If you’ve never heard of the Paisley Underground, it’s not surprising. This rock subgenre—which emphasized psychedelia, electric guitar interplay and vocal harmonies—flourished mostly in Southern California and only from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. Moreover, it produced just one band—the Bangles—that broke through nationally and achieved substantial commercial success.

But you don’t have to be hugely successful to be hugely influential. Paisley Underground groups—which were themselves influenced by 1960s acts like the Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, the Velvet Underground, the Seeds and Love—had an impact on numerous performers who emerged later. And much of their music was as outstanding as it was obscure.

For evidence, check out a new boxed set called This Can’t Be Today: American Psychedelia & the Paisley Underground 1977-1988, via Cherry Red Records, which comes with a 44-page booklet that contains information about every artist and song.

As the liner notes indicate, “Many of the usual suspects are here,” including the Dream Syndicate, Green on Red, Long Ryders, the 3 O’Clock, the Rain Parade and, of course, the Bangles (as well as their predecessor group, the Bangs).

Related: Our review of Watching the Sky, the Bangles’ boxed set

But this three-CD, 67-song collection digs deeper, offering excellent tracks from bands that even some Paisley Underground aficionados might not know—outfits such as Dumptruck, the Vertebrats, Ultravivid Scene and the Pajamas. The clamshell-boxed collection also makes room for a smattering of material from better-known contemporaneous acts that, while not part of the Paisley Underground, shared some of its influences and tendencies. These include R.E.M., Husker Du and Big Star’s Chris Bell.

Like many multi-artist anthologies, this compendium is uneven. “Hangin’ Around,” by Art Bloch (a veteran of a Seattle punk band called the Cheaters) is mediocre garage-rock, for example, and the overwrought “Euphoric Trapdoor Shoes” by an outfit known as Plasticland is about as profound as Iron Butterfly’s “In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida.” However, a large portion of this anthology consists of overlooked gems.

“Deposition Central (The Acid Song),” by an L.A. group called the Unclaimed, is a thrilling rocker about an LSD trip that uses organ as effectively as Question Mark and the Mysterians and the Animals. Wire Train’s equally trippy “Everything’s Turning Up Down Again” is another winner, thanks largely to its reverb-spiced production, driving rhythm and ringing guitars.

The Dream Syndicate, meanwhile, delivers a red-hot “Sure Thing” in a live radio performance given days before the group recorded its first-rate debut LP, The Days of Wine and Roses. And the Rain Parade’s “What She’s Done to Your Mind” serves up an irresistible brew of jangly guitars, gorgeous vocals and a catchy, seemingly Beatles-influenced melody.

These are far from the only standouts in a set that collects the best of the underappreciated Paisley Underground movement.

The Feb. 13 release via Cherry Red Records, is available in the U.S. here, in Canada here in the U.K. here.