John Martyn

Had John Martyn OD'd after 1973's Inside Out, indie brats would be imitating him the way they do Nick Drake and Tim Buckley. As it stands, only older musicians with real taste -- dudes like Peter Gabriel, Arthur Russell and Mark Hollis -- have attempted to further evolve the singer-songwriter's unique experiments with jazz, folk and ambient music. As this post-'74 anthology clearly demonstrates, however, Martyn himself has never given up this evolution. Plus, he is awesome in the live setting.