I was listening to the radio the other day, and this smooth jazz instrumental came on, and it was vaguely familiar, and definitely one to seek out. Turns out to be Rise by Herb Albert, a #1 hit from 1979.

Any other instrumentals are worth seeking out for a collection?

I'll make this easy for you.

There you go, instant collection.

If you liked "Rise", give George Benson's "Breezin" a shot.

The Shadows [mostly 1960s echo-y guitar-based music]
Booker T and the MGs

"Cliffs of Dover" by Eric Johnson

Personally, "Little Wing" by Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Samba Pa Ti - Santana
Europa - Santana
Bouree - Jethro Tull

Theme from Romeo and Juliet - Henry Mancini
Chariots of Fire - Vangelis

Those are two of my favorite instrumental "hits", at least the first that I thought of. As far as jazz, try Joe Sample and Brad Mehldau as well as the already mentioned George Benson.

Check out the Rhino instrumental collections. Divided up into into 50's, 60's, 70's, Soul and Surf. Incredible stuff.

I love the song "Sleepwalk" by Santo and Johnny. Very dreamy 50's song (everyone recognizes it).

well there's always frankinstein from edgar winters, and moby dick from led zeppelin.

Star Wars Theme by Meco. It went fuckin' platinum, baby!

"Walk Don't Run" has always been one of my faves.

You probably recognized this one as the sample for Notorious BIG's "Hypnotize".

The instrumentals (Let's Go Away For A While, Pet Sounds) from the Pet Sounds album are amazing. I'd love to hear SRV's version of Little Wing, what album is it from?

Foreignor - "Tramontone"

E.S. Posthumus - "Pompei"

Giorgio Moroder's theme from "MIDNIGHT EXPRESS"
Any body know if any rapper's have used this as a sample?

The Allman Brothers Band - Mountain Jam
Doc Watson - Steel Guitar Rag
Lonnie Mack - Memphis
Badder Than Evil - Hot Wheels
The Commodores - Machine Gun
The Incredible Bongo Band - Apache
The Champs - Tequila
Jimi Hendrix - Born Under a Bad Sign
Focus - Hocus Pocus
Ted Nugent - Hibernation
The Lively Ones - Surf Rider
Dick Dale - Night Rider
The Revels - Comanche
Apollo 100 - Joy
Hot Butter - Popcorn
King Curtis - Games People Play
Kool & the Gang - Summer Madness
Lee Scratch Perry - Samurai Swordsman
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - The End of the World, Wabash Cannonball
Bob Dylan - Pat Garret & Billy the Kid Main Theme
Robben Ford - Cannonball Shuffle


And any number of tunes from the following:
Chuck Berry
The Skatalites
Ernest Ranglin
Booker T. & the MGs
Dennis Coffey
The Chieftains
Floyd Cramer
Marcel Dadi
Zamfir

Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Mannheim Steamroller

The Miami Vice theme???????? seriously!

The Sky Is Crying

As far as SRV instrumentals, I've always been partial to Riviera Paradise, but Little Wing is good, too. And don't forget about Lenny.

And I've always LOVED Steve Vai's For The Love Of God from Passion and Warfare.

The Beverley Hills Cop theme - Axel F. by Harold Faltermeyer

From modern times: Ingwie Malmsteen's Trilogy.

Otherwise, lots of classical stuff. Bach's Chacone is never tiring, as well as the Goldberg Variations.

Cheers.

YYZ
La Villa Strangiato-Both by Rush

Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing-Joe Satriani

One of These Days-Pink Floyd

Feels So Good - Chuck Mangione