Just pick two of your absolute favorite bands that are quite different
I’ll pick three: Bad Religion, The Dreadnoughts, and Days 'n Daze.
In some ways very similar - they’re all “punk”. However, Bad Religion has its roots in early 80s hardcore punk and has, with some notable exceptions like the song Cease (and the album Into the Unknown, which is hilariously bad and they wish the world would forget), maintained their “wall of guitars” and “oozin’ awws” sound throughout their 40-ish years as a band. Also, their lyrical content generally is about societal and global issues.
The Dreadnoughts are a cider punk band that, at times is a bit like a Canadian incarnation of The Pogues or Gogol Bordello. They feature accordion in most of their songs, have done an acoustic album and a WWI concept album, and have a great catalog of acapella and accompanied shanties. They very much embrace folk music, especially polka. Lyrically, their most frequent themes involve sailors during the age of sail and shenanigans that they personally got up to.
Days 'n Daze is, what I’d say, straight-up folk-punk. All acoustic instruments that are fairly busking-friendly (guitar, gutbucket, washboard, trumpet) and vocals go from pop-punky to thrash screaming. Their lyrical themes generally involve anarchism, struggles with mental health and nihilism, parties, and interpersonal conflict.
While all three are “punk”, they are very different musically and lyrically.
Mental Cruelty and Open Mike Eagle
Alice in Chains and Frank Sinatra
angelmaker
rainbow kitten surprise
Between the Buried and Me
Chon
Lovin’ Spoonful and Poison Girls
Public Enemy and Orbital
Tool
Susanne SundførTwenty One Pilots and ELO.
Superorganism and Electeic Callboy.
NIN, and Ninja Sex Party.
I’ll do two recent ones for me: Hail The Sun and Ginger Root.
Let’s go with: Decapitated & Bon Iver