Here are the bands I wasn't familiar with, and have squirrelled away on my "Ben/Brent" playlist on Spotify:
Astralion
Divine Weep
Eternal Idol
Evan
Fractal Cypher
Mark Wood
Mercy Isle
Michael Sweet (surprised I hadn't checked this one out)
Pareidolia
Perc3ption
Scythia
Anthrax
Trees of Eternity
Wolf Hoffmann
Tygers of Pan Tang
Tyketto
Others I already knew, or didn't quite float my boat enough to warrant checking them out. I would've wanted to check out Syu, but alas... not on Spotify.
NOW BRING US THAT TOP 40!!!!