I suggest you start with two books:
"Original Jazz Classics Collector’s guide" (1995)
"All Music Guide to Jazz" 3rd and 4th Editions. (1998 & 2002)
Both paperbacks and only available used.
You will know just about everything recorded by the most important artists, and a very good review of each album.
Don’t be put off by the dates of the books. Remember, a lot of people think that the best year for Jazz was 1959.
Between Amazon, Discogs, Presto and ebay, you should find most of it.
+1 JAZZ FOR AFICIONADOS thread.
Cheers
BTW, If they could be easily replaced, they would not have been considered giants.