When I was in there last month they had plenty of copies of Peter Gabriel's "Up" for $6. If you don't already own it then that's got to be a no-brainer.

A small tip - They're quite happy to hold your dollars up to the light to check for whatever it is they check for but they're not amused if you do it to the notes they pass back as change.

P.S. I'm worried about your first sentence. Apart from Amoeba and the weather I'm not sure there's anything lucky about being in L.A., even the residents hate it.

A master bluesman reminisces with (I think) Studs Terkel, and with great charm, about his peers* and life as a black man in the Deep South in the first half of the 20th century. Accompanying himself on guitar in defiance of a death just months away, his singing and playing are utterly gorgeous. A kind of Mississippi ceilidh.

*He answers the question of whether Elvis Presley is a blues singer.

David Baerwald was a member of the Tuesday Night Music Club that wrote the first [and best] Sheryl Crow album. He also was in a duo called David & David. Triage is his second solo album & is a incredible work. Have a look at the clip from You Tube below:

Hope you choose the album, it's a stone classic!

Marc Almond's solo things from 1982 ("untitled") and 1983 ("Torment and Toreros") are albums full of drama, laughs and worryingly intense melancholy. But so many of the songs are so damn good you forgive the self-obsessed theme. This is why I still find them an enjoyable listen now.

In context, Soft Cell were at the height of their fame and these records were obviously an outlet for his emotional pressure cooker to spurt out stuff that he couldn't get away with in his day job.

Some songs are throwaway, knockabout music hall numbers - and others are heartbreakingly sad. And then things like Black Heart and Untitled (the, er,title track of "Untitled") come up which are card-carrying high quality pop songs.

You're not exactly going to get a spring in your step after these - but it's better to wallow in someone else's misery than paddle in your own ocean of despair. I find.

.....but it would be interesting to see how their current availibility is. I would expect you should well find the first, but the 2nd 2 may not be currently available.
Small Town Romance: Richard Thompson
Learning to Flinch: Warren Zevon
Live Alone in America: Graham Parker. All 3 fabulous solo accoustic LPs of 3 artists at their earlier peaks, albeit not commercially so.
And, for luck, whilst you are there, how about the Kevin Rowland solo covers album,"My Beauty", as I have never seen or heard it.
Or "Priority" by the Pointer Sisters. The Pointer sisters cover the Band and Richard Thompson, amongst others. Doesn't seem still to be available anywhere.
(I accept that my 4th and 5th fail to meet the criteria you demand, as they are not known by me, but I want to know them!)

You're in LA and feeling a bit jetlagged, so my first recommendation would be Neil Young's On The Beach; mainly for the title track, but all round it's probably his best album. Again, LA means some Warren Zevon is compulsory: I'd suggest the first album, entitled simply Warren Zevon. Still old stuff I'm afraid, but my new discovery is Bettye Swann: the album with the yellow cover that they've just released or compiled is wonderful. Better do something contemporary, so on my friend's recommendation, how about the new Black Keys album? I've only played it once so far but liked it. On the same friend's recommendation, the Eels compilation Useless Trinkets; which brings it back to a local artist.

Actually, I'm going to be cheeky and give you the option of another choice, to replace any one on my list that you don't fancy: anything by Smart Brown Handbag, a local LA band led by a friend of mine. I haven't heard their new album but it's called Harry Larry. He's American, but quite anglicised in his influences and singing.

Drink lots of water, forget about what time it is in England and treat yourself to an In-And-Out burger if that's your kind of thing. I would.

...I'd ask whether they've got a copy of "Chip Taylor's Last Chance". Go on. Get it for me.

have so assaulted your senses that the last vestiges of your humanity are about to collapse and tumble disjointedly to the astro-turf, drag your weary bones to the counter and purchase a copy of "Caravanserai" by Santana, 51 minutes of music so brimming with vitality, joy and life that you will be immediately enlivened, refilled with energy and ready once more to embrace the surfeit of indulgences offered by LA.
Alternatively, you might be glad to simply idiot-dance and air-guitar yourself into oblivion in your hotel room.
Whichever option you choose, you will have acquired a little plastic disc stuffed full of happiness and abandon that will repay repeated listens with smiles for decades to come.

The latest from The Felice Brothers is well worth a few yankee dollars. It's self titled so is pretty easy to remember.
Think Dylan backed up by The Pogues.

Tool - Lateralus: Dense obtuse prog-metal. It will take about ten listens for the songs to appear out of the murk, but when they do you will realise that you get amazing value for money as they give back twenty times as much as you put in. I listen to it all the time.

Poe - Haunted: Singer-songwriter who writes with a pop sensibility but performs like a rocker. It's a concept album based on a book by her brother called "The House of Leaves". I've not read it but it sounds barking. Some great songs on it and I listen to it a lot.

"A Mighty Wind" Movie Soundtrack: The creators of Spinal Tap do folk music. Much brighter and enjoyable than real folk. It has a few funny lyrics but most of it sounds like proper music. "The Ballad Of Bobby and Jane" sends a chill down my spine even though it's performed by the dad from American Pie! I listen to this CD all the time. The film is also great.

Nikka Costa - Can'tneverdidnothin': Super funky heavy pop-rock heavily influenced by Prince. I think she's the female Van Morrison as her voice is really that great. The slower songs are a bit so-so but when she rocks out (which is most of the time) she is unbeatable. "Till I Get To You" is one of the best songs ever recorded. I listen to this all the time.

Frou Frou - Details: Pretty whispery female vocals over melancholy laid back dance beats. Much more enjoyable and pop orientated than trip-hop genre leaders Portishead and Massive Attack. It gets better with every listen.

Lucky Soul - The Great Unwanted: Dusty Springfield style 60's retro pop performed with a heavy crunch. Much better than Adele and Duffy.

Since you're in LA I reckon you should buy Old No 1 by the amazing Guy Clark, the finest country album ever made imho (and soemtimes available packaged together with his second album Texas Cookin').
The track LA Freeway stops me dead every time I hear it. And there's an even better stripped down version of the song on the soundtrack to the documentary film Heartworn Highways which also has the sublime I Still Sing the Old Songs by David Allan Coe and the haunting Waiting Around To Die by Townes van Zandt. Either of those CDs will warm the cockles of your heart.

Hem Rabbit Songs an excellent album their first and best lovely county tinged songs. It's several years old and I still play it every couple fo months.
Also is any house really a home until you have at least "the best of CUD" nestling amongst you cd's.

Bobby Charles - Last train to Memphis - its American, it is sunny, it is absolutely perfect and I wrote the review that appears on the 'Proper' website.What's more you get a free bonus cd that reworks some of his finest earlier material - songs of the quality of See you later Alligator and Walking to New Orleans confirmed his status when he was a mere teenager.

Could also invest in one of the many String Cheese Incident live concert cd's - they will be much cheaper over there.

My brother was in the San Fran branch 2 weeks ago and they didnt have the latest Was not was album Boo - if they have it in stock I would go for that its bloody good.

To top it off Joeseph Arthur has released or is releasing 4 eps this year - I have the first 2 which are excellent.If the other 2 are out that would be a fine set that would be harder to come by over here and more expensive (I ordered mine online from a USA store but you have to pay the postage which offsets much of the savings)

Everyone here seems to be picking classic albums (and I'd second stevegc's recommendation of David Baerwald's Triage -opening song A Secret Silken World is wonderful) but I'm going to recommend Kathleen Edwards' new Cd Asking For Flowers.
You asked for records played regulalrly and this has been played at least once a day since I got it a few weeks ago. From opening track Buffalo to the closing Goodnight California its 48 or so minutes of magic.

Buy "Chavez Ravine" by Ry Cooder. The story of how the Hispanic neighbourhood was demolished to make way for the Brooklyn Dodgers' decamp to L.A. It sounds better than that. Beautiful packaging as well. It got sniffy reviews in the press, but it's great. In fact, I'm going to listen to it again now. There it goes.

Buy the first Chicago album ("Chicago Transit Authority"). Buy it on CD so you can skip the ghastly "Free Form Guitar" and enjoy the other 70 minutes of belting blues-rock. Remember them how they were not how they were later.

Got everything that the Dan ever did? Good man. But if not, buy "The Royal Scam". Or "Can't Buy A Thrill"

Do you like Power Pop? Doesn't everyone?? Buy The Rubinoos eponymous debut.

Finally, take a real chance. Buy "Swing Brother Swing" by Ray Condo and his Ricochets.It's western, it swings and it jives. I bought it on a whim last time I was in California, and it's great.

Lucky old you! I wish I was out buying them!!

...and they aren't necessarily as obscure as some noted here yet are still often overlooked in the rock 'canon'.

Yes- Close To The Edge; if there was going to be one album I'd recommend as a 'prog primer' as it were, it would be this. To my ears, it still stands up beautifully. Though Jon Anderson's lyrics could best be described as 'obscure', its melodies are strong (if not on first-listen) and the solos are not gratuitous (whatever detractors of the genre claim!). It's maybe my all time favourite album.

XTC- Skylarking; oddly, for a record so English, it did nothing here upon release but American audiences took to it slightly more and it peaked just outside the Top 50. It deserved better, even then- jampacked with irresistable melodies, gorgeous, sumptuous arrangements and a layered production job from Todd Rundgren of the sort few seem to bother with any more in favour of indier-than-thou 'raw' production values. File it alongside 'Sgt Pepper', 'Odessey and Oracle', 'Pet Sounds' and 'Forever Changes'.

Elvis Presley- From Elvis In Memphis; perhaps this isn't as 'off the beaten track' as you were hoping but it seems to me that so many people dismiss everything Elvis put out after the 1950s, which I find nonsensical, or only bother with best-ofs. This is his best ever album- the hits from these sessions like 'In The Ghetto' and 'Suspicious Minds' are well known but the album tracks are less so yet he rarely if ever sang better than he did on songs like 'Wearin' That Loved On Look', 'Only The Strong Survive' and 'I'll Hold You In My Heart'. It's a musically rich amalgam of soul, country and blues and should be in any collection in my opinion.

Isaac Hayes- Hot Buttered Soul; I never, ever see this one in those interminable '100 best ever albums' polls which continues to shock me as it's my favourite soul album of them all ('What's Going On' doesn't hold a candle to this for me!). It's epic, intense and beautifully arranged.

Van Morrison- Common One; his most ambitious album, and that's not a word I'd apply to anything he recorded after this one. Has two 15 minute epics on it that are compelling and at times, extremely beautiful. It's either this or 'Veedon Fleece' that's my favourite Van album.

The amoeba trip will happen tomorrow. My little experiment has excited the locals and we will be forming a committee to review the selection and choose 5 to buy.

Thanks for all your responses. Really appreciate it.

Jim Ford's The Sounds Of Our Time.
A reissue (with loads of extra tracks) of the only album made by a man Nick Lowe describes as his greatest influence, whose songs have been recorded by (amongst many) Bobby Womack, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin, Dave Edmunds, The Flamin' Groovies and Bo Diddley. A man described by Sly Stone as 'the baddest white man on the planet'. The description of the music in the sleeve notes is spot on:
'They occupy the land where R&B meets country, Memphis and Nashville meet Louisiana, and the Mississippi Delta meets Appalachia'.
The presence of James Burton and Jim Keltner doesn't do any harm either.

I'm quite glad your work has prevented you from making the shopping trip you had planned, as it gives me the chance to indulge in one of my favourite hobbies - badgering people into buying music that I love.

Given that you have not stated a musical preference of any kind, I have decided to throw out this fairly arbitrary selection:

'If You Can't Join 'Em... Beat 'Em' - DJ Format. A relentlessly upbeat selection of funky loops and fast, furious and often funny raps, made for sunny afternoons and guaranteed to set your legs to 'strut'.

'Worlds Apart' - ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. The album where they went from being the surprisingly good American punk band with the funny name to being the stunningly multi-layered purveyors of intelligent, yet still scathing, rock who courted both emo and prog and still came up smiling. With a funny name.

'Viva! La Woman' - Cibo Matto. More funky loops, but this time from two Japanese-American women with a taste for trip-hop and oddness that raises eyebrows but never gets in the way of a good tune.

'Mwng' - Super Furry Animals. In many ways their most accessible album, despite being entirely in Welsh - proof positive that pop is a language in itself. As you are in the US, you stand a good chance of finding the 2CD edition, which comes with an extra 5 Welsh-language tunes from earlier in the band's heritage.

I'm sure I'll think of more later. Depends how dull my day at work is.

Pixies - Trompe Le Monde
Their Final album and underrated by many...."Motorway to Roswell" is wonderful song, and great to drive to, "Planet of Sound" rocks and their cover of "Head On" by the Jesus and Mary Chain works a treat...I could go on but thats a start.

Ryan Adams - Gold
"La Cienega Just Smiled" is just beautiful, enough to part your money for alone....the rest of the album is on repeat listening too. A lot of his later albums are patchy, so catch him at his best.

'And his mother called him bill'- Duke Ellington, this is a tribute to Billy Strayhorn, recorded after he died of cancer. Sounds morbid, one of the tracks is called 'blood count', but is one of the most uplifting records you are ever likely to hear. Careful folks, it is Jazz, but every one loves Duke Ellington. I definitely would go with the XTC suggestion, great album. If you have not checked out the Decemberists, then please buy 'Picaresque' - simply wonderful. Lastly, Tones of Town by Field Music is excellent, they are a bit Steely Dan but from Sunderland, intrigued?

...but I feel we're due some closure on this. Don't keep us hanging, dolly! State your purchases!

http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/amoeba-challenge-results

Thanks!

Dolly is a man of his word. I got home this evening and the new James McMurtry was waiting on the doorstep (literally as the postman had left the package in full view for any passing ne'er do well to pinch).