Welcome to Jazz 100, where we aim to bring you the very best jazz ever released on CD. Here you will find jazz lists based on comprehensive statistical surveys of critics, record stores, popular polls and our very own online polls. Our primary aim is to build lists that will appeal to popular sensibilities and, as such, casual listeners should find it a useful place to start when setting out to build the ultimate jazz collection (albums, collections & compilations). More seasoned jazz aficionados should also find plenty of interest.

The Top 200 Jazz CDs
Originally starting out as a straight Top 100, over time the main list has evolved into a Top 200 in order to include a wider range of worthy artists. Miles Davis' classic Kind of Blue is streets ahead of the rest in top spot, with John Coltrane's A Love Supreme comfortably holding the #2 position. With several high-ranking entries Coltrane is by far the most popular artist overall, while newer artists continue to struggle for attention against the level of interest in older jazz music. (Updated 19 September 2009)

The New Breed Top 100
A big problem with any sort of "all-time best" list based on a statistical survey is that newer stuff tends to have little or no chance of making the cut. For this reason we also maintain a Top 100 strictly devoted to contemporary recordings released over the last ten years. At the beginning of each year we scour the net for any critics poll or notable list devoted to the last year's releases. These are then tallied, with the strongest performers added to the online poll. (Updated 19 September 2009)

Handy Reference

The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings: Ninth Edition
(2008) by Cook & Morton

The latest edition of the world's most authoritative guide to jazz recordings is still tops in its field.

This fantastic guide has outlasted all competitors to remain the freshest and most up-to-date of its kind on the market. The book's main feature is, of course, its rated reviews of thousands upon thousands of jazz recordings arranged alphabetically by artist.

Whist it is virtually impossible to please all of the people all of the time (especially jazz aficionados), the authors do a pretty respectable job of defining jazz and including the most important works. The star-rating system is intended to be as objective as possible, with a special crown awarded to recordings the authors feel are outstanding. Also featured is a 'core collection' of must-own records.

Iconic DVDs

Various Artists
Jazz Icons Series
(2006-Present) Naxos

Historically Inclined

The History of Jazz
(1997) by Ted Gioia
Oxford University Press

The vaults of European TV studios offer up the fourth set in Naxos' superb 'Jazz Icons' DVD series.

In some cases gathering dust for almost 50 years, these sensational performances have been masterfully transferred to DVD and packaged to perfection. Discs in the series are released both individually and in attractively-priced boxed sets.

While it would be hard to pass up any of the four sets released so far, the best individual title would have to be the 95-minute John Coltrane entry. Featuring outstanding concerts from 1960, '61 and '65 and support from Oscar Peterson, Stan Getz, McCoy Tyner and Eric Dolphy - this is Trane at his legendary best.

More recent entries include Jimmy Smith, Coleman Hawkins and Art Farmer. With all discs featuring the same outstanding quality, previously released titles include Thelonious Monk, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald. Little wonder jazz enthusiasts the world over are finding this series simply irresistible.

Ted Gioia's 'warts-and-all' approach to the history of jazz makes this book a must for all serious aficionados.

Unlike most, Gioia traces jazz's roots all the way back to the New Orleans slave markets of the early 19th century to what he calls "the Africanization of American music". Thus begins a fascinating exposé of the music itself, the racial issues behind its culture and the technologies that propelled its rise to mass appeal.

More than a decade after its first printing the book remains a popular choice with both critics and general readers, thanks largely to Gioia's eminently enjoyable writing style and academic nous. A useful recommended listening list is also on offer. Although in wide use in universities, this volume's readability makes it the perfect popular history of jazz.