Arguable Phish is a live band.  Albums aren't necessarily their strong point and there are tons of great Phish stuff that has never appeared on an album.  I recommend live over canned, especially for a newbie but most discover a good album first.  Note, Trey even recognized that they don't make good album so don't judge them by their can.

Junta: 1989, re-released in 1992.  Claimed to be the closes to untouched canned Phish by many, including Trey.  It's a great album with many notable songs including Fee, Golgi Apparatus, and Foam.  It also has the very important You Enjoy Myself and the enjoyable Fluffhead.  Junta is a must have for even a minor Phish Phan (if there is such a thing) and is one of the first albums I would give a newbie.  Warning: don't get bothered by the lack of lyrics in Dinner and Movie and David Bowie -- you'll appreciate them later in your Phishy life.

Lawn Boy: 1990.  Another must have classic album.  Many of these songs are still played at shows and Phans are expected to know the words.  Lawn Boy is one of my favorites, especially Bathtub Gin and My Sweet One but also for Split Open and Melt -- a Phish must know song.

Picture of Nectar: 1991. By far my least favorite Phish album and as much as it pains me -- one i rarely listen to.  Despite having great songs like Stash and Chalk Dust Torture, the album on a whole is just bad and I would recommend getting other versions of these songs (A Live One has most of them) and skip the whole cd all together.  Rolling Stone listed Nectar as one of the worst albums of 1991. Did I mention how painful this is...

Rift: 1993.  What a great album.  Rift is a concept album about a man falling asleep and dreaming of his troubles and its cover has a reference to all of the songs except for The Horse.  Rift contains great songs like Maze and It's Ice in addition to my personal favorite My Friend My Friend and Silent in the Morning.  Rift shows a more diverse and mellow side of the band that a newbie may never get from going to a show.  A second or third must have album.

Hoist: 1994.  Ahh the Horse reference.  This album has it good points and its bad ones as its one that I rarely listen to from start to finish but rather I listen to the same three songs ever time I listen to it.  Hoist of course contains Down with Disease which is the only video that Phish ever shot and is the only Phish song usually played on the radio until Ghost.  Hoist has several guests including Jon Frakes (Riker on Star Trek the Next Generation) playing trombone and Bela Fleck.  Songs included: Axilla Part II (yes there is an Axilla Part I) Julius, and Dog Face Boy.

A Live One: 1995.  Finally the Live stuff everyone's been demanding.  140 minutes of Phish at its best and is the only Phish album, to date, to go Platinum.  A Live One contains great songs like Stash, YEM, and Wilson.  Besides, Squirming Coil was tape in Pittsburgh.

Billy Breathes: 1996. With Mikes Photocopied faces on the cover, Billy Breathes is the quenticentia Phish cd that many non Phans own.  Its epic, its soothing and very enjoyable.  Billy Breathes was produced by Steve Lillywhite of U2 fame and contains great songs like Theme from the Bottom, Waste and Free.  This is the first cd I buy or recommend to any newbie and is one I listen to quite often.  Arguably the best Phish album ever.

Slip, Stitch, and Pass: 1997. Finally another Live album from the guys.  SSP has a great version of the Talking Heads "Cities" in addition to many of their own tunes like, Wolfman's Brother and Jesus left Chicago.  A good album to own eventually, but not a must have. In other words, borrow someones elses or burn it.

Story of the Ghost:  1998.  Another good cd but canned none the less.  Ghost includes more marketable songs like, Limb by Limb and Birds of a Feather as well as the classic Guyute and new favorites like Velvet Sea, the Moma Dance, and Water in the Sky.  If you like Farmhouse, you'd like Ghost. If you like Junta, I wouldn't buy it -- but thats just my opinion.

Hampton Comes Alive: 1999. Don't own it so i don't know how it is. it the Phish box set

Farmhouse: 2000.  I've only listened to it a couple times and its okay. its kind of along the same lines as Ghost is -- popular more radio type tunes.  song are all around five minutes and its really not Phish at it best.  Not horrible though either.  Actually much like Ghost it grows on you and you listen to at least part of the cd a lot.  Train is a great song and so is the first tube jam but both are better live and is all phish.  Farmhouse is a really good song too and seems to be the one stuck in my head the most.