You know who there aren’t enough of in America? Guys like Paul Thorn. Thorn plays a loud version of Americana, a bluesy, Southern Rock. His lyrics often illustrate stories about rough lives, hard times and rowdy women, making him a sort of funkier Johnny Cash.  

This year has already been a huge one for Halestorm. In February, the song “Here’s to Us” was performed on Glee and the band’s sophomore album, The Strange Case of... was released in April, hitting Billboard’s Top 20 in its first week.   

In the past, Chris Robinson has incorporated his musical influences into his original material the way an Italian chef works four cloves of garlic into a recipe — with total pride and absolute confidence in the distinct flavor of the finished product.   

At least twice recently, Rolling Stone has referred to someone’s sound as “Laurel Canyon.” If you were born after the late ’70s and don’t have a soft spot for Neil Young and his friends, you  

Based on sound alone, The Donkeys come off as pretty mature. The San Diego band plays a tender, starlit kind of Rock with a folky side that isn’t too sleepy, an AltCountry side that isn’t too twangy, a Blues side that isn’t too reverb-heavy and a Psych Rock side that isn’t too psychedelic.   

 Although Natural Child coalesced back in 2009, they sound like they’ve been around forever. Almost stereotypically young, the Nashville trio’s influences date to their parents’ record collections and that sense of musical classicism is infused with an appropriate dose of hormonal rage and rebellion.   

Wailing guitars and screaming Rock stars have their place in the hearts of many Americans, but they’re certainly not needed to make great Rock music. A quick listen to Hoots & Hellmouth will prove exactly that. The boys of Hoots make music that may be different from what graces Top 40 radio, but it’s far from unique. They’ve fashioned their tunes after stuff we’ve listened to for decades.  

People about to change the world rarely look like people about to change the world. Take Gold Shoes — central casting didn’t assemble a new millennium Monkees to storm the music world with calculated precision. Gold Shoes is comprised of oddly yet perfectly meshed parts.   

 Australian Pop/Rock band Men At Work hit me — and many other music fans around the world — at just the right time. I was 12 when the single “Who Can It Be Now?” exploded onto the charts. I was intrigued by the group’s quirkiness, but it was singer/guitarist Colin Hay’s voice that initially drew me in.  

While many bands spend years toiling around, looking for their place within the music scene, Rise Against found their niche over a decade ago. They lead the way in making mosh pit-stirring music with actual substance.