Building a jazz collection - essential purchases?

[hugh janus]

What are the 100 jazz albums that no home should be without? Submit your votes now.

[clifton]

I'm not going to give a complete list of 100, it would take a while, but here are some that I regard as essential: Louis Armstrong "Plays W.C. Handy", "Town Hall Concert", Duke Ellington "Such Sweet Thunder", "Far East Suite", Art Tatum "20th Century Piano Genius", Count Basie, "Complete Decca Recordings", Coleman Hawkins "Encounters Ben Webster", Charlie Parker "Jazz At Massey Hall", "Savoy And Dial Master Tapes", Dizzy Gillespie "Complete RCA Victor Recordings", Bud Powell, "Jazz Giant", Thelonious Monk "Brilliant Corners", Dexter Gordon "Go", Sonny Rollins "Three Giants", "Saxophone Colossus", Miles Davis "Kind Of Blue", "Miles Smiles", John Coltrane "Giant Steps", "A Love Supreme, Deluxe Edition", Ornette Coleman "At The Golden Circle Vol. 1 & 2", Sun Ra "Jazz In Silhouette", Herbie Hancock "Maiden Voyage ", "Thrust", Mahavishnu Orchestra "Birds Of Fire", Art Ensemble Of Chicago "Les Stances A Sophie", Charles Mingus "Let My Children Hear Music", Von Freeman "The Improviser", Sonny Criss "Up Up And Away", Dave Douglas "The Infinite", William Parker "O'Neals Porch", Dave Holland "Prime Directive", Cecil Taylor "Unit Structures", Joe Henderson "Mode For Joe", Lee Morgan "Search For The New Land", Sonny Stitt "Endgame Brilliance", Benny Goodman "Complete Trios And Quartets", Benny Carter "Further Definitions". There's so much great jazz available, I know I've omitted many great albums and artists, but I've tried to cover the entire history of jazz and I've tried to include some of today's best music. Responses?

[Herb]

not to spoil things, but there's a nice little section on the site which lists a few key records. for example, try:

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/library/masterpieces.htm

which is a much shorter list than 100, but not bad really.

[Crazy_Joker]

Plain and simple, no jazz collection is complete without the sounds of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Cannonball Adderly, Michael Pettruciani, Johnny Hartman, and Coleman Hawkins.

However, there is a form of jazz in Japan that is HIGHLY underrated. If you've ever seen the anime show Cowboy Bebop, or, have heard its music, you know what I'm talking about.

If you want to hear this music, go to Google and type in "Yoko Kanno", who is a mastermind of composing music. There are several sites which offer samples of her music, including my favorite off of the Cowboy Bebop Original Soundtrack, "Tank!".