Well of course it all comes down to what you like, but for me, the best bands of the past couple of years have been the Killers, the Kaiser Chiefs, and Scissor Sisters. Beyond all the hype, Winehouse's album is great too. What I tell people about all of the ones I just mentioned is that they are derivative:you can hear influences all over the place in their music, and they are not so conceited to make you think they have created the next best thing, a trap that other new bands fall into these days I think. There are too many bands out there with that attitude, the typical rock star "everything is shit, we are going to be the greatest, blah blah blah." A year later they are, as Spinal Tap says, currently residing in the where are they now category! But the absolute best band out there the last couple of years IMHO is Tinariwen-exactly what music should be about!