Hopefully Tyll can give you some suggestions... I considered seriously the following:

EDITED: change rankings:

1) Creative Aurvana Live! - I would get this one if I was on the market for a closed portable headphone... Again I don't have it, but I would personally get this one if I did not already had my Audeo PFEs and HD202. The Audeos a probably better, but they are IEM, and their lean bass may not be what you are looking for. The Audeos go very deep in bass though, but require equalization to deliver impact. The HD202 have the bass and are a very fun headphone. The HD202 are also fairly cheap. But the Creatives look hell of a lot more comfy, and have a much better frequency response + deeper bass. The HD202 might have much more punch due to emphasis on key frequencies, but the Creative definitively will destroy the HD202 in depth and pretty much everything else.

2) Sennheiser HD239 (if you can get the HD238 for less, probably get that one) - Can't say I heard this one so I can't recommedem from my own experiense. However, based on specs and opinions, I actually placed a purchased order some time ago (for the older HD238 model though), but changed my mind. I really liked its portability, the fact that it was open (though you might have issues with that due to sound leakage), and the bass it can produce. What concerned me was that there were people complaining about distortion... Again I almost bought it... $120 but HD238 can be found used for $25 or $93 new)

3) Sennheiser HD518 (full size) - friend, has them. Laid back, not bass shy. Very good HP. Can be had for $129. Considered one of the top 10 headphones by HeadRoom, and indeed a very good purchase IMO.

4) Beyerdynamics DT990 Pro 250 ohms - EDITED: only if you equalize them.... otherwise Hall of Shame material... Well... there are plenty far worse though, so maybe not.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Dude I forgot to mention the Skullcandy Aviators... YOU SHOULD DEFINITIVELY CONSIDER THOSE!

I know Tyll doesn't like the Grado's, it's either a love or hate them, so you would need to try them on if you can to have a listen and see if they are comfortable enough, but the Grado sr80i's are very good for rock and metal. They have more bass impact than the sr60i's and I have listened to them with rap and electronica and I find them satisfactory with the bass. It's the detail and forward fast paced sound that makes them great for rock/metal music. They are also easy to drive being 32ohms. Only issue is the long cable and open backed, so they will leak sound which wouldn't help with portability.

The Sennheiser HD 25 would be a better option if you want to have portability.

Thanks for the suggestions.
 
I almost got the aviators, but I heard that they lack bass. Is this true? Hopefully I'll get to listen to a pair this week at my local Best Buy.

The Grando and HD look interesting, although I don't know of a place where I can try them out.

I didn't feel like the Aviators are bass lean at all. IMHO they have great bass impact. A very good performer if you ask me.

But you should try them at Best Buy by all means. When I tryied them over there, they pretty much trashed all of the other offerings by some margin. I also feel like the Aviators look nicer than my other suggestions.

Oh, I agree. :)They do look awesome.

I can't wait to try them out.

Bass on the Grados is worse than the Aviators.

I had them and I returned them. They severely lack mids. Bass is plentiful, but boomy.

CAL! are excellent at their price point, but HD-25-1 II are much better (and better than 990 Pro).

P.S. Obviously all my statements are subjective & 'IMHO'.

@ 10-39500-6dB is right you know. the 990 Pro will be deleted from the list.

But anyhow, fro $150 Aviators would be my top recommendation only because I know how they sound... I have not hear the CAL! but they look fantastic on paper and would buy them (cheaper than the Aviators BTW)... Personally I'm looking at >$150 cans these days (HD600)...

Hmmm. The CAL are $99.99 on Amazon. I'd actually feel much more confortable spending $99 instead of $149 for the Aviators.

Although I still really want to go listen to the Aviators. I do think I recall listening to them once, but I was using low quality MP3s, so I might not have had the best expirence with them.

CAL! Do it.

EDIT: You know that the CAL! is supposed to be a well regarded Denon AH-D1001 clone... You tell that to any Audiophile that give 'em thumbs down...

Interesting. Thanks for the advice.

Also, @Tyll I noticed that the Aviators weren't on your Wall of Fame. Is there any reason for this?