Psh, The Edge recognized it's superiority when he snippeted it during the U2 performance of "The Wanderer" .
I totally get you about jazz and the blues. I've been VERY slow in exploring further, but I'm really, REALLY digging what I'm hearing as well.
Ragtime is silly but SO fun in person.
You know, I've actually never heard anything by The Shadows. Insane, knowing you as long as I have.
I actually think this is part of the problem - a lot of early 20th century musical styles were designed for playing live, for audiences to dance to. They weren't meant for people like me to sit at home and listen to while posting on a messageboard and editing their conference presentation. It seems I'll at least get some "sitting at home" mileage out of some jazz artists perhaps, though.
You need some Shadows in your life. Apache, Man Of Mystery, Kon-Tiki, Shadoogie, Quartermaster's Stores, and Wonderful Land are my favouritres. Hank Marvin's guitar playing influenced so much of what we hear nowadays.