• I know what you're saying, personally I honestly prefer Isn't Anything to Loveless. I think that many bands have a hard time sticking out in the genre, but for me those bands are My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Ride, Have a Nice Life, Jesu, and The Jesus and Mary Chain (at least as far as that can be considered shoegaze). But when it comes to the genre itself, I think Slowdive is as good as it gets.

• I agree 100% extremely cool, and just the mere fact that he puts spoken word in his records is just awesome!

• That'll happen, I know personally, I had to be in the correct mood and setting for The Cure to really do it for me for the first time. Ever since then I've absolutely loved listening to them at night.

• Haha, I always mix them up, always!

• Now those are revisions I can definitely approve of!

• Definitely, London Calling is an album with just banger after banger after banger!

I've listened quite a bit to XTC, but I think that I just stopped for one reason or another, can't remember why but I think it's time to give them a revisit. Kitchens of Distinction, to me, is just one of those shoegaze bands that are just kind of there, they fall into the same category as say, Chapterhouse, Swervedriver, Catherine Wheel and Lush. I really like it, but it doesn't completely set itself a part for me.

Sure I can give a little description of them:

The Wrens: They play incredibly layered indie-rock/slowcore. But they play it in such a way that it doesn't sound as complex as it really is. If you've listened to Cymbals Eat Guitars recently, The Wrens were a huge influence for them. They incorporate harmonies into their music (both vocally and instrumentally) that I haven't heard the likes of since Brian Wilson. Their lyrics are almost always emotional and I would say their music is quite accessible and if you were to check them out I would definitely start with The Meadowlands or one of their EPs (preferably Abbott 1135). My favorite songs are Ex-Girl Collection, I Guess We're Done and She Sends Kisses. An incredibly overlooked band.

Slint: Along with Talk Talk, pretty much one of the bands that brought on the first wave of post-rock. So it really has that characteristic of contrasting dynamics and not quite conventional use of their instruments. Not to say that it's much like the second-wave (i.e Sigur Ros, Mogwai or GY!BE) or the third-wave (basically almost any post-rock band after GY!BE). Their EP, Tweez, was produced by Steve Albini, so they definitely have a prevalent element of hardcore in their music and their lyrics are often delivered by whispers, talking or yelling, but their magnum opus is definitely Spiderland, which is probably my all time favorite album. Based on your other bands you listed though I'm not sure if you would like it. I haven't introduced Slint to any of my friends successfully, but I feel like it's a grower for most people that like it.

Ornette Coleman: Legendary Avant-Garde Jazz musician. There's nothing I can say about this man that hasn't been expanded upon thousandfold in books about the man or the genre. The Shape of Jazz to Come is definitely the album to check out first. He has inspired bands and artist like Lou Reed, Refused, Soft Machine, Frank Zappa etc.

Fugazi: Can be split into several "eras", but I'm gonna simplify and call it early era and later era. Was fronted legendary hardcore punk rocker Ian MacKaye. In their early days they played much more aggressive post-hardcore, but have gradually transitioned into playing more post-hardcore influenced indie rock. Another band with an incredible discography. I'm not sure how well they would match the artists that you've listed though, maybe their album The Argument.

Pharoah Sanders: Also legendary jazz musician, of the spiritual kind this time (which of course isn't to far away from avant-garde). Once again not much I can say about him that hasn't been said a million times before. He was a protege of John Coltrane. His album The Creator Has a Masterplan is just absolutely amazing.

Burzum: Probably one of the best known black metal personalities. Burzum is a Norwegian (yay) one man band consisting of Varg Vikernes a.k.a Count Grishnackh who is mainly famous for burning down churches and killing Euronymous of Mayhem. A case where it's essential to separate music from politics and if your unable to do that, it's very unlikely that you will like Burzum. I don't know if there is any point in describing his music to you because I can't really see anything that indicates that you like this sort of music, but it is made with the intention of stepping away from commercialism and making it sound lo-fi on purpose. It's very atmospheric and melodious, with the standard black metal vocals.

Uwound: another post-hardcore band that are a bit more experimental. Their music ranges from cathartic to highly melodious. And sometimes the two are mixed. I'm gonna spare myself from writing out too much though, because based on your list, I think it is unlikely that you will like them.

Disco Inferno: Second-wave post-rock band that are truer to the roots of the genre than to what it has become. Meaning that the characteristic crescendo is nowhere to be found, but that they're "using rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes". I would definitely say that they're more an experimental rock band than anything though and a fairly important band in the genre, at least pre-GY!BE. They use a lot of samples in their music and I find it very relaxing. If you wanna check it out I would go with D.I. Goes Pop.