Are you a fan of Japanese bands? Visual-kei, J-Rock, J-Indie, J-Ska, J-Punk, J-Pop, J-Pretty-much-everything. It's all out there; thousands of different bands, seemingly releasing a new single every week.
I've been listening to J-Music since 2002, and have heard so many bands over the years, so it's difficult to pinpoint which ones I like the most. It can sometimes be quite difficult trying to keep up with it all too, as there are so many bands, and so many new bands coming along, with so many songs available to listen to; in recent years I may also have been listening more to the K-Pop side of things, but I think I've managed to find a nice balance between everything, and I still love to listen to plenty of Japanese music too, usually listening at least to something Japanese every day.
I'm going to try and focus on bands with the traditional guitar, bass and vocals setup; although I will also add bands that use other instruments too. Sorry, but there won't be any J-Pop idol groups or anything like that; perhaps I'll save that for another day. Obviously it's impossible to know every single band out there, so here's a list of my top ten favourites. Most are older bands from the past, but are generally still active today, and some are newer, having recently released music available for purchase; the Japanese music industry moves ridiculously quickly, and there are new bands coming along all the time.
Let me know in the comments below if you agree (or disagree) with any of them, or want to suggest your Top Ten, or even just some of your favourites. I'm always open to hearing any new music!
Anyway, here's my list:
