>>126633083

Pre-80's + 80's essentials are Mariya Takeuchi, Tatsuro Yamashita, Toshiki Kadomatsu, and Momoko Kikuchi. Tomoko Aran and Yuki Saito have some great singles too, and I'd also throw on Alessandra Mussolini's sole trilingual citypop album for the lulz; it's very good. Yamashita and Kadomatsu are often compared to each other, and each have huge discographies, so I'd start there... In particular, Yamashita's album "For You" and Kadomatsu's "Weekend Fly to the Sun" are excellent. You can decide for yourself who you like more. If you want something more like hard rock, then you have to go with Anzen Chitai. You can't go wrong with any of these picks. This is my favorite time for Japanese music.

Late 80's - 90's big essentials are Naoko Gushima, Cindy (Mayumi Yamamoto,) Gackt, L'Arc-en-Ciel, Malice Mizer, and X JAPAN. You also have your choice of countless mega-idols. Gushima has seemingly never released a bad album, although I think some will question her vocal editing style. Cindy's best album is "Angel Touch." The other four are rock artists/ bands, and all of them are internationally popular and legendary in their own right.

Late 90's - 00's & onwards biggest idols and bands are Utada Hikaru, Ayumi Hamasaki, and Namie Amuro... I'd also include BoA (Kwon Bo-ah,) and m.o.v.e as essentials. These names, as well as a ton of other noteworthy bands, had big anime single releases at this time. Those songs are definitely good in their own right, but I'd really recommend looking past the anisongs and into the rest of their respective catalogues (especially for BoA.) Utada Hikaru is, for better or worse, inescapable for this time... She was about as popular over there as Lady Gaga was in the states, or maybe more.

These are the true essentials... Some artists that have already been mentioned in this thread (Susumu Hirasawa, Masayoshi Tanaka, etc...) are also good or even truly great, but are either too obscure or too spotty to call "essential."

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I'm getting into Japanese music.What are some essential artists I should check out?Pic related is amazing.

I'm getting into Japanese music.
What are some essential artists I should check out?
Pic related is amazing.