When I was 16, I took a chance on 20 Jazz Funk Greats. I can't say that I understood what I was hearing right away, but this LP opened up the floodgates.

Whenever I listen to ZF, all other music feels inconsequential...

PURE BLISS
Picked up the Ruins compilation CD at a store in Tokyo in the early 90s, not knowing quite what to expect (think I saw them in a RRR catalog, so knew the name). Quickly found the missing link between the visceral guitar skronk I loved from Sonic Youth, etc. and the aural transcendence from the best industrial/noise musics. Every track aimed skyward in triumph and fell apart beautifully...

Before Krautrock became a thing to namedrop in indie circles, I had read about these guys for years in books about Cabaret Voltaire and Joy Division. Stumbled upon a bootleg copy of "So Far" with a generic white cover in a seedy open market in Seoul that I really wish I held onto...from the opening refrain of Rainy Day I was hooked.

Truly fearless and visionary....