Ok...in a moment of drunken generosity I offered to make a mix for a friend b/c he said he was bored of what he had been listening to. I asked him to give me a list of recent likes, and here it is:

Eve 6
hoobastank
Blink 182
Nickleback
Coldplay
Stroke 9
Matchbox 20

I honestly don't have much of an idea of what some of these bands sound like. Stroke 9? Eve 6? What is it with this guy & bands with numbers in their names?

Anyway...you guys have any suggestions? Maybe I should start off with some Mighty Mighty Bosstones, but after that I'm clueless.

Just put some whacked-out shit on there to punish him. Start with Capt. Beefheart.

I might be of some help. I listened to nearly all those bands when I was in grades seven through nine. I'd suggest any of the following:

Actionslacks
Ben Kweller
Beulah
Death Cab For Cutie
Eels
Fountains of Wayne
Lemonheads
Matthew Sweet
Pavement

Nice...aside from the Actionslacks, I'm staring at CDs by all of 'em. Funny that you got all those bands out of your system by 15, and my buddy is 35. Maybe I can finally set him right.

Make that lameass a mix of the indie bands that have had some crossover success in the last few years. I'tll make him feel cool (even though he's clearly not) without making you want to kill yourself

Strokes
Killers
Modest Mouse
Franz Ferdinand
Hives
Vines
New U2 single
New Green Day
Interpol
Dogs Die In Hot Cars
New Beastie Boys
Keane
Jimmy Eat World

The Replacements, probably something like "Valentine"
Superdrag
Superchunk
Ted Leo + Pharmacists

I'm not sure why but I'm guessing he might like

The Marvelous 3
UB40
U2
Fela Kuti & the Africa 70
&
3 Mustapha 3

You could always throw in a little Galaxie 500 and The Minus 5 for good measure.