so I'm painfully ignorant when it comes to the sprawling undergrowth of the avant garde.

it isn't easy to accumulate the works of composers, mostly due to the deeply subjective nature of different performances of compositions. and these people are so prolific. it's overwhelming.

I've always wanted to delve into Cage, Xenakis, Penderecki and the like, but where do I begin and end? which are the definitive works and pieces?

help me on my quest by throwing recommendations out in handfuls, from turn of the 20th century tonal rebels through primitive lab coat synthesizer works and beyond.