Best Bands: And Our Winners Are...

A good band is hard to find. So some of TIME's writers listened to groups from around the world to create a definitive, highly opinionated, probably inflammatory list of the top contemporary acts outs

Radiohead BRITAIN Hailing from Oxford, this art-rock quintet spins futuristic songs about the disillusioned and the disoriented, about aliens and creeps--but often with a glimmer of hope. Key albums: OK Computer, Kid A

U2 IRELAND Two decades after it first formed, the Dublin-based band still hasn't found what it's looking for. It has remained inventive, hungry and committed to social causes. Key albums: The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree and All That You Can't Leave Behind

Aterciopelados COLOMBIA Singer Andrea Echeverri and guitarist/producer Hector Buitrago blend alt-rock, electronica and Colombian folk. Key albums: Gozo Poderoso, Caribe Atomico

Brilliant Green JAPAN A...

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