they had me at 300 lb Elvis impersonator fronting a reggae led zeppelin tribute band.

I went to see them many years ago at the coach house in san juan capistrano. outside of a theoretical tom waits impersonator that's pretty much the extent of any dedicated cover band i'll ever see.

****... forgot to do this one yesterday too (was too busy watching the Vikings embarrass themselves)- Not Bruno Mars. But once you hear the original , you'll be surprised who pulls off a very good cover-
Original: http://youtu.be/wS4InT7Ycdk

Cover: http://youtu.be/IqPATbDhrb4

Bruno Mars is okay in my book for the excellent unofficial video to "The Lazy Song."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dULOjT9GYdQ

When the video plays, there's a box that says, "Want to see the original version? Click here!" and I think, why on earth would I do that when there is this one?

Because I'm a young'n that doesn't know any better, for the longest time time I actually thought the cover was the original. Both the orignal and the cover are very good. But I think most people actually know the cover more than the original. You'll see below-

Original-
http://youtu.be/ISjg71jSnLg

Cover-
http://youtu.be/DVob1D8WlBM

Guys... I probably have no credibility with you at this point- But this definitely counts. Original is really good. But the cover is much more popular. This is once again a situation where I thought the cover for the longest time was actually the original.

Original- http://youtu.be/LSv9LOMDhbU

Cover- http://youtu.be/srtuQU20QXA

Once again- This is one where I knew the cover better than the original. I like both versions. I also had no idea that Dionne Warwick was ever a fine piece of a...

Original- http://youtu.be/L0wCuwUneSM

Cover- http://youtu.be/9nHlwliWFi0

By the way- The movie "Dead Presidents" wasn't that good, but it had a great soundtrack.

Actually, Aretha also had a great cover as well-
http://youtu.be/TnDOCepHUAM

So if you guys are into EDM, house, electronic music... bla bla bla hatever you wanna call it-
the act that has been all the rage this year is a duo called Disclosure. If you're kinda new to this type of music, and want a place to start, I highly suggest you stream their album "Settle" via youtube or wherever. It's not a mix. It's an album with songs that start/end.

One of the more popular songs from that album is called "White Noise". It's quite a banger, but the album is so good it's actually one of the weaker songs on it IMO. But the way DJs remix each other, re-edit, blablabla was actually done quite well.

The cover was done with male vocals instead of Aluna George (who sings in the original). So I actually like the cover better.

Give both a listen, and seriously listen to the album if you haven't yet. SUCH. A. BANGER!

Original- http://youtu.be/FTwCgK-zTEs

Cover- http://youtu.be/Y0MuVQV0W0w

I've never seen the band being covered present and in tears. Apologies if this was already posted but I just saw this for the first time.

Heart covering Led Zeppelin with Jason Bonham on drums. Get's real good at about 3:20 and special at 4:20.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9g3J-p4b2Q

oh my lord I just stumbled into a gold mine... for better or worse. At this point I pretty much have zero cred with you guys, but these are great covers of some current pop hits. This specific on is a doo wop cover of Miley Cyrus lol. Even if you hate the original, I think you'll like the cover-

Instead of giving you the original- I'll give you the really well-done acapella version done on Jimmy Fallon before linking the cover-

Fallon version-
http://youtu.be/2mjvfnUAfyo

Cover-
http://youtu.be/pXYWDtXbBB0

So Steve,

In honor of you playing "Blurred Lines" from Robin Thicke as a lead-in from your commercial breaks-
I have an interesting cover lol
http://youtu.be/Nz-OMn1o22Y

Macklemore "Thrift Shop" ragtime cover
http://youtu.be/4Cnm0tdkJEU

I know how much you baby-boomers love Ke$ha-
http://youtu.be/GI1cGPfL-Bw

This cover wouldn't be complete without some quality covers of our favorite teen-pop idol Biebs (I'll spare you guys the original version because I know you don't give a f)-

"Beauty and a Beat" cover:
http://youtu.be/EptPiz-ZYvM

"Boyfriend" (Done by Marina and the Diamonds... really good)
http://youtu.be/5oPsTcgs3uU

A lovely Lady Gaga cover... c'mon... you know you can't resist...
http://youtu.be/GprENPJXUJY

good song/better cover
 

Maybe this belongs in the thread about movies, but I want to see this film. They say that Justin Timberlake sounds a lot like Mary Travers of Peter, Paul, and Mary doing this cover:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi94HrlZvtY

holy ****... the Postmodern Jukebox has done such a good series of covers...

In all seriousness-
http://youtu.be/8CdAfYwEGCI
Even if you hate this song, you gotta see how they decided to cover it lol

Cover- http://youtu.be/lVXziMFEqX0

This one is really good too- You gotta admit the lady can sing :)
Original (I know guys... your absolute favorite)-
http://youtu.be/zHESy8XsJPs

Cover-
http://youtu.be/GZQJrM09jbU

I should've posted this cover years ago-
Sly and the Family Stone- "Everyday People"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jvk...e_gdata_player

Very famous well done cover-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNzY...e_gdata_player

Am I seriously the only one that contributes to this thread?

We all love Nicki Minaj... but this cover is gold :)
In fact, if you guys haven't heard of Postmodern Jukebox yet, look them up on Youtube and check out a few of their covers. Pretty awesome what they can do...

http://youtu.be/Ez-apj-Od1I

Here's their version of Iggy Azalea
http://youtu.be/NzPGzGUNZbs

Uh . . . put me down for a "No."

Loved it!

It'd be rare for me to post here, as it's rare for me to feel that any cover is better than the original (exceptions duly noted). Gonna contribute now.

Rock Me Mama (aka Wagon Wheel) ~ Bob Dylan (by way of Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup by way of Big Bill Broonzy??)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNTsYfjBcuQ
might not even qualify as a "good song"

Wagon Wheel ~ Old Crow Medicine Show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH0CnjXqCLE
I like this OCMS video best because by its very nature this is an awesome live/bar song. Interesting how it came together.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagon_Wheel_(song)

As for the Rucker version? Meh. I'll take a string band any old day.