If it weren't for the following bands/artists, there would be no punk, post-punk, alternative rock or indie rock. These were the original innovators.
The Velvet Underground are considered in most circles to be both the original proto-punk band and the godfathers of indie rock, and with good reason. In the late 60’s Lou Reed and company were making the kind of music that no one else had ever made previously. The band was so inspiring at their peak, it's been said that anyone who saw the Velvet Underground immediately went out and started a band of their own. Whereas most bands up to this point were very obviously blues-based, the Velvets had a rule within the band that stated "no blues licks," and they stuck by it. Musically, they went from gentle and orchestrated, to feedback drenched psychedelic freakouts, and lyrically, Reed sang about subjects no one had dared to touch upon previously. Starting with their self titled debut is a great start, but their unreleased 4th album, which was finally released in the 80s as "VU," is my personal favorite. If you want to hear the birth of indie rock, you need to get some Velvet Underground albums. Just off the top of my head, Joy Division, Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, My Bloody Valentine, The Pixies, Nirvana, most bands we’ve heard of and trillions of bands we’ve never heard of would not exist if it weren’t for Velvet Underground breaking new ground back in the late 60s.
David Bowie had been making music since the mid-60s and had a hit with "Space Oddity," but in my opinion, it wasn’t until Hunky Dory that Bowie really started creating undeniably important music. The acclaimed Ziggy Stardust album soon followed and is, of course, a landmark for pretty much all genres of rock music – hard rock, glam rock, and virtually all sub-genres of melodic rock music. My favorite Bowie era, though, is from the mid 70s. These were his so-called "Berlin years," as he was living and recording in Berlin at the time. "Low," "Heroes" and "Lodger" are from this era and were created by Bowie, his band, Brian Eno and producer Tony Visconti. He was obviously influenced by Kraut rock – a new genre immerging at the time, spearheaded by bands like Can and Kraftwerk, but he brought that multi-octave voice of his and used it more like an instrument than ever before. The Berlin albums featured repetitive, hypnotic rhythms, with strange futuristic synth and guitar treatments and production. With Bowie singing, these songs slowly reveal themselves as being some of the most expressive songs ever put to tape - quite a wide spectrum of feelings are displayed. The songs sound bright, catchy and upbeat, yet they also exude a pretty bleak claustrophobia.
Iggy Pop, fresh from the ashes of the venerable proto-punk band The Stooges, went to Berlin to record his first solo album with Bowie. The two of them wrote, played and recorded the album together with Bowie’s band and created an album that encapsulates everything I love about Bowie’s work at this time, but with none of the Brian Eno crafted instrumentals that made up half of Bowie’s releases. This album, entitled "The Idiot," featuring "Nightclubbing," which enjoyed a bit of a resurgence thanks to Trainspotting, is methodical, mechanical and at times infectious, Iggy’s wounded-baritone voice leading each song through its definitive groove, and, like the Bowie albums released in this timeframe, for all its fun on the surface, its also got a darkness bubbling beneath. The lyrics detail nightmarish stories ("China Girl") to terminal boredom and depression ("Mass Production"), via stream-of-consciousness narratives and lyrical prose. Iggy’s second album, Lust for Life had a few "hits" on it, namely, its title track, and also "Passenger." It’s a good album as well, but not as dark or cohesive, much more of a mixed bag, but with tons of personality. Both of these albums were mined for material by Bowie when he was running low on quality songs in the 80s. And although the Bowie versions of "China Girl" and "Tonight" are beloved and pop perfection, the original Iggy versions are compelling and magical in a completely different way.
Leonard Cohen
Syd Barrett
The Beatles
Beach Boys
Roky Erickson