Shaolin Death Squad - Intelligent Design (2006)
Pete pointed me towards these guys, and I've gotta say, I never thought I would find a prog. metallish group on par with Pain of Salvation or Mr. Bungle in terms of creativity...but these guys are right up there, blending enough ideas to make your head spin while delivering some hella' fine vocal and guitar play all the while.
Spiritualized - Lazer Guided Melodies (1992)
A tad more ephemeral than what I've heard from Spiritualized's later classics, but that's not a bad thing at all. Calming, evocative, distant....picking this up was a good call.
Lionel Richie - Can't Slow Down (1983)
Decent enough pop-soul from a guy who is known for pointless, wimmenz-friendly balladry, and it captures the early 80's feel in a nutshell through some nicely varied songs that aren't afraid to clock over a five minute runtime.