Was a Time...

Oh, to live in England during the '90's. As far as I can tell, that was the best time and place for music that I've ever heard. So much great music coming out of there. Unfortunately a lot of it didn't get huge stateside, which I don't understand. The songs are so well put together I can't really imagine people not loving it. Obviously Radiohead and Oasis did pretty well, but these other bands could do with bigger followings, I feel. Cue Basic Britrock-from-the-'90's-primer.

Blur

Okay, maybe they're not hurting for fans like a lot of bands from the same era, but they should have been bigger. Yeah, Damon Albarn's doing pretty well for himself with Gorillaz, and they're a lot of fun, but Blur was far better. They were incredibly versatile. Check out these songs:

Beetlebum - Blur
The Universal - Blur
On Your Own - Blur
Sing - Blur
Tender - Blur

The Verve

Bittersweet Symphony was a pretty huge song, but the rest of their stuff was pretty widely ignored over here for the most part. Tragedy, cause it's fantastic. Even the reunion album was decent, which is incredibly rare. Some songs that aren't Bittersweet Symphony:

Lucky Man - The Verve
Rather Be - The Verve
The Drugs Don't Work - The Verve
She's a Superstar - The Verve
Sonnet - The Verve

Travis

I'm only referring to the first album, which I prefer to the rest of their stuff. The rest is good, I just prefer a good old fashioned rock song you can sing along with. All I Want To Do Is Rock is the perfect example of a song like that. One of my favorite videos, too.

Primal Scream

Unfortunately most people I've encountered who have heard of Primal Scream have only heard of the album Screamadelica. It's a great album, and it is their best, but why stop there? It's all good!

Movin' On Up - Primal Scream
The Glory of Love - Primal Scream
Loaded - Primal Scream

Pulp

Jarvis Cocker is one of the best lyricists of all time, period. Unfortunately Americans know him best as the guy who sings the song in Fantastic Mr. Fox with the banjo. Also he has the same birthday as me. Just an idea as to how cool this band is, William Shatner covered one of their songs on his album Has Been.

Disco 2000 - Pulp
This is Hardcore - Pulp
Do You Remember The First Time? - Pulp
Bad Cover Version - Pulp (OK this one is from 2001. The Video is so awesome that it has to be included.)

Others to familiarize yourself with:

Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space - Spiritualized
Connection - Elastica
Trash - Suede
A Design For Life - Manic Street Preachers
Alright - Supergrass
Sleep Well Tonight - Gene
Wide Open Space - Mansun
Hypocrite - Lush
Bigmouth Strikes Again - Placebo (It's a Smiths cover, but still awesome.)
I Wanna Be Adored - The Stone Roses