Yeah, I just left Zappa because I couldn't come up with a Z band either.

me too, although I like him after all

I decided to try a favorite punk bands list just for the hell of it. A bit more difficult to complete the list. I had to cheat and put Iggy Pop in the 'I' section because there are no punk bands beginning with that letter in my collection and I couldn't think of any.

Adverts
Buzzcocks
Clash
D.O.A.
Electric Eels
Fear
Generation X
Heartbreakers
Iggy Pop
Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine
Kid Dynamite
Lard
Meatmen
Nomeansno
Off!
Poison Idea
Queers
Rollins Band
Stranglers
Toxic Reasons
Unsane
Vibrators
Wipers
X
Young and the Useless
Zeros

I would have included the Ramones and the Undertones (but I don't know all of the bands)

Still, a kickass list! I love the fact that so many of us listed X.

Of all the bands on that list, X are the one I listen to most often.

love the fact that you have Wipers on there man.....and obviously Unsane...and Lard!....my absolute favorite Ministry side band :)

Art Ensemble of Chicago
Billy Woods
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
Django Reinhardt
Etron Fou Leloublan
Fushitsusha (with a nod to Fantômas, Faust and The Fall)
Ghostpoet
Huun-Huur-Tu
Iannis Xenakis
John Coltrane (The hardest letter, there are so many fantastic Johns)
Keiji Haino
Les Rallizes Denudes
Marc Ribot
Naked City
Ornette Coleman
Peter Brötzmann
Queens of the Stone Age
The Residents
Sun Ra (just edged out Sunn O))), Silver Apples, and Sonny Sharrock)
This Heat
United States of America
The Vandermark 5
Wolves In Sheepskin (bet you didn't see that one coming)
X
Yowie
Zu

Easier than I thought save for the letters noted above. Some letters like B, C, and T would be a lot harder if I didn't have a very clear favourite artist in those categories.

Albums....

American Water (Silver Jews)
Blonde On Blonde (Bob Dylan) (Had a tough time choosing between three albums...all of which are Bob's)
Candy Apple Grey (Husker Du)
Darklands (The Jesus And Mary Chain)
Entertainment! (Gang Of Four)
Funeral (Arcade Fire) (Difficult letter)
The Great Annihilator (Swans)
Heroes (David Bowie)
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (Neutral Milk Hotel) (this letter is a ****)
Junkyard (The Birthday Party)
Keep It Like A Secret (Built To Spill)
London Calling (The Clash)
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Kanye West)
Nixon (Lambchop)
OK Computer (Radiohead)
Pinkerton (Weezer)
Queen Of Denmark (John Grant)
Reckoning (R.E.M.)
Slanted And Enchanted (Pavement)
There's Nothing Wrong With Love (Built To Spill)
Unknown Pleasures (Joy Division)
The Velvet Underground & Nico (The Velvet Underground)
The White Album (The Beatles)
XXX (Danny Brown)
Ys (Joanna Newsom)
Zen Arcade (Husker Du)

Silver Jews, good choice! Love American Water.