i like eminem but i think he is too mainstream and his subject matter is too narrow. I much prefer the bloodhound gang (get a bloodhound gang album to really know what i am on about, and compare it to an eminem album while you're at it).
Beasties were good, however their early stuff was really just pisstaking, and i prefer their later musical stuff. Their keyboard player, money mark, has three solo albums which are all amazing.
looks like an undue amount of dinosaur rock fans in the audience! yes though all that stuff is good in its place. I make it a habit to listen to a variety of different styles though.
Examples:
Salif Keita - sounds like a blues guitarist but actually is an electric guitarist whose music is modernised from the traditional music of Africa.
Martyn Bennett - Hip hop Gaelic bagpiper from Canada, unique and very talented, sadly dying of cancer right now at about 30 yrs old.
South American stuff - There's so much colombian, cuban, and so on, music out there, all sorts of styles, latin, traditional, jazz and everything in between. High points are the Afro-Cuban All-Stars and The Buena Vista Social Club.
There's tons of good bands out there though. Skunkhour and Smudge for instance, both bands from Sydney, now defunct, Skunkhour were laid back lounge rap jazz, smudge were like the lemonheads but much better. You am I, another good sydney band of a similar type, just remembered them.
Oh yes, a band from melbourne that deserves tons of mentions everywhere is
Pre-Shrunk. Take the time to listen to some clips of them on their website, they are two bass players, a drummer and a rack of effects. I have seen them live and from the sound they make it is difficult to believe there are not five of them. very good indeed.