Originally Posted by Minstrel

Honeybus - In their early days, they were seen within the music biz as comparable to the Beatles (a contemporary) in their pop songcraft. Unfortunately, they never really got their **** together to release proper studio albums and go on tour. Still, they leave a fair amount of great pop songs in their wake and a legacy of unrealized potential and success.

Teenage Fanclub - Probably at least known by name in groups like this, they've had an astonishingly long run of fantastic songs and albums. Somehow, despite writing some of the catchiest, hookiest songs ever, they never had a single hit.

The Divine Comedy - A British band (well, really just one person, Neil Hannon) that existed throughout the Britpop era but was never part of it, as the Divine Comedy made pop that was quite unique. Literate, wry, grandiose and extremely melodic, Hannon was one of the best song-writers of the '90s.