I keep forgetting about this thread, sorry. OK so not counting Hallucinogen and Eat Static, because they were already nominated, these are some of the Goa albums that set me off back in the day.
Pick a 90s X-Dream, any 90s X-Dream PLUS their 2000 comp,
Panic in Paradise. I love it all. Most will cite
We Created Our Own Happiness as the quintessential and they're not wrong, but as the years went by, I found myself returning to their debut more frequently. Horses/courses.
Children of the Last Generation is probably my favourite track by them. Banger!
Jaia.
Blue Energy is old school 90s Goa and with hindsight sounds almost innocent, I dunno. Probably not the right word. If I had to choose a favourite, it would probably be
Anawa's Paradise because the playful acid still makes me chuckle. Worth noting that the
Blue Energy, Blue Synergy rerelease includes a compilation of single tracks, so probably the better option. Their second album from the mid-00s is called
Fiction, also very good, but this time we're talking smooth prog, not like their Goa stuff at all.
Re:Works is also worth a sniff.
The eponymous album by Blue Planet Corporation, their sole full release. Again, my Go To is the most acid, called
Micromega, but my actual favourite by them, possibly my favourite psy track ever, is their remix of
Timeline by Wizzy Noise on the EP of the same name. It's absolutely beautiful, like someone turned a nebula into sound waves, and not to be missed. I can also highly recommend the 2009 comp,
A Blueprint for Survival, which is a collection of all the 90s singles and EPs.
They are my holy trinity, but for something a bit gnarlier and less merciful, try MFG's
Project Genesis. The title track is a monster - pure tentacles!
MFG - Album : Project Genesis
www.youtube.com
On the VAs front, there are a few that stick in my mind: the
White and
Black Rhino comps on Flying Rhino; the
Goa Trance series on Rumour; a handful of early Transient mixed bags; shanti vibes by Return to the Source. You could also do a lot worse than digging up the first
Mind Rewind on DAT Mafia - it's only about ten years old, but features a worthy array of rare old school tracks by the likes of Etnica, Green Nuns and Dimension 5. All these artists are worth looking up in their own right, so consider them nominated too.
I'll get back to you on so-called neo Goa and more contemporary psy to break things up a bit, probably in another month when I remember again, erm...