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a lot of the stuff I listen to are hard to categorize into genres...so I'll just list some of the best songs I've heard and the genre that loosely fits them, and I'll try to include as many genres as possible.

Midnight in a Perfect World by DJ Shadow (instrumental hip-hop) - very serene. composed entirely of samples (sans intro by Gift of Gab). The song proved to me that sampling is a legitimate form of music composition and art. everything fits together perfectly-the drums, the vocals, the strings, etc. Even though the song is made of samples looped continuously, DJ Shadow does just an excellent job of using these samples, making 5 minutes seem too short to really enjoy this track. The rest of the album (also made of nearly entirely samples) is just fantastic as well.

Would? by Alice in Chains (metal/grunge/alternative rock) - awesome bass riff intro, chilling vocals by Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell, lyrics about heroin; all dedicated to Andy Wood, lead singer of Mother Love Bone. Great unplugged performance in 1996. Staley's vocals send chills down my spine every time I hear it. There's some poetry that Staley died in 2002 due to a heroin addiction.

Daylight/Night Light by Aesop Rock (hip-hop/rap) - two complementary songs. sounds nonsensical, but it isn't. My favourite part of the songs is that the lyrics could be interpreted many many many different ways. I see both as a struggle against the hardships of life, but Daylight as about someone marching on despite the difficulties, and Night Light as being about someone fighting life-being aggressive and attacking everything that attacks the narrator. My favourite parts of the songs (strong language)

Daylight wrote:Life's not a bitch! Life is a beautiful woman
You only call her a bitch because she won't let you get that pussy.
Maybe she didn't feel y'all shared any similar interests
Or maybe you're just an asshole who couldn't sweet talk the princess.

Night Light wrote:Life's not a bitch,
Life is a bee-otch who keeps the villagers circling the marketplace out searching for the G-spot!
Maybe she didn't feel y'all shared any similar interests.
Or maybe you're just an asshole. And maybe I'm just an asshole.

Timeless (not full version) by Goldie (drum 'n' bass/techno) - definitive of the genre in so many ways - 21 minutes of super fast percussion samples and slow synthesizer melodies. Goldie changes it up enough times that every minute is entertaining. Probably the only drum 'n' bass song that you need to hear.

Long Gone Day by Mad Season (Rock with Jazz influences) - I really can't describe this song well enough. so I'll take an excerpt from a review.

Rolling Stone megazine wrote:lustrous duet in which Staley trades verses with Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan, whose honeyed growl is in its element among the cool percussion, sensitive sax and pliant bass....That Mad Season are capable of tremendous power and also succeed with such a subtle song proves that the band is – at times – more than the mere sum of its parts

Scared of Everyone by ModWheelMood (...pop? electronica?) - sounds like a pop song, but not really...because it's very different from other stuff. I really can't describe this too well either...so just give it a listen. at least the ending starting around the 4:30 mark.

Retrovertigo by Mr. Bungle (experimental rock) - really shows Mike Patton's capabilities as a vocalist (also seen here). really a very great range. He sounds like everything and nothing else at the same time. Lyrics aren't half bad either.

Closer (link includes adult content) by Nine Inch Nails (industrial rock) - super creepy sounding vocals and lyrics, with a video of a similar feel. something you really don't want to keep listening to but you do. Trent Reznor lures you into his demonic world while you listen.

Down by the Water by PJ Harvey (indie rock) - powerful powerful vocals by PJ Harvey. not really the kind of voice you'd expect from a female singer. really catchy (but also kind of creepy) chorus.

Hits of Sunshine (song starts around 0:50. not full version) by Sonic Youth (indie rock) - awesome colour imagery in the lyrics. the guitars in this song are really quite exceptional. They sound like nonsense, but it's beautiful nonsense. super trippy.

the descriptions are a little short by the end...but that's because I couldn't think of what to say...all great songs imo.

I'm pretty sure one of my mother's exboyfriends was related to
Goldie..

i usually don't pick favoruites. Even when i do, i pick bands, but i very rarely pick just a song. In general, i like to listen to albums, in their entirety. (Exceptions are musicians that i'm not a fan of, i just like "some songs" from them..)
To declare that a song is best in its genre, is something i'd never do..
Having said all that, i still could list some of my favoruites.. but due to the fact that i mostly listen to experimental music, i guess some of them would be just simply too extreme/obscure/difficult listens and generally hard to get into for someone who listens to popular music, so i think i'll just pick some songs that may have a potential enjoyment value for some of you. (they still might not.)

Ulver - Vigil Ulver are a Norwegian band, they started as a black metal band but they changed.. a lot. Their newer stuff has a lot of electronics, but i dunno how to classify this song.

Isis - In Fiction okay this one actually has a genre, it's called post-metal. metal means don't listen if you're allergic to distorted guitars, "post-" here means don't expect anything like the metal bands you heard before, if you haven't heard about this subgenre before. Yes there may be shouting instead of singing at some parts, so don't listen if you want to avoid that.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Moya this is post-rock. Very long song, probably too long for most of you and boring. I love it. Warning: no lyrics.

Tool - Schism Tool are probably the most "well known" band i listen to, but i still wouldn't say it's accessible.. Art-metal, progressive rock, call it whatever you want. Genres don't really say anything here.

And since Thiger posted some Patton related stuff, i will too:
Tomahawk - Mescal Rite 1 this is some native american style tribal crazyness..

okay i have to go now, anyways this is already too much. SOrry for not strictly answering the question.

I don't see much point in pointing out the best songs in a particular genre...
There are songs I love now... But I'm quite confident that in a month, I'll be tired of it...

keja wrote:Eminem

The kid that wore a shirt saying Eminem in our school got bullied...
But yes, I heard this song on some 1-star rated video's...

CX gamer wrote:I don't see much point in pointing out the best songs in a particular genre...
There are songs I love now... But I'm quite confident that in a month, I'll be tired of it...

keja wrote:Eminem

The kid that wore a shirt saying Eminem in our school got bullied...
But yes, I heard this song on some 1-star rated video's...

That song is awesome

CX gamer wrote:I don't see much point in pointing out the best songs in a particular genre...
There are songs I love now... But I'm quite confident that in a month, I'll be tired of it...

keja wrote:Eminem

The kid that wore a shirt saying Eminem in our school got bullied...
But yes, I heard this song on some 1-star rated video's...

I think Belgians need to realise that people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

Eminem is an amazing lyricist and his terms of reference are relatable to most people in some way or another. And what should a video's rating have to do with anything?

keja wrote:I think Belgians need to realise that people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

No it's just me...

I think Eminem's a good rapper and a great lyricist, but there's better ones out there. at least for me.
here's one more song I enjoy a lot.
Maggot Brain by Funkadelic (Funk/Psychedelic rock) - 10 minutes of sheer guitar intensity. I find this song to be very emotional.

Nice...

Apparently it was on House too.

that's where I first heard it. then I found the full version, which I found really nice.

Last ones Left, 2Pac ft. Outlawz


Leu vo Züri, Dodo
(Swiss, Reggae)

Other good bands / singers / rappers:
Seeed, D12, Eminem, Bob Marley, Ohrbooten, Phenomden, Nikitaman, Taïro, Stress, Breitbild, Gimma, Cypress Hill, Infected Mushrooms, Linkin Park, Fort Minor.

Linkin Park make me feel dead inside.

I tried to listen to them a long time ago and I just couldn't feel anything from it at all.

Their music videos are quite interesting though.

and Fort Minor?

August Burns Red?

New subject then?

Where's waldo?


Seriosly?

There's a naked woman top-left.

Found it after about a minute... Quote for spoiler...
(2,65;8,70) cm from the top left...

So I was thinking about how selfish humans really are... How much we've destroyed the world around us in order for us to have a little better life. Just think about all the cars that are made, how much each of them pollutes and how much resources was used in order to make those cars. All for us to get from one place to another a little quicker. We always want to have it better. Everyone The majority of people are after money. Inventing new stuff that we "need" in order to sell it and earn money. Though there might be stuff we actually need for survival there, often it's not. All because money can help our life get better. It's what drives the world, perhaps the largest and most influential thing among humans. So what would happen if we didn't have money? Who knows... Maybe we would be better off, maybe not.
I recently read about human moral, there had been a test about it. The subjects of this test had been asked if they would sacrifice one man in order to save 5 other people. I think it was about 90% that said they would've sacrificed the one man in order to save the others, but what if it was yourself on those tracks? Would you sacrifice yourself in order to save 5 others? 4? 3? One stranger? What if it was a close friend? Or several? The question immediately becomes harder. I think it's because we're naturally egoistic. We will always think about saving ourself. We always want the best for ourself. I'm not saying everyone is like this, but I believe the majority of people are. So what, if anything at all, can we do about it?

This may come across as pointless, but whatever.

Thoughts?

Humans are of social nature, we live in groups... But indeed, we often think about what's better for ourselves...
Why would one do good for another? It costs effort and sometimes you won't get anything in return directly, so why bother?!...
No, the way how I see it is that when you do good, help another person you will get rewarded by the good feeling... The feeling I get when I help someone -even with small things, like lending someone money- is better on long term then when I'm first in a match of a computer game... Helping friends will rise their friendliness towards you, and you're likely to get something in return...

Thinking on larger scales, like the environment, is a bit harder... Doing good won't get the earth to like you more, or the earth won't do anything in return for as long as you live...
When you do good, it's for future generations... You'll make this harsh world a much nicer place to live in for them... You'll need to tell yourself to help stangers, or just to try, that will warm your heart, it's worth it...

As for me, I would sacrifice my own life to save two, I love my life as of today, yet it holds no value, saving two means a profit of one life...
Saving ONE stranger or friend, probably not, unless at least one is watching, then I would consider the heroism... Yet again, that points to selfishness...

Globally, it would be hard to convince everyone, specially the ones who can't afford to cut down... They're holding campaigns and all, and they're working for a bit... But I find that they need to focus more on the young people, who are -at least here they are- still like "Psssh, f*ck the environment, what do I care?", they didn't get the message... And in a group, the strongest opinion determines the opinion of the whole group... They need to realise that the environment rox...

And the money problem... Money is essentially the amount of how much you've helped the community... Or it should be...
Back in the days, when there were no days yet, people lived in small tribes, they didn't care about having the most stones or be best spears, they're just trying to help the group, much like Hungry today... (jk)
Then there must have been some discussion (unavoidable) about someone doing nothing, and people didn't want to help them... So they developed a system to that the ones who work hard get rewarded; the trading system... Giving three fishes for a bow and such... The one who didn't do anything, didn't have anything... Then in larger communities, carrying items around would be a burden, so they trades specially shapes stones instead and they gave them a value...
This is where the problem occurred... Say a bread was commonly sold for 3 stones... The baker was working hard and crafted 20 breads... However, there wasn't enough demand, so he had to sell his next breads for a lower price... The one who was buying these breads would buy them at 2 stones, and he would stock a bit up... He would then sell them somewhere else for 3 stones, essentially getting richer form the money of the baker...
This process was slow because all transport would be done with feet or horses... This was sped up by engines; boats, trains, cars, airplanes... It made the rich people get very rich and the poorer people poor...

I don't see directly another way for this large-scale community to function without money... No money means going back to the small tribes, which is not only practically impossible, but also there isn't enough room for having small tribes on this planet...
However, the hippies tried this, no money, no property, everyone living alongside everyone with no fighting... Free food and drinks for everyone... It lead to corruption and drugs... A knife that cuts on two sides, one side is the bread that you wanted to cut, and the other side is in your hand... You need to tell me how hard you want the bread cut...

EDIT: Haha, my textwall is bigger...