I checked out pretty much ever band you listed. Some of it harkens back to 80's stuff. No, not the bubble gum stuff but the more musically/musician oriented stuff that never saw much play on radio stations. I'm not much for nostalgia though so I was more drawn to the newer sounding bands.

Nightwish and Leave's Eyes were my favorites of those you listed and I found another that you didn't mention that I liked alot. Lacuna Coil.

Thanks for posting the list by the way. At the very least it gave me some new music to listen to.

*resists the urge to saturate anything labled "country" with sulfuric acid*

In the interest of open mindedness, I might just check out your link too pyr.

*vacilates*