If it has to be only five:-

The Durutti Column - Return of The Durutti Column
Joy Division - Closer
Nick Drake - Pink Moon
Neu - Neu 1 (debut)
Throbbing Gristle - The 3rd and Final Report

Excellent choice with The Durutti...

Brian Eno - Another Green World
Pink Floyd - Mummer
Red House Painters - Red House Painters (1)
Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel (4)
Vashti Bunyan - Just Another Diamond Day

but it also might be...
Buffy Sainte-Marie - She used to want to be a ballerina
Cocteau Twins - Treasure
The Chameleons - Strange Days
XTC - Apple Venus
Cardiacs - Sing To God

Hey Gurnox

I bought the KY cd by Lemon Jelly on your recommendation....love it. As well as sounding good it's also quite friv - sit back and let it wash over you is my thought for the day.
I also bought John McLaughlins 'My Goals Beyond' and Diana Krall 'Love Scenes' based on recommendations on this and other threads - it's got me thinking. I wouldn't have bought Diana Krall even in a parallel universe prior to upgrading my hi-fi system. So why now? It's certainly not my (normally) preferred style of listening (despite a wide and varied audio diet) but it sounds so good.
The same is also true of other artists and albums (taking a shine to acid jazz for example) but I do draw the line at wrist-slitting foll-der-oll-der-arr folk music for which there is no excuse

Having said that the Cambridge Folk Festival was a blast

Rawhaw,

Glad you like KY. It's such a nice album. You listen to it in exactly the way that I do.

Joy Division's Closer is awesome. But I have to be in just the right mood to listen to it. It's hardly 'easy listening', but it is an amazing album none-the-less. Unique in both production and sentiment.

And the Specials.... Personally, I prefer 'More Specials'. But it's close. So, so close. If you've not heard 'The Lunatics are Taking Over The Asylum' by 'Fun Boy Three' then you should. Really soon. 'The Man at C&A is one of my favourite songs'. A friend of mine once described it as 'furkin dred, mon'. There are not many higher recommendations.

Right. I'm going to seek out your jazz albums DE. I see it as a challenge. Up until now, I've always seen jazz as the enemy. But.... You know your hi-fi stuff so I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt :)

And.... Here's something else. The killer album. The best album ever. The album that no system can tame. The album that will reveal and reveal and reveal. That will draw you in and spit you back out again.

The best album in the world.

My Bloody Valentine - Loveless (Vinyl)

The Aphex Twin of guitar. But better.

And 'In Sides' is incredible too. Orbital's best work in my opinion.

Oh, bugger. I just can't leave this thread alone. Here are some more:

1. Echo and The Bunneymen - Ocean Rain
2. Underworld - Dubnobasswithmyheadman
3. Primal Scream - Screamadelica (What do you mean 'I've not heard it'? You should be ASHAMED!)
4. De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising (Another happiness inducer and proof positive that rap isn't just about gardening implements)
5. Beastie Boys - Ill Communication (One of the most inventive albums that has ever been made)

Enjoy.

PS: Nirvana Unplugged. Am now listening to 'The Boy Who Sold The World'. An awesome cover. Smart choice! :)

Yes, "MTV Unplugged" is one of my favourite Nirvana releases. Cover songs never sounded so good, there are a few!

If you haven't already, check out Alice In Chains Unplugged as it's on a par.

I love this thread.

After all, what is the point of having fantastic equipment if we ignore the music?

Here's another one for you. Another 'must listen'. A lot of it is freely downloadable too.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to Ochre.

http://ochremusic.com/

I beseech you to listen to their music. It's a blend of the orchestral and electronic that is both unique and unsurpassed. Nobody, and I mean nobody, has ever got this kind of thing right before. Yes, yes... Faze Action gave it a go, but they simply pale in comparison.

This is music both innovative and moving. 'Lemodie' is an album of pure beauty (Paid download from www.bleep.com) but the freely downloadable tunes are atill something to behold (With a couple of exceptions - You'll know them when you hear them).

A magestic talent. You _need_ this in your life.

A mate of mine has been a guiding light in opening up my ears (!!!) to new (to me that is) music genres over the last few years. He put me in touch with someone I think you might like Gurnox - Terry Hawkes.

Yeak it's local radio stuff but I like it. Terry has compiled a cd based on artists played on his show. The following is taken from Harborough FM website "Terry plays some of the best in “Space Rock”, “Ambience”, “Electronica”, plus oodles of deeply chilled sounds by such bands as “Hawkwind”, “Gandalf”, “Porcupine Tree”, “underworld”, “Aes Dana”, “System 7”, “Delerium”, “Eloy”, “Ian Van Dahl” and “Monster Magnet. The CD compiled by radio presenter and DJ Terry Hawke with artists he has featured on his show on Harborough FM Radio. Includes the track ‘Heritage’ from the live CD ‘Aftershock”.

Details on http://www.freewebs.com/hawke2003/.

Now, as my mate has found, I'm a trollop when it comes to music and rarely say no to new ideas. However, even I was pushed too far when he gave me a cd
of....
a) tree-hugging folk music
b) William Shatner
and...yes....
c) Leonard Nimoy.
I nearly cracked a rib!

Another band making waves at a local level (in Wiltshire, Somerset, Avon) is The Pineapple Thief - their output is probably well described as space rock cum ambient cum electronica and are well worth a listen. I'm not sure if their stuff is available through record shops or only via their website.

More to follow -

Sounds like a great radio show Rawhaw, I listen to a lot of what's been mentioned there! Everyone into lushly textured, catchy (but not commercial) progressive rock should give Porcupine Tree's "In Absentia" a spin.

I've been spinning Kruder & Dorfmeister's "The K&D Sessions" a lot recently. Chilled, hazy, trip hoppy remixes that have the K&D sound slapped all over them. Probably my favourite CD of its type.

Double CD, selling on Amazon.co.uk for a paltry £6.47. Worth reading the many reviews there.