I was about to post asking of any of Can's peers so I'll be looking up Faust soon, cheers Ian.
Absolute essentials of the Krautrock genre (other than the Can stuff above) are IMHO:
Amon Düül II Yeti. Just the most amazing rock double album I can think of a large collective playing as a seamless organic whole in the way only truly great jazz bands can. It is more rock than Can, but it is rock in the way rock would be if Mingus played it. Edgy psychedelic guitar, spaced organ, beats and groves to die for and just so bloody powerful. Unfortunately the only CD I have heard sounded totally castrated in comparison to the original Liberty vinyl. The vinyl assaults you in an totally full on and amazing way. Original vinyl can be found for around 20-40 quid on eBay.
Ash Ra Temple 1st LP. Totally spaced tripped out power trio. Two tracks, one each side. Think of the best tripped out hippy film with stoners dancing around in a loud dingy club to an oil-wheel light show, this record would be the ideal soundtrack. CDs are vinyl transfers, but still good enough for me to realise it is a truly stunning album. An mint original will sadly set you back about 150 quid.
Faust 1st/clear, Faust IV. The first Faust album is just totally bloody mad, it is also totally brilliant. Faust were the John Cage of the Krautrock scene; they cut and shut all manner of found and played weirdness together and produce some real magic. Faust IV is the nearest they ever got to making a commercial album, and tends to be the one recommended to newcomers. Id go straight for the 1st. Best option is to track down the RER box The Wumme Years which contains the first 3 LPs and a collection of other goodies / BBC sessions etc. Original vinyl is too bloody expensive. Arse. (Ive only got the box and a original copy of Faust Tapes).
Kraftwerk 1&2. This is not bleepy robotic Kraftwerk (not that there is anything wrong in that), this is the band before two people split off to form Neu! This is weird stuff, shifting beats, ever changing structures, fluid then stuttering. Very, very good. Not sure about the availability of this stuff, but remastering by R&F is apparently in the pipeline.
Neu! 1, 2 and 75. All these three albums are essential. They are as different as they are the same. Neu! invented what is now referred to as post-rock no Neu!, no modern rock music. They were that important. CD and vinyl reissues are great.
Tangerine Dream Alpha Centauri. This is the second TD album, and IMHO the best of the first 6 superb albums from the band. Tripped out modular Moog ambience with effected flute and bass. Do not confuse this masterpiece with the later 80s output of the band which is IMHO often bad enough to be by JM Jarre. These early TD albums are
very different animals. The CD remasters and the Castle 180g vinyl are all very good.
Tony.