Thinking about this, if I wanted to turn a friend into a fan of a band (or artist) I liked, which album would I recommend listening to as the best introduction to that band (or artist).

For example, if I wanted to turn someone into a fan of Pink Floyd, the first album I would recommend the friend listen to would be "The Dark Side of the Moon". Because if the friend liked that, then I know that the friend possibly might also like more of Pink Floyd's music. But if the friend didn't like it, then I would know the band is not for that friend.

So for this thread, pick a band plus pick an album to best introduce someone to that band. And it doesn't necessarily have to be studio albums either, live albums or compilation albums work too. It just has to be one and only one album that you think is the best introduction to that band or artist.

For Pink Floyd, I would play "The Wall"

Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime

Question : Is it ever okay to introduce somebody to a band by using their Greatest Hits album? I would say : only Bob Marley.

I'd say the same for Pearl Jam, start with Ten. All the places they go after are better appreciated through Ten. Has anyone seen the documentary PJ20? They debut their first concert like 2 days after writing songs like Alive and they sound pretty much exactly like the finished product, it was lightning in a bottle!

I don't recommend anyone start with Mutations for Beck, but believe it or not that was the first Beck record I bought and listened to completely. What a backwards way to get into Beck.

I feel like this question is good for those artists with a deep catalog, so I'd say Ten for Pearl Jam, Sunlandic Twins or maybe Hissing Fauna Are You the Destroyer? for Of Montreal, Kid A for Radiohead, Midnight Vultures for Beck, for kicks I'd start someone on Jar of Flies for Alice in Chains, and I'd give a slight edge to Californication over Blood Sugar Sex Magic for Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Believe it or not, I may go Wish You Were Here over Dark Side or The Wall for Pink Floyd. Ballads, hard rock, major solos, synth work, and a mix of long overture with no lyrics and then some of the most intimate lyrics imaginable. It's a hood place to start.

Nah, I think it's okay. Look, Stevie Wonder, Al Green, and Marvin Gaye all cut tremendous, tremendous records but their best of really encompass their whole careers in some great ways. I've used those three Best Of records to introduce young people to "older" music and it's worked.

I agree ... I don't see anything wrong with a "Greatest Hits" or "Best of" compilation if it's well put-together and it isn't a band that suffers too much by having songs taken out of context of their albums. I know that I got into many older bands that way (delving into the back catalogs after trying and liking the compilations).

Of course some groups, like Pink Floyd, aren't represented well by compilations. Led Zeppelin is another. My introduction to them was when someone left their 4th album cassette lying around in the 80s and I gave it a listen. That's how I would still go when trying to introduce them to someone new.

Thinking of other favorites ... The Beatles would be one I'd lean towards exposing someone to a good compilation first. As much as I love their studio albums, there's so much of their style you wouldn't be exposed to by just picking one.

Bruce Springsteen though ... I think you get a better sense of him from one of his breakthrough albums than a compilation (I would go Born to Run though I know others would go Born in the USA).

I recently saw Rocketman and Elton John has been a long-time favorite. With him I'd give someone a good compilation. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is a classic, but like most of his albums is eclectic and silly at times.

Agreed . Odelay would be the intro album 1000 times out of 1000.

Its funny you mentioned Pink Floyd and Dark Side right off the bat because when I read the thread title, I immediately thought Floyd would be the hardest band to assess considering the band has had 3 different leaders throughout their career. Piper at the Gates of Dawn and Dark Side of the Moon are both masterpieces, but are essentially from 2 different bands. The way I would break it down would be by introducing someone to Syd Barrett with Piper and then Pink Floyd with Dark Side. OR, conversely I would introduce someone to Barrett and PATGOD and then show them the Behind the Music Pink Floyd doc and educate them on the narrative of Syd's life, THEN introduce them to Floyd 2.0 with Wish You Were Here, with the back story and legend of the recording of that album.

Thank you for saving me a lot of typing.

I love all 3 incarnations, but they are quite different. It would very much depend on the friend, as to which album would be most likely to appeal to them.

Prince - Sign 'O the Times

Purple Rain had more hits, but Sign O' The Times is a bit more representative of what you get with Prince. I do not think a compilation would do Prince justice, but I can see how it would work for other bands/artists.

The only case where I would recommend a "compilation" for a band, would be the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack for the Bee Gees.

(I can't think of any other Bee Gees album which would be representative of their work).

Going on a more general tangent.

There is one case which comes to mind where I would recommend a series of albums, where I can't single out just one album to introduce.

This would be the first three albums of Duran Duran. (Rio, Seven and the Ragged Tiger, and the 1st self-titled albums).

Saturday Night Fever isn't a compilation of Bee Gees songs. They were all original for the movie with one exception (Jive Talking).

I agree and weird to see them mentioned, one of those bands I love that no one knows about. I have seen them twice in the last year and I have to tell people they did the Outback commercial.

I think these 3 depends on what you are trying to get them into as all 3 are very different bands/sounds depending on time frame. I grew up on Metallica, heard them first time in 1985, but I can't stand anything after In Justice For All and I don't think that one is very good. RHCP is in the same vein, I think there new stuff is trash, but Blood Sugar and before are good to great, Mother's Milk would be the one I would recommend. Prince is one that people can love 1999/Purple Rain but hate Diamonds and Pearls and later, so I agree with Sign and if they don't like that go 1999/Purple Rain.

I agree 100% about RHCP. Mother's Milk is the place to start. Depending on which songs the person likes, either go forward or backward from there (hopefully backwards).

Another tricky one to me is Jimmy Buffett. You've got the Song You Know By Heart crowd and the Parrothead crowd (like myself) that no longer cares for most of those songs. I'd probably go with the "compilation" Encores as the intro, since it eliminates Margaritaville and Cheeseburger, but still provides a good sampling as well as a feel for the live shows. The only thing it misses is some of the more recent collaborations with country artists.

I'm a big Bowie fan and I'm on board with this. With he's had many different styles, Ziggy's is the place to start.

Duran Duran was the first live concert I saw (in support of Seven and the Ragged Tiger). Still, I think Rio stands out from those three and would be a good one-album introduction (with the other two after someone liked Rio).

The Who - Who's Next

The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers. I'd go with this over a sprawling collection (like 40 Licks) since unlike the Beatles I think the Stones have a clearer classic "sound". And I think Sticky Fingers represents that sound the best, giving the new listener a mix of rockers, blues, ballads, jams with a couple of big hits too (Let it Bleed would be a good choice too though).

Kiss - Alive.
Cheap Trick - at Budokan. I'm generally not a fan of live albums, but these are a couple of exceptions that arguably capture these bands better than studio albums.

Some bands are better represented by compilations, some by albums.

I've seen them twice, too, they're great live. It was at the height of Sunlandic Twins and previewing Hissing Fauna. Strangely, a song I never found to be a favorite, I Was Never Young, was my absolute favorite live. The trumpets were SO LOUD, loved it!

I mentioned them in my list because they have so many, many records and, I'm sorry if they're you're favorite, some of that later stuff like Skeletal Lamping, The Controllersphere, and even False Priest, just got really, really weird. It doesn't all work for me, but I don't think they even get to that for the sake of experimentation without doing things like Hissing Fauna and Icons Abstract Three. Start with their biggest record - Sunlandic Twins - or their best - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?