Hello,
 
Sorry to bother you guys but I'm doing research on interesting European music from the 1990s and as I only have access to English-language materials I'm having trouble with checking out quality French, Spanish or Italian CDs - I simply don't know where to look. Could anyone point to some best French records lists or something of the sort? Or perhaps recommend anything of notice? Mainstream or undeground albums regardless. I'm interested mainly in indie, rock, soul, hip-hop, electronic, in fact anything of quality. My taste is close to that of pitchforkmedia, stylus and similar magazines. I would be extremely gratefeul for your help! thanks
 
Michal  

 - Noir Desir > LP " 666.667 Club " ( 1996 - Rock )

yep, I heard about this band, quite popular in Poland. I think their vocalist was involved in some kind of a serious criminal offence some time ago.

Some kind, yes.  
Just murdered his lover in Latvia.
Otherwise, you've got what has been dubbed as "French Touch" in electronic music : Daft Punk, Air, Alex Gopher, Dimitri from Paris, Laurent Garnier, Etienne de Crecy, Bob Sinclar, St Germain, Superfunk, Cassius....

(bonne liste Crimso)
 
Otherwise , there's a very good band , named "TURZI" , (LP "A" ) but it's from 2007. They're doing a mix beetween electro and old-school krautrok (seventies bands like "Can" )
 

Yes, thank a lot for those names. I would also add solo work of Alan Braxe to the French Touch collection ("Upper Cuts" is my favourite French touch album). But I get the impression that you're limiting yourselves to the names which are recognized worldwide, whereas I'm hoping to find some unknown diamonds, like for example an album I've stumbled upon by mere accident in 2003 - Dragueuse de Fond by Alexandre Varlet, completely unkown internationally. The genre is singer/songwriter in the noir ballad style and I don't understand the lyrics, but still, I find it one of the most moving records of 2003. I'm looking for those sort of buried treasures - perhaps someone could name some 90s French labels which I could check?    

you should try this "family" of artists :
 
dominique A (la fossette, si je connais harry, la mémoire neuve, remué...)
Françoiz Breut (premier album)
Yann Tiersen (la valse des monstre, rue des cascades, le phare)
 
They have released beautiful "pop" album in the 90's.  
Nowadays Tiersen is well known but who cares ? his first discs were amazing

Again , this belongs to the years 2000 (sorry) , but it may be what you called a "unknown treasure" : NOSFELL. He's a singer who has invented his own language : his style is higly personnal and difficult to describe . Hope you like that !

In labels , there is a good one , but you may already know it : it's TRICATEL , drived by Bertrand Burgalat. He has produced the singer April March , by example.

Tostaky (Noir Désir)
Paris Sous Les Bombes (NTM)
Homework (Daft Punk)
L'Ecole Du Micro D'Argent (IAM)
Fantaisie Militaire (Bashung)
Moon Safari (Air)
United (Phoenix)