Gang of Four, "5.45"
Entertainment!, from 1979, is one of the keystones of post-punk, a wiry, edgy blast that countless followers would attempt to mimic. The sort of vaguely dance-y rhythms, the bursts of guitar, the monotone singing, these would become hallmarks of bands even down to today. As a consequence, it's an album that still sounds pretty fresh.
Gang of Four would keep coming and going, with hiatuses of various lengths, but I've never really listened to anything beyond the first two albums.
Discordance Axis, "Tokyo"
This basically sounds like someone turned up video game music to triple speed. I feel like I should have a hundred gorilla throwing barrels at me.
Nitzer Ebb, "T.W.A."
Ahh, Belief, the album you'd listen to from Nitzer Ebb if you thought the first one was too interesting and the third one too catchy.
People Under The Stairs, "Down In L.A."
Something I don't hear people talk about with rap lyrics is the ability for artists to create a sense of place. People talk about storytelling, which is certainly part of it, but it's not strictly that. It's having enough specifics in the song to really give the listener a chance to picture what's going on. It's something I really value, and it's something the People Under The Stairs have always done well.
Foetus, "Wash It All Off"
Compare this song with the Nitzer Ebb song above. Working from a similar palette of sounds, Foetus creates a crazy-ass kaleidescope of a song instead of something I've already forgotten eight minutes later. Now, some of that is down to Thirlwell's gonzo lyrical approach, but still, inspiration is inspiration. This comes from Sink, a compilation from 1989 that collected songs from his earlier releases along with some unreleased stuff into a pretty coherent album. It's not a bad place to start exploring early Foetus, if one were so inclined.