1. Yngwie J. Malmsteen´s Rising Force. IMHO the most consistently good melodic metal act from the mid-80´s to now. Incredible songs and totally redefined lead guitar.
2. Rainbow. Classic hard rock. Not a single bad album. Reinvented their sound in the early 80´s but still maintained an exceptionally high quality throughout. And Blackmore ruled the roost of guitar players for many, many years...
3. Dio. Lost it a bit in recent times but,again - generally consistent quality, fantastic, bombastic melodic metal songs delivered by a vocalist who is second to none. Never seen a duff gig. Never heard a duff note.
4. Black Sabbath. The pioneers. My preference is for the Tony Martin and Dio ereas, but the Reunion albummade me reevaluate their older material significantly.
5. Ten. Yeah, why not?! They´ve turned out a row of consistently good albums and even Spellbound has its moments. I look forward to hearing Babylon but if the reports and reviews are true, then I´m in for a treat! They hold up their influences with pride and have learned their lessons well.
6. UFO. For me they defined hard rock in the the early 80´s. A better comnbination of riffs embellished with subtle keyboard melodies one is hard pressed to find. A totally unique singer in Phil Mogg and too many pure classic songs to mention.
7. Dokken. I always regarded them as a sort of American UFO! Great songs and excellent guitar. Having said that Shadowlife was a total disaster and I rapidly lost interest after that...
8. Impelliteri. Melodic power metal with hyper speed guitar to the max. Basically pins you to the wall and doesn´t let go. Great stuff.