, I was very impressed, and then went on to buy the issue of Kerrang with free cd containing the song Gelosea from these guys. Again, very impressed, "these guys are the best band in UK" I exclaimed. Evidently now, that opinion has basically changed, but by not much! I am actually a similar age to Dave the singer of InMe and remember seeing them before they had even released their first album when I was a student in the city of Leeds, and having a whale of a time. I actually wanted to front my own rock band with an InMe-esque sound, and had a darn good go at it! So yeah this band is pretty special to me you could say :P

3. Radiohead

Alot of people would call this the best band from Britain, like straight away. For me, I put them 3. With hits like Creep, Iron Lung and Paranoid Android it's not hard to see why they are respected so. But it's true Radiohead have a depth more than most other rock bands, their 3rd album OK Computer (a real masterpiece, I have the special remastered boxset :D), could be listened to many, many times over when first heard I remember, such was their talent in creating the very best of a genre called 'progressive rock'. Not only that but if you were feeling down, there is probably no better band that will capture and parallel the pain in your soul, I remember walking alone once in a very sad mood and listening to 'Climbing Up the Walls' through my phone, and it seemed even bystanders many feet away from me could sense my torture.

But enough with the depressing stuff, for proof of how amazing these guys are listen to a live version of 'Planet Telax' and enjoy. Also noteworthy the 2-disc 'Best Of' album from these guys is superb! Considering they have like about 10 albums and eps xD

4. Muse

I remember when these guys first came out they were actually called a Radiohead copycat band. I thought this was pretty unfair and was something that should actually be complimentary.

Alot of hard rock fans (such as myself) like this band, which I suppose I have found surprising considering Matt Bellamy's high pitched and somewhat whiny voice. But looking over their songs and albums, it's not hard to be impressed with much of the stuff Muse has put out. Their often forgotten first album really did feature some quite excellent 90s tinged alternative rock, from the snare drum rattling of Sunburn, the excellent Muscle Museum (which was fantastic on their live Hullaballo disc) to the emotionally charged progressive rock of Showbiz. They have never done a song like Showbiz really ever again, or to be honest never played emotional 90s sounding rock like they did on their excellent 1st album. Their 2nd album to me wasn't as good (it does have it's fans though I've noted), though it did have one of the best hard rocking songs Muse (or anyone) ever did, Hyper Music. 3rd album again was kinda meh to me, though it did contain maybe in my opinion the best song Muse ever did, Stockholme Syndrome (I remember I bought the Time Is Running Out single as a youth and would watch the awesome Stockholme video on my laptop frequently). The 4th album impressed me, quite a lot. Map Of The Problematique had some of the best lyrics and sound I had heard in a long time. What was refreshing about Muse was their personas and ideology, they didn't go the typical Rock Star route of glamour, cocaine and super models, Matt stuck fast to his message of being 'for the people!' (Revolution!). By the 4th or 5th album, they were almost like a progressive glam rock sounding Rage Against The Machine.

Picking up their live cd+dvd Haarp (despite the silly name) really proves these guys are deserving with their status as top dogs in UK Rock.

5. Oasis

Yeah, I had to put these guys here. I think everyone was a fan of them in the mid-90s and if they said they weren't they were probably lying.

What really rekindled my interest in them was, I remember, when I used to work as an event steward when I was younger. One job I was offered was the Oasis concert in Wembley (2009, they were supported by Kasabian and The Enemy), which of course I accepted. Standing around the stadium that day, I was simply planning to stand back and reminisce on some basically pop rock songs I enjoyed as a youth. But the more I listened the more I remembered that some of these guys' songs really were quite fantastic. The 2nd album was probably the best for me, that and their Master Plan (b-sides) album. I also picked up the the best of Stop The Clocks cd + dvd from them which was great. 

I remember I listened to their songs often for a good year or so after that concert.

6. Ash

The fun, energy fuelled pop punk of no.6 choice Ash is just as good as any american band.

The Best Of CD (Sonic 7s, yes I like Best Of cds, what?) really shows you a large amount of excellent poppy and punky songs, from Burn Baby Burn to Candy to older schooled Oh Yeah. I remember being rekindled by these guys' music after half-heartedly watching the film A Life Less Ordinary and hearing Ash' quite excellent song (of the same name as the film) during the ending credits.

I must get around to watching A Life Less Ordinary again properly...

7. Stone Roses

Many people's favourites, I'm sure everyone has danced to She Bangs The Drums at an indie disco at some point in their lives. Also their iconic song Fools Gold has one of the most famous riffs of all time I'd say, and is recognised no doubt by millions of people all over the world.

Technically this band is an 80s band seeing as their famous 1st album (1 of their only 2 really) came out in 1989, which is pretty impressive. I've liked their music ever since I first heard, many of their songs are really quite romantic <3

8. Suede

Listening to these guy's first album, there was actually alot to like for a heavy metal fan. Their first guitarist, Bernard Butler, who played on their 1st and 2nd albums was a clear heavy metal fan, and it really shone through on some of the songs. I actually first heard the song The Drowners on a Radio 1 Compilation CD, liked it alot, and when I heard it on Suede's debut album recognised it immediately, the fantastic driving riff. I actually used to cover this song in an amateur rock band I fronted when I was young, I just loved it so much! Heh.

But they stayed a pretty great band in my opinion. Nothing gives such a sweet dose of brit rock dominated 90s nostalgia as their 3rd album song The Beautful Ones in my opinion :P 

9. Idlewild

I wasn't sure if I was going to put these guys on the list. I actually only started listening to them relatively recently. Are they still going? I couldn't tell you, I've never seen them live. However I do know and can confirm that their first 2 albums are some of the best hard punk rocking rock to come out of UK. Their song Idea Track alone pretty much means they should make the list. Amazing song from their 2nd album that I believe preceded/pioneered the whole Emo Metal Rock by a good 3 years or so (e.g. it came out 3 years before Funeral For My Friend's debut album).

10. Iron Maiden

I'm well aware that on many people's Top 10 UK Rock Bands list (if they had to make one) these guys would make number 1. I don't like them that much though if I'm entirely honest.

However, there is one song of theirs which I must concede is one of the greatest songs in rock, metal, nay ANY musical genre ever recorded. And that song is Hallowed Be Thy Name. Sure I like a bunch of other songs of theirs (e.g. 2 Minutes, Wasted Years and Can I Play With Madness), but yeh Hallowed is the stone cold classic for me :D

Also should be noted that these guys are perhaps the most plagiarised band in rock lol an american favourite band of mine Papa Roach is well known for ripping these guys guitar riffs off a fair bit (including the riff from Hallow Be Thy Name).

Runners-Ups

Kasabian - 1st album was a win and that new song In Love With A Psycho

Heart Of A Coward

Manic Street Preachers

Starsailor

The Charlatans

Stereophonics

Blur

The Cribs

Evile

Gallows

Bring Me The Horizon

Bury Tomorrow