Is This the Best Coachella Line-Up Ever?

The organizers had us at Radiohead, but this line-up sets the standard for diversity, taste, and general awesomeness.

The annual release of music festival line-ups across North America has probably supplanted Grammy and Juno award nominations as the ultimate barometer of what bands and artists are making waves this year. California's Coachella festival is the biggest of the big festivals (ahead of Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo and Sasquatch), and this year's line-up, released yesterday, makes a great case for being perhaps the best line-up we've seen since festivals returned to the fore in the early aughts.

First off, the headliners: retro-rockers the Black Keys kick things off on Apr. 13 and 20, followed by Radiohead, perhaps the greatest live band in popular music today, on the 14th and 21st, and then native sons Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre will show that California knows how to party on the 15th and 22nd. Coachella's dedicated quota of big-name electronic acts also delivers, with David Guetta and Swedish House Mafia getting top billing. There are two requisite reunion shows, with hardcore legends At The Drive-In and Refused both taking the stage. (Previous reunions at Coachella include Rage Against the Machine and the Stone Roses). There's also the smattering of the indiesphere's darlings (Bon Iver, St. Vincent, Feist, Beirut, M83, Real Estate), a ridiculous DJ lineup (DJ Shadow, Justice, Calvin Harris, Girl Talk, Flying Lotus), a handful of 1990s rock legends (Pulp, Mazzy Star, Noel Gallagher, Godspeed You! Black Emperor), the vanguard of new R&B (The Weeknd, Frank Ocean), some of the best upcoming MCs (Childish Gambino, A$AP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar), some of the better Brit Rock bands (Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, Kaiser Chiefs), one of Fela Kuti's sons, and frickin' Jimmy Cliff.

There is literally something for everyone, provided "everyone" means music aficionados under the age of 40. While we'd love to be there to soak up the southern California sunshine, we have jobs to do, but we're of the mind that this is the best Coachella line-up we've ever seen. What say you, dear reader?