Record-store Clerk: Weird, Difficult & Avant-garde

Eccentric -- but not "outsider" -- artists who never fit in with any era or movement, from Scott Walker and Frank Zappa to R. Stevie Moore and The Residents.

This is the funky, abrasive, and distinctive sound of downtown NYC's various post-punk scenes of the late '70s and early '80s.

Idyllic electronic sounds that evoke expansive rural vistas, from expressive Teutonic rock (Neu!, Cluster, Brian Eno) to deep-listening drone (Fennesz, Oneohtrix Point Never, Emeralds).

It wasn't all peace and love; feel the bad vibes of the psychedelic void with artists from the 1960s to now.

Post-rock tracks ranging from the abstract (Godspeed You! Black Emperor) to the melodic (Stereolab) and everything in between.

A look at the minimalist approach to composing music, with works ranging from modern classical to japanese new age.

The pioneers of prog emerged from the ashes of psychedelia, forging an ambitious new sound that took rock to the next level in the early '70s. From classic-rock icons to cult heroes, here's an introduction to the style.

The history of industrial music, from its pre-punk roots to its first wave pioneers in the post-punk era to its modern-day genre offspring -- this playlist includes EBM, coldwave, industrial rock, power electronics and more.

The musicians who played on Miles Davis's pioneering jazz-rock albums, such as Bitches Brew, graduated to their own groups after working with the mercurial trumpeter. Here's the first wave of Miles's fusioneers, along with some extended family members.