The quest: recent/current good music

[flexagon]

A recent xkcd comic kicked off a spirited music discussion. People are recommending the following as good, recent picks:

EBM
psytrance (e.g, Infected Mushroom)
Dr. Dog
The Tiny
Regina Spektor (+1)
Broken Social Scene (and affiliates)

Neutral Milk Hotel (+2)

Dispatch
Black Keys
Great Big Sea (+1)
Flogging Molly

Some By Sea

PJ Harvey. Her latest album's phenomenal.
The Spores (+2)
Sigur Ros
Godspeed You Black Emperor
Aimee Mann
Explosions in the Sky
System of a Down
Mindless Self Indulgence (an acquired taste, but I think they're brilliant)
Ugly Casanova
Gogol Bordello
Ghostigital
Aesop Rock
Matthew Good (solo stuff, his MGB stuff is kind of generic)
The Hidden Cameras
Muse

The Knife - Silent Shout

Also maybe of interest: obscuresound.com's Best Albums of 2006 (Top 10, none of whom I've heard of)

When I answered my own query for recommendations I listed Tweaker, VAST, Final Fantasy, Lisa Germano's latest album... and today I bought some Tool, based on a video linked in the same discussion. So what do you think of the other things people recommended? Without spending a long time on either Amazon or Pandora I'm not sure where to start with a list this long.

Comments

the long version

[silentq.livejournal.com]

EBM - I'm assuming they mean the genre (electric body music - don't ask me): I've got a fair amount of this stuff, but it gets overplayed at the nightclubs I go to, so I hear it enough to not need to own it. Bands I'd say were iconic in this genre: VNV Nation (very anthemic), Apoptygma Berzerk. Then add: And One, Stromkern. I've been meaning to track down some Infected Mushroom for a while, been hearing good things about them.
Bands my friends are into but I haven't had a chance to check out yet:
Neutral Milk Hotel, Great Big Sea (into = travel to the UK to see a concert), Flogging Molly (ska/punk I think), PJ Harvey, Explosions in the Sky (concert review by cris (http://cris.livejournal.com/164093.html)), Gogol Bordello (gypsy punk is the term I've heard most often used to describe them, I keep missing their concerts, I'd also recommend Bella Morte in a spiritual sibling sense - the guys are mohawked punks with a great sense of humour that play things that range from rock ballads to punk odes to zombie girlfriends :) ).

Re: the long version

[flexagon]

Oh yeah, I love Bella Morte, at least their first album Where Shadows Lie.

Thanks, your comment was really helpful. I've been told that Pandora now has predefined "genre" stations, so that should help with figuring out EBM at least. :)

Re: the long version

[silentq.livejournal.com]

http://somafm.com/ has a station called Doomed that might introduce you to some more stuff as well. I tend to stick with their Groove Salad station for work, and Secret Agent as background music for the house. :)