I am with you with the one playlist technique. I don’t think I am all the way into that approach (I mainly organize playlists by a few artists but end up listening to the same few playlists exclusively).
Mentioning Scandinavian music, do you know A-ha? They are one of my favorites, but I have found that not many people here in the States know of them outside of their one hit here, but they have some amazing other stuff.
One of the nice things about talking with designers who have more experience than me is that they sometimes actually know what I am listening to:
Alphaville (known for Forever Young, Big in Japan, who have an awesome mix of catchy dance tunes, deep ballades, etc.)
A-ha
Depeche Mode – has seemed to survive very well, good amount of people here know them or grew up with them. Even searching the Core, they have been mentioned a few times.
Duran Duran – some of their stuff is amazing, others is pure garbage.
The Human League
Talk Talk
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD)
Pet Shop Boys