Everyone knows the big influential names in music: Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Radiohead, yada yada yada… Their influence is undisputed, and any sort of music fan knows their music. But there’s a whole plethora of influential artists out there that were your favorite bands’ favorite bands, and you may have never known that they existed! Some artists, no matter how ahead of their time, never seemed to hit it big. Whether it was due to their lack of popularity, stage fright, or just plain lack of a top-selling single, they never sold out stadiums like The Who or Nirvana. This list goes through some of my personal favorite influential artists that fit that exact mold (not necessarily the least popular or anything pretentious like that). If you’ve ever wondered where the revolution of electronic music was started, where so many singer-songwriters got their inspiration (besides Bob Dylan and the like), and who helped to start the post-rock genre that you listen to during late-night studying sessions, read on.