Cocteau Twins - Treasure is the big one, but The Moon & Melodies is probably their best. Or if you’ve only got time for one, make it Heaven or Las Vegas
Tom Waits - lots of discussion about this upthread. I think the perfect entry point is Sword Fish Trombones
Radiohead - seriously? Just… listen to OK Computer! Then the OK Computer B-sides! Then Kid A! Then In Rainbows!
Pink Floyd - Well. You specified 70s prog, so we’ll keep it 70s - even though there’s much joy in their 80s and 90s output, and even more still in their 60s work. I don’t care what anyone says, The Dark Side of the Moon is a perfect album. Beyond that, Wish You Were Here is the natural progression, but I find it a little patchy (even though it only has five tracks). Meddle is much better, and if you want to hear them at their most daring and flamboyant, give Atom Heart Mother a try. It’s amazing. Their later 70s stuff is a lot more dour and cynical - Animals and The Wall - so I can’t listen to it as much as the others. They’re still VERY good albums, but you do have to be in the mood.
Now. 70s prog that isn’t awful. I like most of it, so I might not be your best guide here. But I’d heartily recommend the following:
Yes - Close To The Edge
Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts
Rush - A Farewell to Kings
Genesis - Foxtrot (or Nursery Cryme)
The Soft Machine - Third (jazz fusion!)
King Crimson - Islands / Larks Tongue In Aspic / In The Court of the Crimson King
Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses
Mike Oldfield - Hergest Ridge
Any recommendations for jazz albums similar to Sun Ra’s Lanquidity?? Something dark, dank, mysterious and funky. As a jazz dabbler I’m familiar with stuff that is maybe close like On The Corner, Bitches Brew, some Roy Ayers or something. But nothing sounds quite so hypnotic as Lanquidity. Anyone?
You mentioned some Miles there, but not In A Silent Way, the album of his that sounds the most like Lanquidity. I presume you’ve heard it, but I’m mentioning it JUST IN CASE!!!
Also try:
Pharoah Sanders - Karma
Alice Coltrane - Journey in Satchidananda
Lonnie Liston Smith - Astral Travelling
John Coltrane - Kulu Se Mama
Also, if you want a perhaps lesser known Sun Ra album that has the Lanquidity feel to it, try Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow from 1965.
Thanks for those recommendations. I do know and really like IASW. What I like in Lanquidity is it’s immediacy whereas In A Silent Way really stretches out.
Totally forgot to mention the Alice Coltrane album too, that’s a really great one but doesn’t have that dark edge except for maybe the last track. I love how uplifting it is and how the basslines could be turned into sludgy riffs if you wanted ro.
Pharoah Sanders…I know and love Elevation, also very uplifting will check out Karma and the others. Thankss!
A good place to start with the Cocteau Twins is a compilation of their early stuff called The Pink Opaque. It has he best tracks from Head over Heels and Treasure (their best two albums) and also from their brilliant singles and eps released during the same period. It’s wonderful.
Pharoah Sanders is great. First one I heard was Black Unity which remains my favourite. I think it stuck out for me as it was what I expected/wanted Bitches Brew to sound like (never got onboard with that album).
Any advice on where to start with Bill Callahan / Smog? I have his Rock Bottom Riser single, which I love, but never investigated, and he’s not on Spotify (I assume because he’s on Drag City?). Figured I should get some listening in before End of the Road (assuming I can find the albums somewhere to buy for a cheapish amount).
I’ve totally lost track of any good, atmospheric techno/dance stuff from the last four years or whatever, which i used to listen to all the time. Would love to get back into that if anyone has any recs?