What, in your opinion, makes good music... well, good?

I believe that art (and by extension, music) is a reflection of talent. So good music requires talented artists, by that definition. Whether it be the guitar, the vocals, the drums, the songwriting, the instrumentals, or a combination of all those elements, I believe that a band/artists' harmonic success depends on skill.

Post your definition of good music and some of your favorite bands.

Mine:

Radiohead
Allman Brothers Band
Juno Reactor
M. Ward
AC/DC

hmmm, I don't know what makes me put something on my mp3.

Humour plays a part for some songs. I have "still alive" on my mp3

also I guess songs that sound good in my ear. one of my favourite songs is Muse's "take a bow" I think it has a nice pase to it. the word also reflects on world leader...ship.


It has a good line, "what we've become, is contrary to what we want".

good music is made by:
a hypnotic refrain
an awesome beat
and no voice xD
ofc i just mean techno its just awesome!

To answer OP: lack of bad lyrics

My musical tastes vary.
I can enjoy industrial, black or post metal, good drum 'n bass, meditative, avant garde, trip hop and occasionally classical.

Some of my musical dishes, in no particular order:

Desert Sessions
Rammstein
Portishead
Agalloch
Dead Can Dance

I enjoy skill in music. Yet there are different definitions of what skill is. I enjoy extremely technical works which take years of practice to master, but also the music of those who can stir my emotions, or tell a compelling story.

Dunno. Depends on mood.

Lately I've been listening lot of modernish garage punk/rock bands:
Micragirls
Lariots
Sonics
Teengenerate
etc.

Love the bolded bands. Also, good response Smiley. I agree that there are different facets of skill and talent.

Chaos and uncertainty.
Venetian Snares
Kid606
The Residents
John Zorn
Shitmat
Socket
With Prison Cell Was Embraced
Bong-Ra
Monokrom
Merzbow
Polkadot Cadaver
Dr. Steel

I like a good guitar and just an overall good tune to the music.

I don't believe that music (composition) is a reflection of talent at all. A lot of talentless artists and groups create some great stuff..they come up with a great riff, interesting lyrics etc. The ideas a musician has reflect their creativity, not talent, and it is the execution of their musical ideas which is where talent comes into play.

To take an example: Bob Dylan - a pretty mediocre singer and average guitarist, but a real poet when it came to writing songs. The execution is often a bit underwhelming, but the lyrics are what makes a song like "All along the Watchtower" great. Then Hendrix comes along and covers the song, infusing it with incredible guitar solos and far better singing, but the credit has to be given to Dylan for composing the song, just as the credit is given to Chopin when a player like Horowitz plays his music.

Musical skill is a part of making great music, but creativity and vision is what's important in creating a good song. When there are thousands of musicians with phenomenal technical skill around the world, it's the creative spark that sets the really special ones apart.