The English Beat, "I Confess"
We haven't had very many second wave ska bands around here. That's mainly because I was around with the third wave was a thing, so I know those bands well. And when I spend time learning about previous scenes, I mostly spend that time on the first wave of bands. The English Beat are one of the few second wave bands that I know reasonably well, with their poppy take on the genre standing in contrast to so many bands that mostly combine it with punk.
David Bowie, "Black Country Rock"
The first album of Bowie's first great streak, The Man Who Sold The World is a slab of mostly psychedelic rock that Bowie really reaching his potential. While it's not the first album to start with, it should be on the list as you explore Bowie's catalog more.
Radiohead, "Present Tense"
I feel like we've had a disproportionate number of tracks from A Moon Shaped Pool around here. I'm not going to check on that, mind you.
(NB: as usual, none of these tracks are available in their studio versions, so this is a random live track.)
Dale Crover, "Slide On Up"
This drum beat sounds like it could have been about twenty different songs at the same time.
I'm FULL of insight today!
Leprous, "Leashes"
There's a line between "progressive metal" and just "progressive rock" that is kind of hard to find sometimes. Leprous has inhabited both sides of the line, but I tend to think of them as more just straight up progressive. This, for instance, wouldn't be totally out of place on many records from the 70s.