Now that you've been sold on jazz, it's time to go out and buy some music. The good news is that you will not have to fork out 15 or 17 dollars for a CD. The average jazz CD costs about 10 to 14 dollars, a relative bargain. The bad news is that there are so many CD's out there. Sometimes, It can be hard to find good CD's to start a collection. Here are some tips to start your collection.

1) Shop Online

The Internet is the best place to buy CD's. Period. Not only do you get dramatically lower prices on the Net, but your chances of finding the CD you are looking for are also much better. Through my experience, Amazon is the best place to buy CD's from. That's why I have links to them throughout my site. You can find any CD you want on the site, and they get the CD to you faster. For your convenience, use the links I have here to shop.

2) Buy Compilations to Start your Collection

The best CD's to buy to start your collection are compilations, CD's that borrow songs from many previous recordings to give the listener an introduction to a genre or artist. (Author's Note: When you talk to your hip friends about what CD's they own, call them 'recordings' or 'sessions'). These CD's will also provide helpful liner notes to help you better understand the music and the artist. They also come with lists of the original recordings the artist made.

Compilations usually come in series. The best series is "This is Jazz", which is put out by Columbia/Sony. It covers a large assortment of great jazz artists, from Louis Armstrong's earliest recording to Miles Davis' music in the 1980's.

If you find an artist you like, go out and buy his original recordings. Use the recordings listed in the liner notes of your compilation CD as a guide. Also, listen to artists who influenced or were influenced by artists you like already.

3) The First Five CD's

If I could buy you any five CD's to start your collection, these would be my picks. Notice that three of my picks are not compilations. These three CD's are absolutely must haves for everyone, from a fresh listener to a jazz aficionado. You can buy all of these CD's from Amazon by clicking on the link.

This Is Jazz #1 - Louis Armstrong (The most important artist in history should be your first pick.)

This Is Jazz #16 - Maynard Furgeson (Maynard's music sounds so hip and so rock-like that you may forget he's playing jazz!)

Charlie Parker - The Genius of Charlie Parker (Jazz's most brilliant soloist definitely deserves to be in your collection.)

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (One of the best recordings ever. If the haunting beauty of Miles' trumpet doesn't hook you on jazz, maybe nothing will!)

John Coltrane - Giant Steps (Absolutely riveting playing. The best CD by one of the best players of all time.)

The following CD is the origin of "Yardbird Suite" from the crash course. Mulligan is a delightful player, and I highly reccomend him to everyone. "The Fox Hunt" can be found on the Maynard Furgeson CD above. I tried like hell to get the Britney Spears CD on here, but my computer froze everytime I tried to post the link. You can, however, drool at another picture of her. See ya later!

Gerry Mulligan - California Concerts, Vol 1