Ask Lemmy

Wendy Carlos' ‘Switched-On Bach’ turned synthesizers from a tool of avantgarde experimentalists into a mainstream instrument.

Captain Beefheart's ‘Trout Mask Replica’ remains probably the most widely cited avantgarde-rock album, perplexing listeners to this day. (Gotta say, I never had a problem with it, perhaps because I don't know music theory.)

Kraftwerk's ‘Autobahn’ is an obvious one, though ‘Trans-Europe Express’ and ‘The Man-Machine’ probably had more influence on synthpop and techno.

Lou Reed's ‘Metal Machine Music’ was trashed on release by critics, and returned en masse by the buyers, but it presaged industrial and noise music, and possibly noise-rock.

Then again, though industrial music properly started with live performances, if you wanted to revisit its roots, you'd listen to Throbbing Gristle's ‘The Second Annual Report’ or the more warmly received ‘D.o.A: The Third and Final Report’.

The ‘No New York’ compilation was exemplary of the ‘no wave’ experimental jazz-rock of the downtown NYC scene and gave the genre its name.

Liaisons Dangereuses' self-titled album was the progenitor of ebm, e.g. with the track ‘Los niños del parque’.

This Mortal Coil's ‘It'll End in Tears’ “set the template” for dream pop, although the sound itself was already around in the work of Cocteau Twins and the ethereal wave movement.

The Winstons' 1969 track ‘Amen, Brother’ didn't start anything itself, but the ‘Amen break’ is one of the most sampled in history, beginning with the 80s breakbeat, and with jungle, drum-and-bass and breakcore having been predominantly built on this one sample.

Napalm Death's ‘Scum’ is the origin of grindcore.

John Zorn's ‘Naked City’ is a landmark in jazz-fusion: although the concept existed before, no one mixed jazz with other genres so aggressively outside of free-jazz. (Though arguably the band Massacre anticipated Zorn's approach.)

The Prodigy's ‘Experience’ is said to have birthed edm albums as a concept:

Moby credited ‘Experience’ with changing his perception about dance albums; previously he felt that "dance albums had always failed [...] because they didn't work over the full length of the record. Mostly they were singles collections which was exactly what I didn't want to do," and noted that ‘Experience’ "impressed me because they'd managed to create a full listening experience which encompassed various styles. This was the kind of vision I had for my debut album."

The ‘Artificial Intelligence’ compilation on Warp started idm.

‘Wipeout’'s electronic soundtrack, along with its acid visuals and nightclub-oriented promotion (by Designers Republic) was a big factor in targeting the first PlayStation to college-age people, instead of kids as it was with previous consoles. This shifted the console market from kids' toys to entertainment for everyone.

Therion properly invented symphonic metal around ‘Symphony Masses: Ho Drakon Ho Megas’ / ‘Lepaca Kliffoth’ / ‘Theli’.

The ‘Hotline Miami’ soundtrack played a large role in the popularity of synthwave and the 2010s revival of associated genres like darkwave, coldwave, ebm, and to some extent post-punk.

If you're into edm, you might want to check out Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music for various branching points.