Making A Rising - Rip Through The Hawk Black Night (2005)
Mix yourselves some good ol' fashioned Indie rock with avant-garde classicism, and then toss it all together in a salad of progressive rock & psychedelia. In doing so, you'll probably end up with something amazing like Make A Rishing, who deserve a whole lot more attention than they are getting IMO. Syd Barrett would definitely dig these guys, and this is one hell of a debut to boot.
Birth Control - Operation (1971)
Along with this killer cover art, this hard rock n' blues band had an amazingly powerful sound to go with them that sounds fresh even now. Fans of Deep Purple and Leaf Hound should definitely check this out.
Umphrey's McGee - Mantis (2009)
Very eclectic jam-band who draw just as many influences from the best of pop and alternative music as they do from the worlds of progressive rock and jazz-fusion. This album sees them at the best and most focused as they've ever been in songwriting, so it's recommended for anyone looking for something modern, a bit different and accessibly catchy all at once.