The point of Bruce's original thread was:
> Five bands from folks' earliest of music listening 'careers' that forever
> changed, shaped, molded, influenced and enhanced your life, putting
> you on the road to ridiculous expenditures on music.

So, going by personal historical influence instead of a list of all-time
favorite artists, mine are:

Simon & Garfunkel (BOOKENDS was the first LP bought with my own money,
started my singer-songwriter infatuation)

Yes (who led me to their prog brethren)

Beach Boys (discovered late, after their commercial peak, but set a vocal
standard to which I would hold all other singers evermore)

Brian Eno (opened me up to new places where a pop song could go)

The Beat (Paul Collins and company ignited the power-pop flame that still
burns within)

Kind of a weird list when you look at it, especially when I realize I
haven't listened to any of these artists in months. Time for a journey to
the past, maybe.

-- Drew