We recently published our Emerging Thirty list of the best up-and-coming bands in Southern California.  This list was based on a survey of numerous experts on the music in that region.  However, the area is rich in talent and many deserving bands were not included.  Here's our own Top 10 list of Southern California bands that should have been included on the list.  (Maybe next time!)

1. Melanoid: the unfortunately-named project of the prodigiously talented John Hanson.  Their debut album just came out and it is a showcase for timeless melodies and swooning vocals.  Perhaps the best emerging songwriter in So Cal.

2.  Jenny O.: continuing in the vein of (superb) singer-songwriters, Jenny O. writes dramatic, heart-wrenching tunes.  This is the kind of stuff that leaves an indelible mark.  Scary talented.  Look for our session with her soon!

3.  Spider Problem: truly an experience live, this band revels in punk attitude and actually has the tunes to back it all up.  Kind of kooky, but this is what rock and roll is all about.

4.  Billy Boy on Poison: a future hit machine of straight-ahead rock and roll.

5.  The Union Line: these boys have an 'it quality' and their songs are well-written and evocative.  Like a faded postcard from a western ghost town.

6.  The World Record: few people write big pop hooks as well as Andy Creighton.  We're No. 1 should be the signature sing-along in sports stadiums across the country.

7.  Big Phony: has the wrenching delicacy associated with Elliott Smith.  Brilliant songwriter.

8.  Willoughby: each song sounds cinematic, even if the pacing is occasionally loungy.

9.  Obi Best: Alex Lilly's material seems as interesting and solid as the more celebrated The Bird and the Bee.

10.  Yellow Red Sparks: acoustic gems that are charged with emotion.

See sample music from each band below.