ORIGINAL or BLATANT COPY

Yea it's definitely a conundrum - take for example Oasis who ripped off virtually every great British rock riff on definitely maybe but then pop up with Wonderwall. Then look at DJ Shadow who's Endtroducing was actually built entirely out of sampled material but still sounded like one of the most original works of the last 15 years. Or look at Scott Walker who is in his sixties yet continues to push boundaries.
I went to watch an unsigned gig the other night and all 5 bands sounded exactly the same - all a kind of Borrell influenced pub rock type of music, but all really bland.
What would you say is more relevant - originality or a record that appeals and will sell? What do you listen for? All of my tunes are made from samples of other records but I find there's a billion different ways to manipulate the samples together - there's only so many ways you can play a guitar. I did used to play guitar but gave up pursuing it properly the first time a listened to Jimi Hendrix.