Toadies & Burden Brothers. If you like Toadies, you'll know the front man also fronted the band, Burden Brothers. So, I include both bands together because the singer, Vaden Todd Lewis, is my real love.

I adore his voice and can't say enough good things about him. I love that his songs are twisted and even evil at times, with themes of revenge and angst. I have seen both bands live several times over and talked to the lead singer up close and personal. I can tell you these bands rock hard!

Now, if you're saying to yourself that Toadies sounds familiar but you can't remember what they sing, you gotta check them out on playlist or whatever music site you use. Toadies is recently back together and are better than ever. They are not on my playlist below because I reserve them for my "crank it up" list instead. I'm sure you can imagine why.

No, they may not be huge, but I prefer it that way. Whenever I discover a band early on and then they hit it big, it always ruins it for me. That's what happened to System of a Down. I liked them for a long time before they got big and then they just got played out.

Pearl Jam is, of course, the biggest exception. They blew up so fast I didn't even know what hit me.