 | Skinny Grin by Acoustic Ladyland
Buy new: £12.69 / Used from: £8.50 Acoustic Ladyland capture the spirits of jazz and punk masterfully. The saxophone hasn't sounded this appealing for 30 years.
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![Pet Sounds [2000 Re-issue]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41E54KPFHRL._SL75_.jpg) | Pet Sounds [2000 Re-issue] by The Beach Boys
Buy new: £6.48 / Used from: £0.75 A beautiful, perfect coming-of-age album. Perhaps the musical equivalent of To Kill a Mockingbird. God only knows what I'd do without it...
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 | A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window by Cardiacs
Schizophrenic songs, swinging between touching and bewildering at the drop of a hat. Buy it directly from the band's site for a reasonable price.
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 | What Are Friends for by Charlottefield
Buy new: £9.79 On first listen this may sound unpleasant, but the more you listen, the more it will make sense. Great math-rock pieces.
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 | Africa/Brass by John Coltrane Quartet
Buy new: £8.79 / Used from: £8.34 A Coltrane album unlike any other. The brass arrangements by pianist McCoy Tyner (and featuring Eric Dolphy) gives this a dense and wild feel that is very addictive.
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 | Buy/Off White by James Chance and the Contortions
Buy used from: £34.87 Twittering no-wave funk by James Chance and the Contortions. Nihilism never felt so good.
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 | Friend Opportunity by Deerhoof
Deerhoof at their catchiest. They've always been interesting to listen to, but they've never been this fun before. Love it.
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 | Out to Lunch by Eric Dolphy
Buy used from: £3.60 I didn't like this much when I first got it, but I kept feeling compelled to go back to it until I realised it was one of my favourite albums.
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 | Count Herbert II by Fulborn Teversham
Buy new: £9.98 / Used from: £8.56 Featuring drummer Seb Rochford and saxophonist Pete Wareham from Acoustic Ladyland, this is more raw and improvisational, with great vocals by Alice Grant.
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 | Hold Your Horse Is by Hella
Buy new: £9.98 / Used from: £6.00 Hella's first album, and their best as far as I'm concerned. Another one that makes more sense as you become addicted to it.
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 | The Remains of Tom Lehrer (Import) by Tom Lehrer
Musical satire at its very best. Certain songs may be outdated, but it's astounding how well Tom Lehrer did these songs. Music and comedy surely don't mix, but this is still funny after all this time!
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 | Curtis by Curtis Mayfield
Buy new: £6.78 / Used from: £4.30 Probably Curtis Mayfield's finest work. Great writing, great arrangements, great performances. This has more than its fair share of classic tracks.
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 | Mclusky Do Dallas by Mclusky
Buy used from: £18.98 Mclusky hate you, but the world loves them and is their [bad word]. The spiteful lyrics are bordering on hilarious, and it's just a great slice of punk.
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 | Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £3.87 This is as catchy as jazz gets. The first two songs are respectively the most joyous and most mournful pieces you're likely to hear.
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 | Reich: Different Trains / Electric Counterpoint
Buy new: £11.98 / Used from: £7.46 Different Trains is perhaps the most chilling piece of music I've ever heard. The way the spoken word samples become the melody, and what those voices are saying... Turns the tragic into beauty.
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 | 1000 Hurts by Shellac
Not a note is wasted on Shellac's finest album. And the vinyl version comes with a CD, that's value for money for ya.
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 | Pony Express Record by Shudder to Think
Buy used from: £8.84 This is like some wonderful musical puzzle. Campy glam vocals over crunching math-rock guitars. If only all their albums were this good...
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 | They Might Be Giants by They Might Be Giants
Buy used from: £7.46 They Might Be Giants are one of the few bands that I actually prefer WITH drum machines. There's something about their early sound that just fits perfectly with their songs. Funny, witty and moving.
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 | Long Hair in Three Stages by U.S. Maple
Buy new: £10.79 / Used from: £5.74 One of those bands where you're not quite sure whether they're meant to sound like that or not. As far as I can tell, it's deliberate and it's great.
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 | Alice by Tom Waits
Buy new: £5.98 Tom Waits at his most moving. Nearly every song on here has the potential to end in tears. In a good way, of course.
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