This morning, Blackcatter asked if someone would post a brief history of the banjo.

A quick Google search yielded this: Thumbnail history of the banjo (though, if you ask me, it's a large thumbnail --it must belong to a picker!) ;-)

Just reading through it, it seems that people have been either hating 'em or loving 'em since the time they first appeared among us.

Personally, I love the sound of the banjo... it may not have sustain, but it has a bright clarity of sound that cannot be matched. It reminds me of sunlight on a running stream.