I would have put John Paul Jones in the weaknesses.
Not because he's not very good , but for the exact opposite. He was extremely under-utilised.

Seconded.

Elvis Costello:
Strengths - One of Britain's finest musical exports. Terrific lyricist and songwriter, has worked with some great backing bands and collaborators and boasts a much more musically varied and consistent discography than he's often given credit for.

Weaknesses - For all his ambition he does have a habit of trying a bit too hard every now and then. His vocal style does grate a little bit sometimes and he's probably a self-obsessed, pretentious arsehole in real life.

David Bowie:
Strengths - What Urban said. One of the most unique talents music has ever seen.

Weaknesses - Released some pretty terrible music in the late 80s but, most annoying of all, after recovering his form in the mid 90s with a few terrific albums, he took a step backwards and got a bit safe for my liking. His last album sucked too.

Leonard Cohen:
Strengths - Probably my favourite ever lyricist, and whatever musical backing he opts for doesn't often intrude on the poetry of his lyrics, giving them that little bit more atmosphere to improve on it and create a glorious, deeply-affecting whole.

Weaknesses - He's never really made an end-to-end brilliant album in his career. A few come close, but even those are taken down a peg or too by one too many weak spots.

The Pogues:
Strengths - Just about the best band in the world when you're in the mood for them. Raucous, frenetic, uplifting and responsible for some of the best melodies I've ever heard when they're at their best.

Weaknesses - If you're not in the mood for them, it's just drinking music with Shane MacGowan's atonal jeering over the top of it. Plus, when they're bad, they're pretty bloody terrible.

I'll think of more later I guess...

I disagree with that. He was a very important part of the band and I disagree with everyone that says he was the weak link. His bass work alone was outstanding. But his work with keyboards, other instruments and arangements was what tied many of their later albums together so perfectly.

Does that include Lets Dance and the Labyrinth soundtrack?

Cuz I like those. :o:

Let's Dance is pretty much an album of two halves. Side A's great, I don't care much for side B though.

I do hate the Labyrinth soundtrack though. That said, there is the odd decent Bowie song from that era, but it does seem to me that he had burned himself out by then (the poor chap).

The Clash

Strengths: Awesome musicians, especially for a punk band. They had an intellegent and authentic vibe to them, which goes a looooong way. Great melodies. Love the experimental edge they had. Very large and eclectic mix of songs that you can never really get sick of.

Weaknesses: Lots of filler on Sandinista! I know it was pretty much them just recording whatever they wanted but much of it really wasn't neccesary. There were some absolutely awesome songs on that album and it could have been so much better as a whole without some of the filler. Combat Rock is even worse because about half of the songs suck and there's only 12. The only album of theirs which doesn't have at least one crap song is Give 'Em Enough Rope, which is a shame because it was just a punk album.

Alexisonfire

Strengths: Incredible amount of energy and emotion in their first two albums. Many great individual songs. Dallas Green is a great singer, and George Pettit is a great screamer. At the end of the day they're a bunch of fun guys.

Weaknesses: Wade can occasionally get in the way, on Crisis they sounded eerily like Rise Against, "Keep It On Wax" has a TERRIBLE chorus. Their albums are getting increasingly polished, and one of the things that made their debut so good is that it was so raw.

EL-P

Strengths - Menacing, claustrophobic soundscapes, his production can be incredibly dense at times, but the different elements almost always gel. Is capable of being a great lyricist.
Company Flow is a landmark group in hip hop, innovative and influential.

Weaknesses - His flow isn't always that strong, tending to get jumbled up over itself. Also, his lyrics sometimes veer to far towards being indecipherable.

The Mars Volta

Strengths - Great energy, especially in Omar's guitar work. Eclectic and frenetic sound, fusing latin funk rhythms with prog and hardcore influences.

Weaknesses - Often self indulgent, songs can degenerate into long unfocussed jams and their albums aren't terribly consistent. Lyrics aren't flash hot either.

His self titled really had me hopeful until I heard the new album. :(

I feel really bad about liking "Casadaga"...I really can't get into Conner's early stuff for some reason.

:banghead:

Why why why why why did you have to go there?

I'm sure that's a half-serious statement, but can you really blame Led Zeppelin for having an influence on a band you don't like? It's not like what Wolfmother is doing is bad either. They play an up-to-date version of that classic style, I see nothing wrong with that.