Elvis Costello comes from Liverpool and I see him as one of the best British singer song writers of his time.. Liverpool doesn't completely depend on the mersy beat of the 60s. At the moment i'd say London has the best music scene, especially the south (where I live). If you're into the 'new folk' scene like mumford and sons, laura marling, noah and the whale, johnny flynn, they are almost all from the same area of london. But I suppose they aren't that many 'classic' bands if that's what you mean. Scotland has a few good bands, such as Aztec Camera and Belle and Sebastion. But yeah I guess Manchester (annoyingly) has the whole indie / post punk scene of the 70s and 80s..