Music recommendations from an unexpected source.

[VorpalSword]

The other day I was visiting my girlfriend when her Mum came into the study and told us she'd heard this "amazing" track on Zane Lowe, and it was so good that we "had to" hunt it down there and then.

45 minutes, some BBC Radio website searching, and a Limewire visit later, we had downloaded "Hope There's Someone" by Antony and the Johnsons. And it really was this truly amazing track. We put it on repeat and listened to it for half an hour, whilst downloading the whole album on Bittorrent.

A while ago, my shift manager at Somerfield left a CD on top of my locker, it was Athlete, Tourist. He'd copied it for me, and when I got home and put it on the stereo, it was, like the example above, a gorgeous album.

So when have you been recommended what turns out to be a good album from someone or somewhere you totally didn't expect it from? When has an artist "come right outta left field" and surprised you when you thought it was just another shit recommendation from a neighbour? an aunt? a corpse?

[Labian Quest]

If I know someone that's into music, sometimes I'll just give them a tape and ask them to put some stuff on it that they think I'll like, I got into the first Janes Addiction album that way, and 'Final solution' by Pere Ubu, also 'Add it up' by the Violent Femmes.

[Pepotamo1985]

A bloke once told me in a thoroughly confidential way that Mr. Bungle was the greatest band ever. He then sold me California for £15.

[Ciarán2]

When I was working in a charity shop a couple of years ago, an elderly lady (about 80 years old) came in and bought a 10,000 Maniacs album for 50p. I like to think she recommended that to some kids. I wonder what it was that attracted her to that of all the things in the shop she could have spent her 50p on.