John Renbourn -- Sir John Alot Of Merrie Englande's Musyk Thyng & Ye Grene Knyghte [Reprise, '68] Reference-quality recording of fingerstyle steel-string guitar, w/hand percussion and flute. Along with Bert Jansch, one of the guys Jimmy Page got a lot of his acoustic ideas for Led Zep from.
Barbara Lewis -- Baby, I'm Yours [Atlantic, '65] Title hit and "Hello Stranger", to my mind a pretty sophisticated and mature pop song for a 19-year old to have written for her debut smash.
The Buddies -- Go-Go With [Mercury Wing, '65] Mike Curb-produced studio surf vocal group creation, plus some instros featuring guitar god Davie Allan, pre-fuzz.
The Spinners -- The Original Spinners [Motown, '67] Only Motown LP from a group much better known for their work on Atlantic in the 70's, includes some single sides going back to the early 60's.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band -- Ricochet [Liberty, '67] Sophomore effort from pre-Bojangles, pre-"Circle" incarnation, when they were briefly an LA teen sensation before falling into temporary obscurity 'til the early 70's. A few too many sub-Lovin' Spoonful jug-band/old-timey/kazoo-silliness numbers for my taste, but still some strong tunes, including a couple written by a young Jackson Browne.
Hawkwind -- Quark, Strangeness And Charm [Sire, '77] The rocking numbers are almost punky: Syd Barrett meets Chuck Berry.
Testors -- New York City Punk Rock 1979 [Rave Up (Italy), '00] Formative band in that scene existed from '76-'81, toured US with Dead Boys but seemingly didn't stray too far in any other way. JT/Heartbreakers-like, faster and less distinctive but has the sound/attitude (don't let the goofy new wave sunglasses throw ya), and trashcan-o-phonic sonics guaranteed to rid any room of all audioweenies quick! Singer Sonny Vincent has since worked with a who's who of NYC, Midwest, CA and Brit punk personalities in various projects.
James Brown -- Ain't It Funky [King, '70] Yes it is.
Quincy Jones -- The Slender Thread (sndtrk.) [Mercury, '66] Flick starring Sidney Poitier and Anne Bancroft, with Telly Savalas, Ed Asner and Steven Hill, directed by Sydney Pollack and co-written by Stirling Silliphant, fairly gripping suicide drama I haven't seen in years but remember as being good (not on DVD I don't think). Like "A Patch Of Blue" in that it quasi-confronts issues of race by juxtaposing Poitier's typically idealized character against a situation of trying to save a white woman who literally can't see that he is black and leaving the possibility of romantic love unconsumated. Q's score has its spots but to me is not up to "The Pawnbroker" and some others, I'm guessing because his workload got ridiculous after he first zoomed to being a red-hot Hollywood composer.
Sonny Boy Williamson -- The Real Folk Blues [Chess reissue '87, rec. bet. '57-'63] If by "folk" you mean electric Chicago blues and none better.
