The definition is not narrow, but broadly ranges from heavy doom to 70’s garage rock, a little bit of prog. and plenty of fuzz and detuned guitar riffs.
1970 Stooges FUN HOUSE, had the most direct influence on artists such as Nebula, Fu Manchu, Monster Magnet, as well as Kyuss. The raw dirty unpolished low-fi sound was a hallmark characteristic of many of their early recordings. This is in stark contrast to the 60’s garage bands like the 13 Floor Elevators, The Seeds, The Shadows of Night, Nazz and IMO all seem too polished and singles oriented, which is the complete opposite of most 90’s stoner bands.
On the other end of the Stoner spectrum, you have bands influenced by Black Sabbath, specifically their “Masters of Reality” release which featured huge, heavy and doom laiden riffs that were as catchy as they were pulverizing. Also the fact that the album features the song “Sweet Leaf” helped make it an influential darling amongst the stoner set. Here’s a lits of some quality Stoner tunes. Another influential and important proto-stoner band was a Welsh band named Budgie, which also featured a dirty low-end sound, catchy riffs and low-fi records.
Spirit Caravan – Fang
High On Fire – Master of Fist
Orange Goblin – Black Egg
Kyuss – One Inch Man
Fu Manchu – Anodizer
Monster Magnet – Negasonic Teenage Warhead
Trouble – Hello Strawberry Skies
Influential Proto-Stoner Songs
Budgie – Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman
Black Sabbath – Sweet Leaf
The Stooges – I Need Someone