I am not sure you'd like them Rosie... some of the Pern books are quite excellent while others are lousy. They tend to degenerate and become more and more about the sex.
That said you might enjoy the "Dragonsong", "Dragonsinger" and "Dragondrums" trilogy. It's aimed at a more teenage audience, the main characters are musicians, and they're rather gentle little stories. They do sort of expect that you know the world but it's not required.
I'm sure I've raved about her before, but my most favoritest golden-age scifi author is Zenna Henderson. She wrote an amazing collection of short stories (Anything Box is my favorite) and a wonderful set of novellas about "The People". The People are refugees from another world trying to carve out a new life and home in the AZ desert. Henderson's stories tug at the heartstrings - almost violently - they are beautiful and amazing and loving and tragic. I identify with her settings because I grew up in that harsh place, very much an outcast because of my academic gifts. Amazing stories. Highly, highly recommended.