[intoart]

Currently, the only Phish CD I have is Round Room. I enjoy it, and especially the song Pebbles & Marbles.
Their catalog is so huge that I can't possibly get all their CDs, and I don't know enough about them to make an informed decision.
Which 2 or 3 of their titles should I try next?

 

[Coltrane]

For studio stuff get:
Picture of Nectar
Billy Breathes
Rift
Farmhouse (more like round room and a bit 'normal')


Of course, live is where its at. Although, I did find that knowing the studio stuff helped me appreciate the live stuff more. For the most part the live stuff tends to be of high quality, with livephish.com offering FLAC downloads for relatively cheap. Many believe 12/31/95 might be their best show, but I like anything from 93-98ish. New stuff is fine too. Hell, you can already download their Bonnaroo closer from last night (with Bruce Springsteen for a few tunes) if you look in the right places.

It can be difficult to tackle Phish, just know that there is really no 'wrong' place to start or to continue. Just pick and choose from throughout the catalog and you will be fine.

 

[Oteil]

Billy Breathes is definitely their most accomplished studio cd, but I really enjoy most of them.
If you want phish live, of course this is where they are best, I would say get...
Phish-A Live One(very tight with lots of good jamming) It also has the best version of Harry Hood I have heard.
Phish - Slip,Stitch and Pass(this is very funky but has a long and loose jamming feel) excellent sound quality
Phish - Live at Madison Square Garden 95(this is considered by fans to be one of the best shows ever) This is back where they were still playing very,very tight shows...

Good luck!

 

[intoart]

Cool. I will start by ordering Billy Breathes and go from there.

My introduction to them was actually through one of their live DVDs.

 

[grawk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oteil /img/forum/go_quote.gif Billy Breathes is definitely their most accomplished studio cd, but I really enjoy most of them. If you want phish live, of course this is where they are best, I would say get... Phish-A Live One(very tight with lots of good jamming) It also has the best version of Harry Hood I have heard. Phish - Slip,Stitch and Pass(this is very funky but has a long and loose jamming feel) excellent sound quality Phish - Live at Madison Square Garden 95(this is considered by fans to be one of the best shows ever) This is back where they were still playing very,very tight shows... Good luck!

One of their best shows ever, and the worst of that particular run...but nothing since then has come close.

I'd recommend Rift and Picture of Nectar from the studio, and A Live One as the studio live release. The Live at MSG is very good, almost as good as the best audience recording from that show.

Any of their live shows from 94 or 95 should be excellent, and any time they played hampton was very good, with the exception of the "post hiatus" period.