L.A. Rock

L.A. has been the center of the music biz since the '60s, so it's no accident that some of the world's best rock was created there. Groups like The Doors and The Byrds launched from the Sunset Strip, as did Van Halen and Mötley Crüe. The city also gave us punk bands like Black Flag and X, thrash metal stars such as Megadeth and Slayer and idiosyncratic indie stuff from Beck and Ariel Pink.