I know so many people go crazy over the Mick Taylor era, but there is no way this list can't have Some Girls on it. Here is the list:
Sticky Fingers Exile on Main Street Some Girls
* I really think you got to have Tattoo You also. Again the Mick Taylor era was obviously so special, but I love that late 70's/early 80's weave with Ronnie on top of his game. And I think Bill is at his best on those quick numbers from that era.
"You'll be studying history and you'll be down the gym. And I'll be down the pub, probably playing pool and drinking."
I really think EOMS is too dense for a newbie, and that all the pre-Beggar's albums might be too obscure/dated for most new (and I'm guessing, young) fans. If he's seen L&G, he can live a while longer without delving into the live albums. If we suggest too many compilations, he/she wouldn't get the feel of a real RS release on its own, just a mishmash of singles/tunes he could download from itunes. Some Girls and Sticky Fingers are probably the best power-packed discs for newbies, and Hot Rocks or one of the other mentioned compilations gives them some history. It's always a tough call on these because you just never know what the age/tastes/sonic expectations are of someone.
Many thanks all, I've been ill for a few weeks an unable to answer. The popular choices seem to be Exile On Main Street & Hot Rocks. Seems a good line up to me, a singles collection and two other of the greats. I think I'll start with these as Hot Rocks seems to cover their early stuff first and Exile... is an all-time classic.
IF you are only going to get 3 Stones albums for your collection, and want to have a broad, wide-ranging scope of their work, then I would go with this:
1. The London Years - the singles collection. This 3 cd set is all of their big hits and B-Sides from the start thru Brown Sugar and Wild Horses.
2. Jump Back. This is a greatest hits set of pretty much all of their hits since The London Years.
3. Voodoo Lounge. This is the quintessential Stones album that represents all that they are about, released some 30+ years after they had formed. It's dirty, bluesy, rock at its finest, with a vast array of songs and instrumentation. An immediate classic from the first note allll the way thru to the end.
...After all that, if you feel so inclined to continue to branch out, let your ears wander wherever you want. They do have some truly great albums - Sticky Fingers, Some Girls, Let It Bleed, Tattoo You, Goats Head Soup, Beggars Banquet, Stripped, Black and Blue, Flashpoint, Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out, Aftermath (US version), A Bigger Bang, but some of their early albums are hardly ever played by me....I would definitely reiterate what others here have said, and not start with Exile on Main Street. While one of their best albums, it is not the place to start. If this is the first album that you heard by the Stones, I'm not overly confident that you'd be swayed toward thinking so highly of them. It is something that one must approach after absorbing much of their other output.
Whatever you decide, best of luck to you, and enjoy!!
I'm new to getting high, and was hoping you guys could recommend me three albums that I could buy to give me a good taster of what getting stoned is all about.
Revovler Dark Side of the Moon The Beatles (White Album) Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band Days of Future Past In the Court of the Crimson King Larks Tongue in Aspic Wish You Were Here Meddle Ummagumma Mother's Invention We're Only in it for the Money The Who Quadrophenia Who's Next Black Sabbath Vol. 4 Black Sabbath Paranoid Led Zep Physical Graffiti David Bowie Low and Heroes Bowie Hunkey Dory T Rex Slider
The Pretty Things - SF Sorrow. Psychedelic beyond belief. It'll take you out to where the buses don't run. But be careful, things could get a little freaky on the way. Made the journey many times but always got home OK.