It all comes down to preference, really... What music we like or dislike is one of the most personal, individual choices we make in our lives.
But since I am highly experienced, AND highly opinionated on the subject, I'll offer a list of my favorites as a suggestion. Classic stuff, new stuff, and some local and largely unknown bands thrown in for flavor.
Most of the stuff can be found on
www.itunes.com, where you can test drive some samples of songs. A Google search should help you find access to some of the less-popular stuff.
OK, here goes:
Led Zeppelin, the Doors, Jane's Addiction, Clutch (if you don't know, you better axe somebody!... they rock!), the Cult, DLR-era Van Halen... OK, the first album with Sammy was alright...., the Police, Big Wreck, Black Sabbath, Prince, Jeff Buckley, Fishbone (20 years and STILL kickin' it!), Tori Amos, Soundgarden, Instruction (defunct NY band that kicked ass), Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pantera (RIP, Dimebag), Dag (defunct North Carolina band-damn, they were funky), Injected (defunct Atlanta band--damn, they rocked), Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, Bjork (strange girl, but amazing), Fleetwood Mac/Stevie Nicks, old Tom Petty, AC/DC, Refused (defunct Swedish band that rocked), Talking Heads, The Art of Noise, Fiona Apple, Radiohead, King's X (once again, 20 years, and still rockin'!), Raging Slab, Muse, dropsonic (more local Atlanta badasses), A Perfect Circle (Josh, leave some gigs for the rest of us, will ya'?!), Mars Volta, AC/DC, Alice In Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, the Cars, Duran Duran (yes, a guilty pleasure, but hey..... at least I'm man enough to admit it!), Robert Johnson, Johnny Cash, Billie Holiday, Run DMC, Beastie Boys, U2, Finger Eleven, Seether (cool dudes--the most fun tour we were ever on!), Sevendust (more Atlanta bros!), Raging Slab, Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave (in spite of Tom's politics), Motley Crue, Motorhead, Portishead, Tricky, Pride and Glory/Black Label Society (Zakk is a bad mother****er), Michael Jackson (back in the day, when he was still black), James Brown, P-Funk, the Gap Band, Mother's Finest (Atlanta old-schoolers!), Metallica, the Eagles, Phil Collins (his early solo stuff)/Genesis, Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Jimi Hendrix, Helmet, Seal, U2, Queen, Nine Inch Nails......
Plus I can't post this without recommending my old band:
www.myspace.com/doubledrivemusic
And a new band I've been recording with lately:
www.myspace.com/openskyseparators
That should keep you busy for a while.
Mike