Oh oh oh, I adore shoegaze, and I personally like the label because despite the original sense, it evokes to me the dreaminess of the music. At the time, I wasn't hugely into shoegaze as I was into Alternative in general, and my record buying budget was limited, but I did buy Lush and The Catherine Wheel, and in the recent shoegaze revival, I have discovered many other bands and songs that have become favorites. Right now I've made a 90s music compilation for my cousin (w/ 750 songs), representing a huge number of genres (e.g. Madchester, Britpop, Grunge, Post-Grunge, Alternative Dance, Dreampop, Big Beat, Trance, Trip-hop, Ambient, Nu Metal, etc.), and here are some of the shoegaze songs I chose to include:
Afterglow "Lost in the Funhouse", Blind Mr. Jones "Eyes Wide", Blindside "Comforts"* and "Hopes Rise"*, Chapterhouse "Breather", "Guilt", and "Mesmerise," Cranes "Sun and Sky", Curve "Coast Is Clear" and "Horror Head"*, Dreamscape "So Far From Belief", Lilys "Threw a Day", Lush "De-Luxe", "For Love"*, "Nothing Natural", "Ocean"*, "Sweetness and Light"*, "Take", "Untogether", Medicine "Time Baby III", My Bloody Valentine "Only Swallow"*, "Sometimes"*, "Soon", and "When You Sleep", Ride "Like a Daydream", "Taste", "Vapour Trail", Slowdive "Alison", "Primal", "Shine"*, and "When the Sun Hits", The Bardots "Pretty O", The Catherine Wheel "Bill and Ben", "Black Metallic"*, "Salt"*, and "Texture", The Naked Souls "Sleep" and "Winter Kills Me", The Telescopes "Celeste"*, The Verve "All in My Mind" and "Weeping Willow"*. (* = my top faves)
Know any other must-haves I should include?
There is a blog called Shoegazer Alive that posts new nugaze music around all over the world.