[Thecoolguy]

The Flaming Lips- Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots 

 

[Uncle Erik]

A couple of favorites from the tragically little-known Olivia Tremor Control:
 

Dusk at Cubist Castle, 1996
 
 

Black Foliage, 1999
 
Cubist Castle is usually referred to as OTC's "Sgt. Pepper" and Black Foliage as their "White Album."  These are psychedelic pop albums where you'll find plenty of influences from the Beatles and Brian Wilson, but you will not find them derivative.
 
If you pick these up, Cubist Castle is the more accessible of the two.  Once Cubist Castle sinks in, Black Foliage will reveal itself as - possibly - the stronger album.  But you have to listen to Cubist Castle first since Black Foliage refers back to it.  One of the reviewers on Amazon put it better than I could when he said this about Cubist Castle:
 
Quote:

Take the heart of the Beatles and wrap it in the melodies of Neutral Milk Hotel and/or the Flaming Lips... and you have Olivia Tremor Control -- one of the best swirls of neo-psychedelica in history. "Music From the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle" is an intoxicating, sprawling mix of abstract soundscapes and Beatles-esque pop -- and it never stumbles once.

 
For those of you who like Jeff Mangum/Neutral Milk Hotel (I saw them listed earlier), Jeff plays a bit on these albums, helped with some of the songwriting and did some backing vocals.  You'll find his influences here and there, as well.
 
The people who know about these albums absolutely love them.  Pitchfork gave Cubist Castle a 9.4 rating while Black Foliage scored a 9.1.  They got strong reviews from other sources, too, but a lot of people still haven't heard of them.
 
Another tragically unknown album is from the Kinks:
 

Village Green Preservation Society, 1968
 
Criminally unknown and - possibly - the best album the Kinks ever released.  Pitchfork gave this one a 9.5.  Just a classic and I regret not knowing about it 20 years ago.  Since I found it recently, Village Green has become one of my staples.  Give it a try.

 

[limpidglitch]

Quote:

A couple of favorites from the tragically little-known Olivia Tremor Control:
 

 
And if you dig that, there's no reason not to pick up some Circulatory System.
 
They're closely related, both by personnel and sound.
 
And cover art:
 

 

[Uncle Erik]

Limpidglitch, I already have it!  I like the Sunshine Fix, too. 

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

i have recently discovered this prog rock band and fell in love instantly 

Quote:

Alcest - Écailles de Lune. I honestly don't know why i've never seen anyone discuss a serious candidate for best 2010 album like this one...

i want to thank both of you for putting those up, great stuff.
 
and for my entrant, and cd i cant get enough of right now, and my current best cd of 2010. if you even kind of like Melodic Death Metal or  Technical Death Metal, you owe it to yourself to check this cd out.
 

 
Some of the most melodic tech death ive heard, and along with the strangely thought provoking lyrics, its a breath of fresh air for metal i think

 

[wht]

"Famous Blue Raincoat" - Jennifer Warnes
 
Beautiful lyrics, good singing and music.
 

 
Cypress Records, 1987, CD

 

[Radio_head]

Quote:

And if you dig that, there's no reason not to pick up some Circulatory System.
 
They're closely related, both by personnel and sound.
 

Loved OTC, so I picked up some circulatory system a while back.  While it is similar in some ways, I found OTC's albums to be head and shoulders better.  Their debut album was great, but I found it downhill from there. The sunshine fix is great, obviously if you could get your hands on synthetic flying machine's stuff (pretty rare).  But NMH was how I got hooked into the whole elephant 6 thing, and will always remain my favorite of the associated bands.

 

[Tiemen]

Famous Blue Raincoat is also very well recorded.
When trying out new gear, I always play the second song of the album to know if the gear is any good.
 
Quote:

"Famous Blue Raincoat" - Jennifer Warnes
 
Beautiful lyrics, good singing and music.
 

 

[winma]

The last album by Sirenia is great...i cant stop listening to it, her new singer is awesome. 
 

 

[Radio_head]

Vashti Bunyan - Just another Diamond Day

 

 

[Radio_head]

 
Jellyfish - Spilt Milk
The fact that these guys (who sound like a mix between Brian Wilson, Paul Mcartney and Freddie Mercury) were around during the height of grunge is hilarious.  The fact that Jason Falkner, the least talented of these guys, was able to later start a a band like the grays shows how much raw talent they had.  This is their best (of two) albums.

 

[illuminati]

 

[tru blu]

 
Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs

 

[cRodz]

 
No Black Star?
what the hell?
 
also props on that Demon Days
favorite album as well

 

[illuminati]

oh yeah, also:

Bought it today and i must say: i'm getting addicted to it!