Most Innovative Musicians
 

This is just a fun thread that I thought would be interesting to start. So, add a few musicians that you find innovative. Here are a few that I find innovative:

Jimi Hendrix
The Velvet Underground
The Beatles
The Residents
A Whisper in the Noise
Xiu Xiu
John Cage
The Flaming Lips
Pink Floyd
The Fugs
The Monks
The United States of America
Sonic Youth
Television

Karlheinz Stockhausen = thread.

While his work was incredibly dense and still is, those who at least semi-penetrated his offerings went on to do great things, and took the electronic music movement to a whole new level.

Adding to the list:

Edgard Varese
Bruce Haack
Harry Partch
Zappa
Sun Ra
John Zorn
Boredoms(and Hanatarash for that matter)
Faust
Negativland
AMM

Don Caballero (the original math rock band)
Kayo Dot (and all related groups. Especially Toby's solo project)
Zs (NOISE JAZZ!)
Extra Life (avant-rock band that focuses on the rock more than the avant.)
Aphex Twin (NOBODY CAN ARGUE WITH THIS.)
Autechre (listen to V-Proc. If you can't see how well the intelligent-hip-hop-glitch thing works here, I'm going to personally come to your house and lecture you.)

Is he the guy on the cover of Sgt. Pepper?

David Bowie should be one of the front runners on this one.

Stockhausen can:

Karlheinz Stockhausen: Advice to clever children...

I don't necessarily agree with him, I just thought it was interesting...

...which reminds me that I need to get into Stockhausen. Any help here?

Maybe on the list but with guys like Edgard Varese, and John Cage, I don't think he'd be a front-runner.

Elektronische Musik 1952-1960
Mikrophonie I, II

If you're feeling ultra-adventurous and have a great amount of brain power and attention to spare, try out Hymnen; the concept behind it is incredible, and the music therein is good when in the mood for it. Kontatke is probably a bit easier to get into. Also, dankrsta's reccs are vital, too.

Can. Way ahead of their time.

Maybe..Maybe not. I do know that Frank Zappa and Chicago's, Robert Lamm were influenced by Varese.
I myself, find John Cage's bio more interesting than Edgard Varese, Cage was a composer, philosopher, poet, music theorist, artist, printmaker, ...
The era of David Bowie is modern, when compared with the era of Varses and Cage.

Rush (surprised no one has mentioned them)
Tool
Devin Townsend
Korn
Black Sabbath

No fair, you just stole my list!

Completely agree with you. I recently found out about them, and I found their album, Tago Mago, to be incredibly innovative and strangely modern-sounding.

Faust>Can

Miles Davis and Tom Waits.

They are the tip of the iceberg that I'm too lazy to uncover.

Yeah I didn't get into them till recently. Tago Magos my favourite. Brilliant, intricate rhythms and guitar slashes. You've got to be in the mood for the second side but 'Aumgm' always sounds terrifying.

Ooooh saucy! I won't knock Faust cos they're great too, but Can had Czukay/Liebezeit, for my money the greatest white rhythm section there's ever been.

Liebezeit is an awesome drum player, Future Days(my favourite Can album) has a pretty unmatched drum sound. Faust just made better music for me, Faust IV is an album like no other.

The drums on Faust I equal Future Days in terms of awesomeness at some points.

Albeit not all of the time, but still.