Yoshida Kyodai (brothers) are simply amazing. They play shamisen, a traditional guitar-like Japanese instrument. This is the instrument that you would typically hear as the background music in a Japanese restaurant - the atonal discordant twanging of strings that usually, if paid attention to, just gets on one's nerves.

However, Yoshida Kyodai infuse new life into this artform. They play the shamisen, and they do traditional Japanese numbers, but they do them in a rock-style that will simply leave you astounded. The first time I heard them (on a music awards program in Japan), I was just amazed, and immediately began looking for their albums so that I could hear more.

My favourite piece of theirs is "Storm", from their first American release "Yoshida Brothers". The mixture of the woman's voice with their shamisen playing is haunting, and I could listen to this song for hours on end. Yoshida Kyodai have breathed new life into traditional Japanese music, and I highly recommend giving them a try!

The Yellow Monkey is a Japanese rock group, and I have a few of their albums, although not the one (and only one) that mp3.com has listed. I have "Punch Drunkard" and "So Alive", both of which are great albums. "Punch Drunkard" has some wonderful songs on it, both fast and slow, with two of my Yellow Monkey favourites: Love Love Show and BURN. "So Alive" is a live album, and includes many of their hits.

Yoshii Kazuya's voice is probably what I find most likeable about The Yellow Monkey. His voice has a slightly nasal tone, which is different from most other Japanese singers, and he puts a lot of emotion into his singing; if you don't understand the words, the emotion becomes paramount. He can convey sad longing in "Hanareruya" and frisky playfulness in "Love Love Show" with equal skill.

While living in Japan, many of my co-workers did not like Japanese pop music because of the bubblegum quality of it; however, when I would play The Yellow Monkey for them, they'd be pleasantly surprised - it's actually good music.

Vital Idol is a compliation disc of Billy Idol's greatest hits. Billy was great in the mid-80s, and the songs have managed to last...or some of them have. And listening to them now, they still rock just as hard as they did when they first came out. Listen to this one loud, because that's how Billy Idol should always be listened to. Sneer along with the lyrics, and dance around the room.

AmiYumi was the first release by Puffy (as they're known in Japan), and their first single from it "Asia no Junshin" propelled them into the limelight. It was a very catchy song, and lead the way for their string of hits that followed. This album has that song, as well as the follow-up hits, and they're all infectiously happy pop songs. Many of Puffy's songs are similar sounding, but at least it's a happy sound!

SMAP is the "New Kids On The Block" of Japan. They started out as six teenaged boys, brought together by Johnny's Entertainment. After a few years, one of the members left, and wasn't replaced, leaving SMAP as a five-some. However, they've managed to last quite a few years - they started out as young teens, and were still going strong by the time that they hit their late 20s and early 30s. And this is a 'greatest hits' compilation disc, so over the course of those many years, they actually had some good songs, and certainly more than a few catchy tunes. Their music managed to grow as they aged, so it's not all just syrupy bubblegum pop and ballads. They do a fairly good rendition of Yamazaki Masayoshi's "Celery" (although I still prefer the original), and most of their recent chart hits are also included on this disc. So if you want to hear what Japan is listening to, this disc would be a good place to find out.