Manchester

Take a quick four-decade trip, Manchester-style: Herman's Hermits' "I'm Henry the VIII, I Am" is a slice of British Invasion-meets-British Dance Hall from one of the era's many lovable mop-topped bands. A decade later, 10cc's "I'm Not in Love" may well have been the high-water mark of prog rock, with its hyper-intricate, multi-layered recording style. Happy Mondays' "24 Hour Party People" was the anthem of late-'80s rave culture, and Jim Noir's "Eanie Meany" was virtually inescapable during the 2006 World Cup broadcasts in the U.S., due to its inclusion on Adidas spots that ran virtually every commercial break.

Electronic is the supergroup brainchild of the Smiths' Johnny Marr and New Order's Bernard Sumner, though they were also joined by Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant on the highly danceable "Getting Away with It." On the down-tempo tip, Lamb's "Gabriel" features angelic vocals over a lush, chillout backing track. And if you're looking for something entirely undanceable, check out the Mindbenders' ballad "A Groovy Kind of Love," featuring a young Eric Stewart, who would go on to help form 10cc.

For being the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, Manchester knows how to turn out the chillout whiz kids. Brian Eno signed Marconi Union to oversee the remastering of his back catalog, but they weren't content merely to stay in the background, as the aptly titled ambient track, "Sleepless," demonstrates. Utterly on the other end of the spectrum, Manchester Orchestra's fuzzed-out "The Procession" picks up where Neutral Milk Hotel left off. And you just have to hear Mitch Benn & The Distractions' lament, "Everything Sounds Like Coldplay Now," which, if not strictly true, rings with sincerity.

Up in the northwest of England, Manchester exudes all the rustic charm of, say, Cleveland. Like Cleveland, it was at the heart of its country's industrial establishment, and like Clevelanders, they love their football (though in Manchester they play it with a round ball), and they love their rock. Going back to the British Invasion, with Herman's Hermits and the Hollies, right up through electronica faves the Chemical Brothers and Lamb, Manchester's bands have ranked at the top of rock's premier league as often as their beloved Manchester United has been there in "football." There isn't one thread binding the Manchester Sound; instead, it's an intricate web, with something for every taste.