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• Essential 10: Freak Out, We're Only In It For The Money, The Grand Wazoo, Hot Rats, One Size Fits All, The Lost Episodes, Apostrophe, Roxy & Elsewhere, Uncle Meat, Waka/jawake.
  These are essential because they're innovative, provocative, funny, rockin', bluesin', jazzy, boppin', eclectic, original, and so on.
  All musicians included are true stars. Most of these are from the '60's and '70's, later on Zappa produced lots of other interesting work, but the true novelty of the above mentioned lacked too often.
  

  Posted by Patvyn at 7:58 PM GMT 24/02/2010 Report Abuse

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• Me, I'd recommend Apostrophe first; it's got that trademark humor and some great ensemble playing, but it's not as inaccessible as some of Frank's more involved pieces. Then, Over-Nite Sensation, One Size Fits All, and/or Bongo Fury. THEN, if this all goes down smoothly, I'd suggest Burnt Weeny Sandwich (my personal favorite), Hot Rats, Waka/Jawaka and Live at the Fillmore 1971, Chunga's Revenge, and Just Another Band From L.A. I'm not a fan of anything post-Zoot Allures myself (Lather perhaps excepted), nor do the pre-Uncle Meat LPs really grab me either (although I do freely recognize the brilliance of Freak Out and We're Only In It For the Money) so this is where I'm sure I'll diverge from many of you. Weasels Ripped My Flesh, Roxy and Elsewhere, The Grand Wazoo, and the 200 Motels soundtrack all have their moments, but aren't for dabblers. I'm sure I'm leaving some out, but that's where I'd start if you asked me!

  Posted by Johnny Bacardi at 12:31 AM GMT 25/02/2010 Report Abuse

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• 
  Avoid Thing-Fish like month-old sushi.

  Posted by Phideaux3 at 12:46 AM GMT 25/02/2010 Report Abuse

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• RE: Phideaux3

  Okay, I felt compelled to clarify. I'm a long-time fan. I was really pissed when I bought this. No guitar solos, new, old, or whatever. Tons of re-used backing tracks. Hardly no new compositions. The story doesn't make sense, which is not that big of a deal, but 90 mins of re-hash spread over three LP's? WTF?!?! And the best song on the damn thing doesn't even have the melody he wrote for it!!! Too fracking weird. The live version of 'Evil Prince' KILLS. This entire package is STUPID.

  Posted by Phideaux3 at 12:55 AM GMT 25/02/2010 Report Abuse

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• "And in your dreams you can see yourself as a prophet saving the world. The words from your lips..! I can't believe you are such a fool."

  The point being that anyone that had to live through the Nixon years needs to have a copy of 'Roxy & Elsewhere.' The truths are still self-evident.

  Posted by N R Leas at 7:38 AM GMT 25/02/2010 Report Abuse

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• Sheikh Yerbouti is Zappa's great straight (almost) rock record. 'City of Tiny Lights' is astounding and uncharacteristically romantic.The Baby Snakes DVD is also an absolute must for fans of Zappa the rock star.

  Posted by Mark Holmes at 4:18 PM GMT 25/02/2010 Report Abuse

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• Burnt Weeny Sandwich: great showcase for Zappa's overwhelming, inspired eclecticism. Brilliantly all over the place.

  Posted by Stephen ICFQ at 10:53 AM GMT 26/02/2010 Report Abuse

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• ABSOLUTELY FREE . ONE SIZE FITS ALL . JOE'S GARAGE . start here and thank your lucky stars x

  Posted by larryrefrain at 4:51 PM GMT 26/02/2010 Report Abuse

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• Shun every Zappa album on which th' only drummer is white and American.

  Posted by Clark Gwent at 9:00 PM GMT 26/02/2010 Report Abuse

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• I have to give the nod to the original 2 record set "You Are What You Is" from 1981. It features probably his most adept, tightest band playing a wide range of provocative material. There are great vocals by Ike Willis and Ray White and diabolical "strat abuse" by Steve Vai. Some songs are edited together like a demented Abbey Road song suite. The album continues to impress with its chops and humor.

  Posted by Zappakyle at 11:48 PM GMT 26/02/2010 Report Abuse

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• Forgive me, for this is l-o-n-g:

  Because of his long and long-lasting career and output and as is the case with most artists with a comparable longevity, Mr. Zappa's recorded output can be chunked out stylistically within some fuzzy if not altogether distinct periods on a time line that for most listeners, starts around 1966 with the Mothers of Invention's "Freak Out" and ends with his death in 1993 with the nearby release of the Ensemble Modern's "Yellow Shark" live performance.

  Of course, there have been many “archival” collections issued with previously un-released material ranging from before the Mothers all the way through the rest of Zappa’s life.

  To buy Zappa you must first decide what you want your collection to consist of. Are you looking for:

  1) the best albums - either critically or because of a nostalgic connection;
  2) the best material but from specific periods - you may like the tongue-in-cheek psych but not the doo-wop; the social commentary but not the comedy music; the jazz ensembles but not the orchestral or
  3) a general "best of" as an overview?

  Let's assume a little of all three, shall we? The Arabic numbers identify your first round and is comprised of the essential staples (some with reservations) to provide the structure within which you may fill in the gaps after you’ve been properly inculcated. The fill-ins and extras are characterized by the alpha and lower-case roman numeral designated comments.

  See:

  i) LOST EPISODES (1958 – 1980, archival)
  ii) CUCAMONGA (1962 – 1964, archival)
  iii) JOE’S XMASAGE (1962 – 1965, archival)
  iv) MYSTERY DISC (1963 – 1969, archival)
  v) JOE’S CORSAGE (1965 – 1966, archival)

  All archival, all the time! Most are tid-bits and studio left-overs from the early days – some very interesting, some not. An exception from this logic is CUCAMONGA which features a- and b-sides from singles either produced or penned by Zappa for others through the PAL Studios in…..Cucamonga! (California!)

  
  1. FREAK OUT! (1966) The iconoclastic first album. Arguably the first rock double album (next to Blonde on Blonde). Elements of psych, doo-wop, blues, garage and graveyard shift alchemy – the last song is a 12:00 minute opus of cacophony complete with sirens and garbage-can percussion sounds. Get it for it’s first-ness.

  a) Later, as a converted fanatic, invest in the 4-disc The MOFO Project/Object chronicling the making of Freak Out!

  b) You may fill in with the Mother’s 2nd release ABSOLUTELY FREE (1967) after your primary syllabus is complete. Worth it alone for the epic “Brown Shoes Don’t Make It”

  2. WE’RE ONLY IN IT FOR THE MONEY (1968) More wool-over-the eyes psych, beautiful melodies drenched in ensemble quirkiness, musique concrete and creepy studio whispering by Eric Clapton.

  a) Experts: LUMPY GRAVY (1968) Part 2 of the above with side long (remember LPs?) pastiches and quick edits bolted together with modern orchestral passages.

  b) Fanatics: The 3-disc LUMPY MONEY – the making of WE’RE ONLY… and LUMPY GRAVY.

  3. UNCLE MEAT (1969) Another double album. Mind blowing sax freakouts, intricate tinker-toy marimba exercises, more doo-wop and a song (“Dog Breath, In the Year of the Plague”) that features upwards of 60 tracks of woodwinds. Be warned that the CD version contains 41+ minutes of unreleased movie dialogue and a 1980’s anachronistic rock throw-away – none of which appears on the original LP.

  a) Doo-Wop fanatics: CRUISING WITH RUBEN & THE JETS (1968) featuring greasy doo-wop versions of songs from Freak Out and then some.

  b) Fans: AHEAD OF THEIR TIME (1968 London performance). Utilizes the same Mothers’ personnel who appear on their ground-breaking studio albums thus far.

  4. HOT RATS (1969) Considered by many as Zappa’s finest moment. The more seasoned possibly see this as just another example of his diverse musical and conceptual palette. Mostly instrumental (save for the collaboration with Capt. Beefheart on “Willie the Pimp”). Jazz cats playing a unique brand of Zappa Jazz/Rock. Heavy on the woodwinds, some upright bass and a first real glimpse of Zappa’s electric guitar prowess.

  a) Coming back for more: BURNT WEENY SANDWICH (1970) Dare we say, more Doo-Wop (this time, 2 covers) which bookend the album. The guts of it represent some fine instrumental work – a chimey preview of a theme from 200 motels, a couple of woodwind exercises, a solo piano piece and a 18+ minute live jam featuring Don “Sugar Cane” Harris on the violin and Zappa with organ and guitar solos.

  5. WEASELS RIPPED MY FLESH (1970) All over the place – texturally a very interesting and genuinely under-rated album. Contains lots of gems including a vocal version of a theme from Lumpy Gravy (“Oh No”) being perhaps one of Zappa’s most beautiful (albeit obtuse) melodies ever.

  vi) QuADIOPHILIAc (material from 1970 to 1978 – half live, half studio). Mostly alternate and live versions of previously available material, reprocessed for surround sound. DVD audio.

  6a CHUNGA’S REVENGE (1970)
  6b 200 MOTELS (1971)
  6c FILLMORE EAST (1971)
  6d JUST ANOTHER BAND FROM LA (1972)

  Here’s a little slice of heaven I like to call “the Flo and Eddie Years” (6b being a 2-disc movie soundtrack; 6c and 6d – documenting two live performances).

  Chunga’s Revenge has it’s moments but is a little light-weight compared to what has come before. 200 Motels is an orchestral (although slightly immature – for Zappa, that is) tour-de-force whose climax is the beautifully melodic “Strictly Genteel” sung by Theodore Bikel. The 2 live discs feature great small combo rock songs and vocals by Flo and Eddie (Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan from the Los Angeles 60’s band, the Turtles) hamming it up with relentlessly nasty anecdotes about life on the road as a touring band. Epitomizes the self-perpetuated cliché, “Zappa’s comedy music”. On Fillmore…, (which really does have some excellent musical ideas) you unexpectedly get the Mothers performing the Turtles’ “Happy Together”. On Just Another Band…a 24+ minute “Billie the Mountain” – chock full of schtickiness.

  To delve in here, you’ve really got to have a thick skin or a penchant for penis, breast and vagina jokes. Recommended with reservations.

  e) Gotta have more? Try PLAYGROUND PSYCHOTICS which outlines the happenings of the band through it’s travels and performances on tour. Contains the full on stage collaboration with John Lennon and Yoko Ono (from the Fillmore 1971 performance as evidenced previously on the Sometime In New York City John & Yoko album) and an
  alternate rendition (this time, over 30 minutes) of "Billie the
  Mountain."

  7a WAKA/JAWAKA (1972)
  7b THE GRAND WAZOO (1972)
  
  Biggish band and juicy with jazz changes. Spare on the vocals (but what there is is great) and overflowing with satisfying horn arrangements. A treat for those looking to discover “what’s next?” in a series of Zappa’s ground- (and genre-) breaking sessions of musical exploration.

  c) Completists: JOE’s DOMAGE – 1972 rehearsal sessions
  for the above. Hmmm.

  d) For later: WAZOO and IMAGINARY DISEASES (both live in ’72) Taking the band and the material for the above on the road.

  LIVE:

  vii) YOU CAN’T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE VOL. 5
  (live material covering 1966 – 1982)

  viii) YOU CAN’T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE VOL. 1
  (live material covering 1969 – 1984)

  ix) YOU CAN’T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE VOL. 4
  (live material covering 1969 – 1988)

  x) YOU CAN’T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE VOL. 6
  (live material covering 1970 – 1988)

  xi) YOU CAN’T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE VOL. 3
  (live material covering 1971 – 1984)

  You’re either into the material at this point or you’re not; the above listed in a semi-chronological fashion. As much of the material on each set also comes from late 70’s to late 80’s performances, to be exposed to that at this point after hearing bunches of 60’s and early 70’s Zappa music as a first listener can be jarring due to the slick, synth-laden material of that latter period. Note that Vol. 2 (not mentioned here as of yet) will nestle in nicely in the 1974-era as it is a complete concert from Helsinki.

  This has turned out to be a primer covering material from beginning to 1972. If anyone likes what has been out-lined here, I will do the next half at a later date. All ya’ gotta do is ask!
  

  Posted by Gregory Griffith at 5:45 AM GMT 27/02/2010 Report Abuse

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• Start with Roxy and elsewhere. If you don't get the humor, if you aren't dazzled by the compositions and musicianship, if you don't find yourself enthralled by the obvious passion that went into every note, then you'll probably have little use for any of Frank's work. But if you "get it"...you're in for a wonderful ride that will reward repeated listenings many times over, as they continue to do so for me some 40 years on.

  Posted by Bruce White, Atlanta, GA USA at 3:26 AM GMT 28/02/2010 Report Abuse

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• Start with Roxy and elsewhere. If you don't get the humor, if you aren't dazzled by the compositions and musicianship, if you don't find yourself enthralled by the obvious passion that went into every note, then you'll probably have little use for any of Frank's work. But if you "get it"...you're in for a wonderful ride that will reward repeated listenings many times over, as they continue to do so for me some 40 years on.

  Posted by Bruce White, Atlanta, GA USA at 3:26 AM GMT 28/02/2010 Report Abuse

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• Okay, as the blurb up top rightly points out, this 'How To Buy' has got to be the most essential you've ever done. You've got to get this right! Most important: you simply CANNOT stack the top ten with early releases; you've got to cover the entirety of Zappa's career, from psychedelic parody to gonzo hard rock to synthesizer skronk.

  Here are my top five, in descending order:
  1- OVERNITE SENSATION: The best introduction to Zappa you could hope for. It contains everything that makes him great: trenchant social satire, scabrous innuendo, impeccable playing, ear-catching melodies, and a dizzying array of instruments and time signatures, all packed into under 40 minutes.
  2- JOE'S GARAGE: Zappa's most sustained conceptual work. The first Act features some of his last great in-your-face rock songs, plus prescient commentary about music censorship. Act 2 cuts loose with hilarious potshots at 'Appliantology'' and mind-bending 'xenochronos' guitar playing, while Act 3 features his most beautiful guitar solo ever: 'Watermelon In Easter Hay'.
  3- FREAK OUT: The only album of Zappa's that could be called 'conventional – in a good way, as it allows his natural gifts for melody and hooks, which would sometimes get obscured on later releases, to shine through. Also the last time Zappa's parody could be described as 'affectionate'.
  4- HOT RATS: A no-brainer. Still Zappa's most widely renown release, because it's challenging, innovative and LISTENABLE, which is more than you could say for some of his later jazz-rock excursions. Immaculately arranged and lustily played.
  5- LATHER: This simply HAS TO BE INCLUDED. No question. If it had been released in its original 4-LP form in the late 70s it would now be considered Zappa's masterpiece. As it is today, the CD release gives us the original un-overdubbed versions of all four albums, running the gamut from decidedly un-PC hard rock and live shaggy dog stories to acoustic jazz rock and classical fragments. Everything that Zappa was about is contained within.

  To round off my top ten, I would pick: One Size Fits All ('Inca Roads' is maybe the perfect Zappa song), We're Only In It For The Money, Zoot Allures, Broadway The Hard Way, and Jazz From Hell. Sheik Yerbouti is also great, but it's kinda made redundant by Lather.

  Posted by Cowtools at 9:51 AM GMT 28/02/2010 Report Abuse

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• 1. Overnite Sensation
  A great point of entry. Apostrophe gets a lot of spin but it's OS that's the real winner.
  2. You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol.2: The Helsinki Concert
  Arguably the best era for Zappa stage bands. Has the best version of "Village of the Sun," a rare sentimental piece from FZ.
  3. Roxy and Elsewhere
  Has the second best version of "Village of the Sun." Thoroughly entertaining.
  4. Chunga's Revenge
  An overlooked work but the title cut makes it all worthwhile.
  5. We're Only In It For the Money
  The Mothers' finest hour? Maybe.
  6. Freak Out!
  OK, you could make the case that *this* is the finest hour not only of the Mothers but of the mid-60s.
  7. One Size Fits All
  Features "Inca Roads" and "Andy," two of his most beautiful pieces.
  8. You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol.3
  The sprawling version of "King Kong" is good fun.
  9. Beat the Boots Vol.2
  Zappa albums are great but many of the bootlegs tell a more complete story. The first edition of this rare box was OK but Vol.2 contains the real delicious center.
  10. Joe's Garage
  Maybe FZ's final great studio album.

  
  

  Posted by Jedd Beaudoin at 8:51 PM GMT 01/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• Most essential Zappa: Hot Rats - An Album with cuts as delicious as its title!

  Best Live Representation: Imaginary Diseases - A little exam analogy: Imaginary Diseases is to Zappa as At Filmore East is to Allmans

  Album with his best single: Weasels Ripped My Flesh - "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Momma" should be a Rock 'n' Roll Mantra like "Give Peace a Chance"

  Posted by Dylan Bob at 3:41 AM GMT 02/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• The perfect entrance to the mustached universe : You can't do that on stage anymore Vol. 1.
  I discovered Frank's crazy world with this disc, and I came to Zoot allures or Burnt Weeny sandwich after that.
  A greal live album, full of almost all faces of Mr. Z...

  Posted by Ludovic Desmedt at 6:20 PM GMT 03/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• Freak Out! The only album more Frank than Zappa.
  The Mothers were still, more or less, a group not a vehicle; leadership hadn't yet calcified into authoritarianism, wariness into paranoia,scepticism into cynicism and arrogance into contempt.
  No pointless displays of virtuosity, just a roomful of freaks beating-up Louie Louie with 12 thousand bucksworth of hired percussives.
  The sneer's still there (You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here, Wowie Zowie) but tempered by compassion -Trouble Every Day might well be a parody of Barry McGuire-style protest but it still comes from the heart otherwise it wouldn't have been stretched out to almost 6 minutes.
  AND it's the most covers-friendly of all Effzee's 80 odd recordings: my decidedly less than comprehensive record collection includes outside versions of 5 of the 15 tunes.

  Runners-up: Absolutely Free; Only In It For the Money; the original vinyl Reuben & The Jets (NOT the re-mixed abomination available on CD), Uncle Meat, Burnt Weeny Sandwich, Weasels Ripped My Flesh (if only for the Oh No / Orange County Lumber Truck diptych), Grand Wazoo.
  

  Posted by plushpig at 8:35 AM GMT 08/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• The best of Frank Zappa

  Posted by Jim Broadbent at 5:31 PM GMT 08/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• Apostrophe is the best album and the Over-nite Sensation, it's even better if you get the CD with both albums on.

  My introduction to Framk Zappa was The Mothers Live at the Filmore East so that always has a special place for me and has all of his great elements captured in a live performance.

  Posted by Anonymous at 12:12 PM GMT 10/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• Given that this should be a starting point, I'd recommend the following:

  1) Hot Rats
  2) Freak Out!
  3) You Are What You Is
  4) Apostrophe
  5) Fillmore East

  Only then can you start to decide which strands of the great man's work you'd want to explore further.

  Posted by Glasgow_Gill at 3:55 PM GMT 10/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• Without a shadow of doubt, the best thing I have heard exiting the Zappa Vaults in many years, has got to be the new Philly 76 live album. It is a full show, unedited or tweezed, zircon or otherwise, and has the astounding vocals of Lady Bianca on it. Her voice takes the familiar Zappa material and brings it to new heights. Tha band are absolutely on fire, searing guitar solos, majestic singing and outstandingly tight ensemble playing. An unquestionable must buy for the Zappa fans.

  Posted by Thingphish at 10:25 AM GMT 11/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• Without a shadow of doubt, the best thing I have heard exiting the Zappa Vaults in many years, has got to be the new Philly 76 live album. It is a full show, unedited or tweezed, zircon or otherwise, and has the astounding vocals of Lady Bianca on it. Her voice takes the familiar Zappa material and brings it to new heights. Tha band are absolutely on fire, searing guitar solos, majestic singing and outstandingly tight ensemble playing. An unquestionable must buy for the Zappa fans.

  The lineup - FZ, Terry Bozzio, Ray White, Patrick O’Hearn, Eddie Jobson and Bianca Thornton

  Posted by Thingphish at 10:28 AM GMT 11/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• I started early and owned nearly everything Zappa recorded up until Apostrophe, he dominated my listening for years. Then I foolishly thought that I had outgrown his music and sold all of my vinyl, including bootlegs. About 20 years ago I heard my brother in law's copy of Broadway The Hardway and had to buy it. Since then I have gradually rebought much of his back catalogue, the most recent addition is the wonderful Waka Jawaka. So my top 5 would be:
  1. Broadway The Hardway, for rekindling my interest in his music. It has a bit of everything, the wit and humour, satire, trademark guitar solos, a band so on the top of their game it's hard to believe it's live and of course the magnificant vocals.
  2. Uncle Meat.
  3. The Grand Wazoo
  4. Overnite Sensation
  5. Burnt Weeny Sandwich
  

  Posted by Simon Davies at 5:17 PM GMT 11/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• Burnt Weeny Sandwich Zappa bolts into the creative stratosphere and still has time to acknowledge his musical heroes. A love letter to the past. and an invitation to follow him towards his musical peak over the next few years. This tasty sucker contains some spiffy instrumentals placed between two slices of wonderfully greasy R&B.

  Robert Akins
  San Francisco CA
  Home of the Original Plastic People!

  Posted by Robert Akins at 9:42 PM GMT 18/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• 1.Hot Rats -fantastic
  2. Joe's Garage - my introduction to FZ, Accesible
  3.Sheik Yerbouti- Yo Mama has brilliant gtr solo
  4.Freak Out! _ Help I'm A Rock!
  5. Apostrophe

  Ruaidhri Mac Dublin

  Posted by Ruaidhri at 6:13 PM GMT 23/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• RE: Clark Gwent
  "Shun every Zappa album on which th' only drummer is white and American."

  And miss the sheer joy of listening to Terry Bozzio and Vinnie Colaiuta? I don't think so. Apart from the implicit racism in your comment, as FZ said, "Your mind is like a parachute, it doesn't work when it's closed".

  Posted by Lonesome Cowboy Burt at 12:57 PM GMT 24/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• Snog: One Size Fits All - generally regarded by fans as THE ONE. Every cover band just has to learn Inca Roads, Florentine Pogen and Andy.
  Marry: Hot Rats - I loved this when I first heard it in 1971, and still do. It's unlike anything else in his wondrous canon.
  Avoid: Joe's Domage - a posthumously released rehearsal tape that should have remained in the vault.

  Posted by Stanley Hope at 1:03 PM GMT 24/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• how an honorable mention for Sleep Dirt? the title track being a BEAUTIFUL 2 man acoustic guitar jam. I found the LP (as well as a decent copy of Hot Rats) for cheap in a vintage shop in the early 90's and both titles remain my two 'instrumental' faves. I bought the Ryko cd re-issue of SD a few years ago and, honestly, was dismayed to hear that previously unused vocals had been dumped onto to the new version.

  Posted by mike bell at 4:25 PM GMT 24/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• how about an honorable mention for Sleep Dirt? the title track being a BEAUTIFUL 2 man acoustic guitar jam. I found the LP (as well as a decent copy of Hot Rats) for cheap in a vintage shop in the early 90's and both titles remain my two 'instrumental' faves. I bought the Ryko cd re-issue of SD a few years ago and, honestly, was dismayed to hear that previously unused vocals had been dumped onto to the new version.

  Posted by mike bell at 4:26 PM GMT 24/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• how about an honorable mention for Sleep Dirt? the title track being a BEAUTIFUL 2 man acoustic guitar jam. I found the LP (as well as a decent copy of Hot Rats) for cheap in a vintage shop in the early 90's and both titles remain my two 'instrumental' faves. I bought the Ryko cd re-issue of SD a few years ago and, honestly, was dismayed to hear that previously unused vocals had been dumped onto to the new version.

  Posted by mike bell at 4:28 PM GMT 24/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• Hot Rats:This was the moment that Zappa stepped away from pretending to be a dirty hippy garage rocker from Laurel Canyon, and started showing the world what he could do. Lyrical, weird, and as interesting as anything Captain Beefheart, who appears on Hot Rats, was doing at the time.

  Posted by Robmo35 at 1:34 AM GMT 25/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• Hot Rats:This was the moment that Zappa stepped away from pretending to be a dirty hippy garage rocker from Laurel Canyon, and started showing the world what he could do. Lyrical, weird, and as interesting as anything Captain Beefheart, who appears on Hot Rats, was doing at the time.

  Posted by Robmo35 at 1:35 AM GMT 25/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• Joe's Domage was greeted with a barrage of rage and fury upon its release in 2004, and I guess this album would be most people's choice to avoid.

  Not me.

  Have you ever wished you could have been there at the creation of one of your all-time favourite albums? Well, Joe's Domage gives you just that opportunity - an hour of real time rehearsal with FZ teaching the "Grand Wazoo" big-band how to play some of his most gorgeous compositions.

  It's probably the strangest album concept since the Beach Boys' Stacks-o-Tracks, but hey, why not strap on your guitar or pick up your trombone, and join in the fun!

  Posted by Peter Daniels at 6:29 AM GMT 25/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• ONE SIZE FITS ALL !!!
  When I look at all the posts here it looks like Zappa's masterpiece from 1975 will hardly make the final top list

  Posted by Peter Van Rock at 8:06 AM GMT 25/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• Top five:
  1. "We're only in it for the Money" - introducing cut-up techniques to the world of pop music. Goin' down to Frisco to play my bongos in the dirt.
  2. "Cruising with Ruben and The Jets" - a tribute to low-fi doo wop, with gorgeous vocals and drum sound out of this world. Never issued on CD in it's original mix.
  3. "One Size Fits All" - The best from this amazing edition of The Mothers.
  4. "Roxy and Elsewhere" - Live from more or less the same group. Watch Ruth.
  5. "Overnight Sensation" - where Zappa became a bone fide rock star.

  Posted by Bob Isaaks at 1:32 PM GMT 25/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• Don't bother, it's all bloody awful

  Posted by Miriam Stoppard at 2:15 PM GMT 27/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• I grew up listening to FZ,especially the early Verve lp's. I just want to say be careful buying cd's because when he put those on cd FZ had "improved" the sound and even replaced some performances.it just didn't sound the same and I couldn't like it. Stick with the original vinyls if you can.

  Posted by SG Lazarus at 6:55 PM GMT 31/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• I grew up listening to FZ,especially the early Verve lp's. I just want to say be careful buying cd's because when he put those on cd FZ had "improved" the sound and even replaced some performances.it just didn't sound the same and I couldn't like it. Stick with the original vinyls if you can.

  Posted by SG Lazarus at 6:56 PM GMT 31/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• I grew up listening to FZ,especially the early Verve lp's. I just want to say be careful buying cd's because when he put those on cd FZ had "improved" the sound and even replaced some performances.it just didn't sound the same and I couldn't like it. Stick with the original vinyls if you can.

  Posted by SG Lazarus at 6:57 PM GMT 31/03/2010 Report Abuse

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• RE: Lonesome Cowboy Burt

  Which albums did they play on then? The lesser ones when he surrounded hisself with yes-men! Following my rule of thumb gets ya the Original Mothers, the Ainsley Dunbar years, Bongo Fury, Roxy....

  Plus white Americans aren't a race you fool.

  Posted by Clark Gwent at 6:34 PM GMT 13/04/2010 Report Abuse

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• RE: Gregory Griffith

  Please do the second half! I use the first one frequently to help people out when I'm trying to explain for the first time.

  Posted by Datisit at 9:06 PM GMT 09/11/2010 Report Abuse

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• Weasels Ripped My Flesh
  Absolutely Free
  Bongo Fury
  We're Only In It For The Money
  Hot Rats

  Posted by vollsticks at 2:41 PM GMT 30/12/2010 Report Abuse

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• "There can(not) be only one":

  Apostrophe
  Zappa in New York
  Overnite Sensation
  Joe's Garage Act I
  We're only in it for the money
  You Are What You Is
  Zoot Allures
  Roxy & Elsewhere
  Just another Band From L.A.
  Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
  Absolutely Free

  In no particular order

  Posted by Nuno at 3:12 PM GMT 14/03/2011 Report Abuse

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