Haha, Plaid is all kinds of awesome.
I love Maiden too. I prefer them to Judas Priest, but I like Iced Earth more than either of them, lol.
I've been getting into post-rock and stuff lately though. That, and some hardcore/metalcore. I'm listening to Xiu Xiu (pronounced Shoe Shoe) right now. It's pretty neat. It's some weird music, but really awesome. They definitely have some weird electronic influences.
Here's something to illustrate how unique they are. Oh, and it's got awesome graphics too
Also: Mute Math is seriously awesome. I love this shit:
Seriously, give it a listen. It's very rockish, but it's got a sorta atmospheric feel. Wikipedia says: Their music consists of many elements such as rock, new wave, electro, psychedelia, and jazz with ambient vocals.
I love this stuff so much....