REBECCA (favourites: Moon, Virginity, Tattoo Girl, Maybe Tomorrow, Friends)
When their songs aren't just really fun and silly, they're dripping with emotion that makes me feel really nostalgic for some reason. Plus, Koichi Korenaga was totally in the band at some point. At least he was when they were at Nippon Budoukan. He gets to show off a lot in
the second half of this if anyone's interested. It's also another one of my favourite songs. Or you could watch
this instead for the bit that starts around 2:40. Just because.
BUCK-TICK (favourites: Shanikusai Carnival, Dress, Sapphire, Victims of Love, Kyokutou Yori Ai wo Komete)
You probably won't guess it from this list, but it's rare for me to like music from all albums that a band has put out. Especially bands that have been around for as long as BUCK-TICK has been. Some of their earlier songs are so wonky and fun, or oddly relaxed. I do like their straight rock stuff, too. Their darker and more emotional music is usually my favourite. The vocalist, Atsushi Sakurai, is my favourite male vocalist. I also don't have to struggle to hear the bass in any of their songs, which is also important. I like bass.
Yousei Teikoku (favourites: Destrudo, Gothic Lolita Agitator, Tamakui, Viscum Album, Astral Dogma)
I really like all the songs with layered vocals everywhere. That's probably my favourite part. Something about the rhythms in a lot of their songs also works really well for me, and some of the melodies are really good. I do wish the lead vocalist was a bit more consistent, though.
Subway to Sally (favourites: Schneekönigin, Henkersbraut, Kleid aus Rosen, Accingite vos, Böses Erwachen)
Suddenly, German bands. This is another band where I like music from all their albums. I really love the vocal harmonies that are present in a lot of their songs. This band really seems to know how to use those and instrumentation to make songs great. Violin is also a welcome addition to a band in a genre that would normally probably just use guitars for everything. They also tend to have synthesized bagpipes and other older instruments in songs, and I am also very happy for that.
Oomph! (favourites: Wer schön sein will muss leider, Bis zum Schluss, Zwei Schritte Vor, Unter deiner Haut, Fieber)
I like MOST of their albums, but admittedly when they started out their songs were very repetitive and samey. That said, I find their current sound really enjoyable. Their songs are actually pretty varied despite never really stepping far outside their genre. I like how catchy a lot of their songs are, and how percussion has always been really prominent in their music.
Lacrimosa (favourites: Lichtgestalt, Am Ende stehen wir zwei, Ein Hauch von Menschlichkeit, Sanctus, Malina)
Their early stuff was too heavy on the atmosphericness for me, but I love the sound they have around 1999-2005. Mixing classical sounds with metal/rock is usually a recipe for success for me. They have a generally dark sound though, and I really like dark music. I actually own the Japanese versions of their albums Elodia and Echos even though they're a German band, hah.
Bad Religion (favourites: Epiphany, Destined For Nothing, Atomic Garden, Kyoto Now!, Inner Logic)
An American band now. Also punk rock, out of nowhere. Bad Religion was the band that got me into punk rock and they'll probably be my favorite in the genre forever. I can't help but wonder, sometimes, if the presence of vocal harmonies is part of that. Their songs ARE really good aside from that, though.
Social Distortion (favourites: Don't Drag Me Down, When the Angels Sing, Dear Lover, Cold Feelings, Down on the World Again)
And then the only other American band I mention in detail is also punk rock. I think they have a heavier sound than Bad Religion, and no vocal harmonies. But they have very good songs, too.
Anathema (favourites: One Last Goodbye, A Dying Wish, Summernight Horizon, The Silent Enigma, Mine is Yours to Drown in (Ours is the New Tribe))
If there's any single band that shows how varied my taste can be, it's Anathema, without question. They started out as doom metal and gradually genreshifted away to... whatever they are now. I love nearly all of it, though I only liked two or three songs they did around 2008-2011. They've moved on to yet another sound from that time period though, and it's again one I like. They're super versatile and somehow make all the different styles they've done work well for them.
Nightwish (favourites: Dead Boy's Poem, Stargazers, FantasMic, Ghost Love Score, Creek Mary's Blood)
Symphonic power metal with operatic female vocals as the lead. I think a lot of people on this forum could like Nightwish a lot. I haven't really kept up with them since they changed their vocalist, but so much before that is very good. Their songs either have a really epic kind of feel, or are just very beautiful. Sometimes both.
Some other, shorter mentions:
CASCADE - My favourites are all their darker songs, but their lighter songs have the same kind of simple, fun sound that I like in a lot of punk music (even though they're not really punk)
abingdon boys school - Takanori Nishikawa singing songs more interesting to me than most of T.M. Revolution's. And if they didn't exist,
this never would have happened.
Kanon Wakeshima - Her style of music is really a good match for me. Dark, lots of classical elements, some playful songs, and cello~
Poets of the Fall - Very easy to listen to, and often relaxing. I feel like they have a ton of mainstream potential but I've sadly never met anyone who knew about them (even though I discovered them from an American video game).
Novembers Doom - More doom metal. This feels much less inaccessible than most other doom metal does, though, and I think their songs on The Pale Haunt Departure are really beautiful.
Queen - Everyone knows Queen, right? I never had the chance to see them perform live with Freddie Mercury, unfortunately, but I did get to hear the guitarist and drummer (who I later got to meet) play Queen songs live.
Muse - I don't know any of their music after their Absolution album, but I love everything I do know. Powerful vocals, lots of prominent piano and bass.
Tears For Fears - Not sure how to explain it but I just really like their sound.
Duran Duran - Really catchy and energetic songs with audible bass! I do really like their calmer songs too.
Cradle of Filth - Not generally a fan of black/death metal, but I do like them a lot. It helps that they've actually done a lot of more symphonic stuff, leading to amazing songs like Swansong For a Raven.
Empyrium - Some kind of doomy symphonic metal for their older stuff, straight neofolk for newer stuff. I like both styles though. Very gloomy all around. Perfect music to listen to on rainy days, haha.
Tanzwut - Same genre as Oomph!, but often with a much faster beat, heavier sound, and lots of bagpipes. I really like bagpipes.
Plus yeah Yui and Moa are too young because judging by babymetal's fans here, their fans are mostly male in mid 20s. 
DAT FLUTE
