Hit or Miss, Part I

I discovered punk rock (and, by association, post-punk and lesser-known New Wave) via college radio, when I was a junior in high school. Eventually, I shifted from buying Rick Derringer 45's and Charlie Daniels LP's at Caldor to seeking out Dead Kennedys, Joy Division and Phantom Tollbooth albums at independently owned Capitol Records (R.I.P.) in Hartford.

At Capitol, there were so many albums to go through, that often, after I'd picked a few records I'd heard of, I'd select something purely o...