Favorite bands from A to Z, 2021 edition

Over on the Sea of Tranquility YouTube channel, host Pete Pardo is using July to list his favorite bands, one per each letter of the alphabet.

I'm going to do the same. One letter, one band. A few letters see honorable mentions or reservations about my choice.

• A: Absurd
• B: Black Sabbath (alternates: Budgie, Bilskirnir)
• C: Camel (alternates: Caravan, Cathedral)
• D: Deep Purple
• E: Enslaved (no obvious choice here; lately I like Enslaved's early stuff a little more than anything from Emperor)
• F: Forefather
• G: Gentle Giant (alternate: Genesis, solely on the strength of Foxtrot and Selling England by the Pound, two of the best 70s prog rock albums ever)
• H: Hawkwind
• I: Iron Maiden (Inquisition wins out if I'm in the mood for black metal)
• J: Jethro Tull
• K: Kraftwerk
• L: Led Zeppelin
• M: Macabre Omen (they have two albums, both great)
• N: Nile (their first two albums are among my favorite death metal discs)
• O: Ougenweide
• P: Pentagram
• Q: Queen
• R: Rainbow
• S: Slayer (pre-South of Heaven; Sculptured as alternate)
• T: Trouble
• U: Uriah Heep
• V: Van der Graaf Generator
• W: Was (Not Was) (alternate: Witchfinder General)
• X: Xysma (really enjoying their first album at the moment, but I didn't have many choices)
• Y: Yes
• Z: Zwenz (two very good albums, few other bands to choose from)