Count Basie "88 Basie Street

Hard to go wrong with Basie. You might try "Chairman of the Board" if you can find it, but all the ones on Roulette and Pablo are pretty great, not to mention his early stuff on Columbia and other labels.

Agree with Dopogue's comments. I also really like "Chairman of the Board".

try the album on verve "the essential Basie" great playing and good sounding recording.

Basie rarely did a bad record, but if what you like is the recording quality "88 Basie Street" is exceptional. All of his records on the Pablo label, which were recorded late in his life, are very well recorded. In fact, Pablo in general has very high recording values. Another to check out is Roy Eldridge's "What it's All About".