Over the course of eight years of reviewing music in these genres, I have come across more than a few cases where an album that I considered to be amazingly great was summarily ignored by just about everyone else (at least from what I could tell). Finally, here's my chance to extol the qualities of both 25 recordings in each of the two main genres Wind and Wire covers as well as highlight 20 artists in each of those fields who I believe have been cruelly ignored despite evidence that they have released some outstanding material over the years. Obviously, these lists are subjective as all get out and for all I know, some of the albums I have selected sold thousands upoin thousands of copies and I just am one clueless sonuvabitch. Regardless, I've earned this and so, like it or not, here it is!

CLICK ON THE LIST YOU WANT TO READ: (note that some additional comments may be added within a day or two of the initial uploading of this article)

25 Overlooked Ambient/EM/Spacemusic/Electronica Albums

20 Under-appreciated Ambient/EM/Spacemusic/Electronica Artists

25 Overlooked New Age/Adult Contemporary/World Fusion Albums

20 Under-appreciated New Age/Adult Contemporary/World Fusion Artists

• ASHERA-Cobalt 144 (1999): A superb minimalist ambient recording the incorporates ethereal female vocals with textures and tones from synths and guitars; music that is haunting and melancholic yet intimate and beautiful
• MEG BOWLES (with David Bilger, trumpet)-from the dark earth (1999): Moody and atmospheric spacemusic with subtle elements of ambient jazz courtesy of some way cool trumpet; the CD could be the soundtrack for a 23rd century film-noir and is a bonafide ignorantly ignored masterpiece, IMO.
• BRAIN BALLET-Aquarium of the Deep Sea (2004): If you enjoy minimal yet warm ambient "short-form" pieces featuring bell tones that shimmer and didn't pick up on this CD, you should do so pronto. The definitive undiscovered gem.
• cyberCHUMP-Abstract Air (2003): Great floating ambient and spacemusic that I am astounded has not been embraced by fans of the genre.
• CYBER ZEN SOUND ENGINE AND MATT BORGHI-The Intercepted Transmissions (2001): For the final three tracks alone (a suite of sad, haunting, electronic beats and textures), this album should have received lots of accolades.
• DOUCET AND MIRAZ-Resonance (2000): While the artists are primarily known as new age musicians, this is an amazing pure electronic spacemusic CD in the classic tradition of warm synthesizer shadings and washes. Lots of people missed the boat on this one!
• EIEN-dandelion dreamer (2004): One of the most original and quirky recordings I've ever heard, yet still accessible, friendly, and infectious. Short pieces with the emphasis on tones, chimes, notes as opposed to chords or washes.
• IGNEOUS FLAME-Oxana (2004): Textural spacemusic/ambient "miniatures" that are like jewels twinkling in the dark night sky; somewhere between inky blackness and warm shades of grey in emotional tone.
• JAMES JOHNSON AND STEPHEN PHILIPS-Lost at Dunn's Lake (2001): One of two perfect blendings of environmental sounds with minimal ambient music on this list (the other being Silence Speaks In Shadow); dripping with atmosphere and deeply reflective, and almost too intimate a recording to bear yet immensely rewarding.
• JOHN LYELL AND BRENT REILAND-Synthetic Universe (2002): How this outstanding blend of gently rhythmic spacemusic and floating electronic ambient got so thoroughly missed is one of the biggest mysteries on this list; an incredibly well-done and accomplished effort from these two musicians.
• MR. SOON-places in arizona (2002): A confluence of glitch, chill-out, smooth ambience, and desert-influenced soundscapes, this CD is still one of my absolute favorites for its diversity and brazen yet fulfilling mixture of styles.
• JON O'BERGH-Songs from Other Planets (2004): All you have to know about this CD is I consider it on a par with Richard Bone's "cool" trilogy (Electropica, Coxa, Ascensionism) and it has that same "hip" vibe running through every song.
• STEPHEN PHILIPS-Desert Landscapes (1998): One the finest pure ambient soundscape CDs ever recorded; floating bliss; listening to this is like lying down under the desert sky and watching as the stars wink above you; should be an essential album for all drifting/drone ambient fans.
• STEVE RAYMAR-Gaining Altitude (1999): Electronic keyboard music in an assortment of tempos, moods, and styles, but all of it exceedingly well performed.
• VALERY SIVER AND KIRYLL TREPAKOV-Midway (2003): Perhaps the most accessible recording which will ever come from the Electroshock label, full of downtempo beats, acoustic guitar, and keyboards which paint landscapes both forlorn and beautiful.
• KELVIN L SMITH-Reclining Music (2003): An extremely solid assortment of synthesizer tone poems that all lead to a feeling of relaxation with being numbingly boring.
• SYLKEN-Dreamlife (2004): One the best "new" spacemusic CDs of this millennium, as it salutes the traditions yet also carves out its own new niche.
• THOUGHT GUILD-context (2002): Neo-Berlin and other assorted contemporary EM pieces from two guys who prove their talent over and over on this exemplary recording.
• FRANK VAN BOGAERT-Human (2002): Catchy, friendly, yet never vapid or cliché, this may be the artist's best work as he spins a dizzying assortment of musical webs to get lost in.
• PAUL VNUK-Silence Speaks in Shadow: Perfectly captures the mood and feel of an urban nightscape through an integration of sounds and ambient music textures and drones; the ideal companion to Lost at Dunn's Lake and a literal perfect recording.
• MICHAEL WHALEN-like rain through my hands (2004): Proves that the classic Nightscenes was no fluke, this is first-rate ambient and spacemusic, featuring some beats, some minimalism, and all of it atmospheric, beautiful, and engineered to perfection.
• SIMON WILLIAMS-Transicity (Inner City Mix) (2000): Long-form "chill-out" is the best descriptor for this one-track but full-length CD that evolves over its duration through various beat tempos but always with excellent chromium-sheen polished synths carrying the melodies.
• MICHAEL WALTHIUS-Dreaming in Stereo (1997): Perhaps the most over-looked of all the albums on this list. If you like electronic keyboards used in the service of more infectious, hook-laden, structured songs, (think the Beyond the Mind's Eye soundtrack by Jan Hammer), you simply must buy this. It is an amazingly, almost startlingly, well-produced, well-engineered, and well-performed CD from a virtual unknown artist.
• WHEN YOU KNOW I WILL TOO - Astoria (2003): Any album that is drone-oriented yet converts me to the subgenre that I normally shy away from must be a wonderment to behold; may be the most human-sounding drone ambient CD released in recent memory; warm and so evocative that it's incomparable to others.
• ZERO ONE-Psy-Fi (2004): One of the absolute best ever recordings of modern day EM; puts many other albums to shame as song after song weds beats to melodies in ways that will bring smiles of joy to fans of the genre.

• A Produce
• Alpha Wave Movement
• Crown Invisible (Garrett Parks)
• Current (Robert Solheim)
• Tristan Feldbauer
• John Flomer
• Green Isac
• mara's torment (Rik MacLean)
• Jon Mark
• Deborah Martin
• psychetropic (Todd Fletcher)
• Thomas Ronkin
• Stephanie Sante
• Dom F. Scab
• Mike Simmons
• Soundician (Kit and Odette Johnson)
• Tales (Jean-Luc Herve Berthelot)
• Robert Scott Thompson
• Erik Wollo
• Zero Ohms (Richard Roberts)

• PAUL ADAMS-The Property of Water (1998): One of the very best integrations of environmental sounds with new age music I've ever heard and the music is atypically intriguing yet accessible; as soothing as a walk in the woods or floating down a river in a canoe.
• RICK ALEXANDER-Innocent Dreams (1999): Solo acoustic guitar that is serene yet soulful; in a genre that sees lots of releases, this one was ridiculously ignored.
• STEPHEN BACCHUS-Pangaea (1991): Blending exotic yet accessible world fusion with new age and quasi-ambient music to paint a "musical legend" of the primordial supercontinent, this is simply one of the most beautiful albums in my collection.
• PETER BLAKE-Private Dawn (1994): An ultra-breezy blend of jazzy keyboards, pre-chill-out beats, and smooth melodies that I never tire of, but apparently I'm the only one who thinks so.
• CATHERINE MARIE CHARLTON-RiverDawn (2001): An outstanding solo piano recording of a single album-length piece that unwinds patiently and serenely, drawing you in close and keeping you entranced.
• COYOTE OLDMAN-Floating on Evening (1998): The most over-looked recording from this artist; owing to the addition of some acoustic guitar and piano this is their most accessible and warmest album to date; so serene and soothing that it should be in every new age music fan's library.
• PHILIP ELCANO-Rain Dance (1991): "Old school" electronic new age music, filled with gentle bell tones, shimmering keyboards, and just enough nature sounds to flesh out some tracks; this is in my personal top 20 of all time.
• PHIL FEATHER AND MARILYN HARRIS-Winds on Ivory (2003): Piano and woodwinds that are almost too beautiful to be described, yet surprisingly warm and engaging to lovers of non-new age music owing to the natural sound of the melodies.
• MICHAEL FITZSIMMONS-Skin on Skin (2002): All manner of drums and percussion plus some haunting flutes add up to a recording that both invigorates and calms; it's like visiting a lush beautiful tropical island.
• DAVID FRIEDMAN-Moonrise (1997): Still stands as one of the most puzzling "non-hit" CDs I've ever heard. Spot on blend of dramatic catchy electronic keyboard numbers with solo piano pieces that screams "accessible" yet never descends to pop or smooth jazz music formulaic posturing. Was everyone else asleep on this one?
• JALAN JALAN-Bali (1998): New age meets gamelan music in one of the finest recordings from the Pacific Moon label and a bonafide world fusion masterpiece.
• KOHALA-Cool Breeze (2003): Three acoustic guitarists combine their talents to craft some of the most instantly likable instrumentals of recent years
• PATRICK LEONARD-Rivers (1996): Piano and small (jazz) ensemble that wends its way through both slow paced and uptempo pieces, painting a vivid picture of the outdoors (in this case, a fishing trip);.another one that sits in my top 20 of all time.
• PAUL MICICH AND MITCH ESPE-Prairies (1994): Overlooked probably because of its strange combination of ewi (electric horn) with guitar, this is an extremely varied recording, covering everything from jaunty sprightly tunes to expansive Aaron Copland-esque overtures evoking images of the album's title.
• CHRIS NOLE-Songs of the Wide Horizon (2003): Simply put, an excellent contemporary instrumental album, one of the best in recent memory for rural highway driving as the uptempo numbers shine and the slower ones offer a perfect balance.
• CONNI ST. PIERRE-Beyond the sky: Legends of the Starry Night (2003): Embodies the best qualities of mysticism and magic that reside in new age music; unbelievably "pretty" bell tones and shimmering keyboards that are never saccharine of sugary (in fact, quite dark at times); like walking under a full moon in the dead of night but being unafraid.
• TONY SANDATE-Sunset Meditation (2004): Hands down, the best solo acoustic guitar recording in years; melodies that are beyond words to describe their tenderness or sincerity of emotion.
• BUEDI SIEBERT-Wave Hands Like Clouds (2004): Zen-like Asian fusion music that evokes images of rock gardens and reflection pools; quiet, patient, serene and yet also quite musical at times.
• SILENT SOUND-Nightfall (2002): Completely overlooked, this blend of mandolin with keyboards and other instruments weaves a haunting and beautiful spell, perfect for late night listening; yet another in my personal top 20.
• APRIL STACE-Harp 46 (2003): Harp and ensemble that breaks away from the traditional sound to create a whole new version of new age harp music which invigorates the genre with new life and a contemporary attitude without losing sight of being damn good music.
• SUBHIRA-Cani, Sacred Rainforest (2000): Piano and ensemble CD that perfectly illustrates, through the music, the delicate balance of nature in the rainforest, balancing the sorrowful with the beautiful.
• ERIC TINGSTAD AND NANCY RUMBEL-In The Garden (1991): This duo's most "pop" oriented album also contains some of their most likable and cheery tunes, plus features an abundance of keyboards which flesh out their two-instrument motif with a more contemporary sound.
• KEN VERHEECKE-a place called home (2004): A solo acoustic guitar album that feels as comfortable and warm as a worn flannel shirt on a cool autumn afternoon; instrumentals that are instantly appreciated by any fan of the genre
• ROB WHITESIDES WOO-Traveler: Native flute, percussion and keyboards in the service of both uptempo and lower key numbers; old school new age music back before everyone became jaded.
• WITHIN (Troy Dilley and Lisa Cardinali)-Within (1996): Still stands as one of the best combinations of acoustic guitar with synths I've ever heard; genuinely haunting melodies, many with palpable melancholic strains, and expert musicianship; the lack of recognition for this album, their only recording, is a real tragedy

• Anuvida and Nik Tyndall
• Autumn's Child (with Mark Holland)
• Davol
• deep sky divers (Jon Short and David Jones)
• Bill Douglas
• Peter Janson
• Matthew Lyon and Christine Dickinson
• Vasco Martins
• David Nevue
• Tony O'Connor
• Psicodreamics (Salva Moreno)
• Ray (Leonard)
• Clarelynn Rose
• Lorraine Rousseau and Robert Carlton
• Maggie Sansone
• George Skaroulis
• Patricia Spero
• Mary Martin Stockdale
• Gary Stroutsos
• Laura Sullivan