[kevin360]

For a gateway to Zappa that might best suit someone who likes rock, I humbly suggest 'One Size Fits All'.

It's quite accessible and it rocks - some splendid guitar work and it's chock full of fun songs. There are some 'inside' jokes that you'll miss as a result of your unfamiliarity, but that doesn't completely undermine the humor in the music - that's played very seriously. This band is tight! This album marked the end of the road for my favorite lineup.

[SteveFord]

Evelyn, a modified dog...

Joe's Garage Acts I, II and III is pretty accessible and is laugh out loud twisted.
Apostrophe' was his only top 10 album, Live at the Fillmore is X-rated comedy, Billy the Mountain is just bizarre, so many good ones, Burnt Weenie Sandwich, Waka Jawaka/Hot Rats, Hot Rats and The Grand Wazoo are all instrumental jazz, The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life is really good, on and on it goes.

[won ton on]

How about Make a Jazz Noise Here,Leather or Trance Fusion

[dB Cooper]

I'd have to know someone well enough to know that all the raunchy content in Joe's Garage woudn't turn them off.

Critics seem to think WOIIFTM is his "masterpiece" FWIW

Freak Out is still a classic.

One Size Fits All (seconded by kevin360) is probably as good a place as any to start- rock, jazzy stuff, classic-flavored stuff- and that's just the opening tune!

Now that FZ is on iTunes, you can do some previewing- but with FZ you may still end up with some surprises.

[SteveFord]

You probably wouldn't want to play Thing Fish at your family reunion over at Aunt Bea's place.
You Are What You Is seldom gets a mention - lots of good material on that one.

[kevin360]

It's tough to recommend an entry point into the world of Frank Zappa's music - there are so many different angles. How about the entire 'You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore' series? We Zappaphiles tend to be completists - I can't be the only one with 60+ titles on CD (many of which have at least 2 discs). 'You Are What You Is' might be Zappa's most complete dissection of society on a studio album. It's something of a rock opera, but ... I don't know. It's certainly representative of Frank's attitude towards the stupidity of the 'cultured'. Nothing is off-limits - he's an equal opportunity offender (he's just being honest about some seriously screwed up human behaviors).

I still like my initial recommendation as an entré. I really loved that lineup. That's why I'm really hoping the Roxy concert film will be released soon - it's been a long wait (there was a teaser on 'Baby Snakes'). He had lots of great bands. This was my favorite - hard to explain.

[Rclark]

Oh woah, lotta responses here, I'll go back and read them.

Kevin, you will be quite pleased to learn that I have been listening to these interviews all day long and it's impossible to not love the guy.. He's won me over with sheer brute force. I'll pick something out tommorrow night.

60 albums, that's a lot to explore.   

[medium jim]

For those new to Frank Zappa I would recommend easing in with Hot Rats and then maybe Apostrophe and then work in both directions from there....

Jim

[kevin360]

With all due respect, I don't consider 'Hot Rats' to be an 'easing in' selection - quite a bit to get one's 'head around' (outside of the rocking 'Willie the Pimp', but even that tune is sung by Captain Beefheart). 'Apostrophe' certainly qualifies and is a favorite - it was my entré.

Hey, he could play it super safe and just give 'Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar' or 'Guitar' a try - all instrumental/guitar pieces.

[kevin360]

Oh woah, lotta responses here, I'll go back and read them.

Kevin, you will be quite pleased to learn that I have been listening to these interviews all day long and it's impossible to not love the guy.. He's won me over with sheer brute force. I'll pick something out tomorrow night.

60 albums, that's a lot to explore.   

Frank was a busy guy, but you wouldn't like it all - at least, I can't say that I do. There's no telling how much fantastic material is in the vault - he recorded practically everything.

It would be difficult not to be thoroughly impressed by the man when listening to interviews. He was brilliant. Music was his life.

[Bwanagreg]

While it may not be the best entry point (unless you already have a broad musical taste),  We're Only In It For the Money is a remarkable album, mixing satire, rock, Musique concrète, and 20th century classical and compositional techniques. 

It's worth seeking out the MFSL release. The original CD release used a master that (according to FZ) had an unusable bass and drum track so he overdubbed those instruments with new tracks using his then-current band. It changed the feel of the music and was a mistake imho. The MFSL release uses the original master and is identical to the original vinyl release, only with much-improved sonics. I don't know which version is on the 2012 release - anyone else know?

I'll second  "Prime Meridian" by the Meridian Arts Ensemble. Don't forget The Yellow Shark. If G-Spot Tornado doesn't drop your jaw nothing will. I saw John Adams conduct the Ensemble Modern (a program mixing Adams and Zappa compositions) and they played Yellow Shark twice for the encore.

For a jazzier approach Ed Palermo's big band recordings are quite good.

Then there's ...

[medium jim]

With all due respect, I don't consider 'Hot Rats' to be an 'easing in' selection - quite a bit to get one's 'head around' (outside of the rocking 'Willie the Pimp', but even that tune is sung by Captain Beefheart). 'Apostrophe' certainly qualifies and is a favorite - it was my entré.

Hey, he could play it super safe and just give 'Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar' or 'Guitar' a try - all instrumental/guitar pieces.

Kevin:

Hot Rats is a great album, has some great instrumentals, far out jazz and Capt B...Shut Up n Play Yer Guitar is great if you like only guitar.  So I guess Apostrophe is the starting point!

Jim

[Rclark]

Options paralysis 

I think I will just find the Zappa section, close my eyes, and use the eenie-meanie-minie-moe method.

[jriggy]

Just go for Apostrophe. Like mentioned, it was his only top 10 release and it is also the one that was featured on the VH1 show "Classic Albums" It was Apostrophe (')/Over-night Sensation. You may find the 1990's CD pressing with BOTH records on one disc... Or wait for the new master to come out soon...

OR look for one of these new 2012 masters:

1. Freak Out! (1966)
2. Absolutely Free (1967)
3. Lumpy Gravy (1968)
4. We're Only In It For The Money (1968)
5. Cruising With Ruben & The Jets (1968)
6. Uncle Meat (1969)
7. Hot Rats (1969)
8. Burnt Weeny Sandwich (1970)
9. Weasels Ripped My Flesh (1970)
10. Chunga's Revenge (1970)
11. Fillmore East, June 1971 (1971)
12. Just Another Band From L.A. (1972)

Just liten carefully and follow his twisted stories...

Personally, I have been into Zoot Allures lately.

[SteveFord]

I have the 3 album Shut Up 'N' Play Your Guitar box set and eh, too much noodling around in his basement studio for me.
RClark,
His stuff is divided up into so many different mini-eras:
Mothers of Invention
Mothers w/ Flo and Eddie of the Turtles  fame which ended when a deranged fan nearly killed him (which is how he got his deep voice)
big band/jazz Mothers
electric Mothers (OverNite Sensation, Roxy era)
solo Frankie (Apostrophe'), etc.
Mothers w/ young guys (Stevie Vai, Adrian Belew)
Zappa w/ other young guys and Ike Willis
Orchestral outings (an aquired taste)

There's a DVD that has both OverNite Sensation/Apostrophe which has Dweezil doing some footage about the making of the albums. 
Those two albums pretty much set the hook for his later fans; other people only like the original MOI and some people don't like ANY of it!

[kevin360]

I have the 3 album Shut Up 'N' Play Your Guitar box set and eh, too much noodling around in his basement studio for me.

Noodling around in his basement? All of the tracks are excerpted from live performances - basically, as segue pieces.

Come on man, you know the greatest band Zappa ever had consisted of George Duke, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Chester Thompson, Tom Fowler and Ruth Underwood - the same core Mothers one finds on 'Apostrophe', which is why I suggested 'One Size Fits All'. That group had been together for quite a while by the time of that release, and they could navigate the most complex music with such grace that it simply boggles the mind.

[Rclark]

I didn't buy any Zappa, I bought a big tv instead BUT... just found out 200 Motels is on Netflix and about to fire that up 

[Rclark]

... kinda stupid. But I am not deterred yet.

[SteveFord]

200 Motels has it's moments but you'd probably enjoy Baby Snakes a bit more.
It was interesting seeing how the Claymantion was done and you get to see me inadvertantly make a cameo appearance right before the Poodle lecture.

Correction: the Shut Up and Play Your Guitar consisted of live noodeling on his guitar.
All of the eras had their moments but the work with Jim Gordon on drums and Jean Luc-Ponty for instrumentals is hard to beat.
Flo & Eddie were great and Ike Willis was just born to be funny.
The Roxy band was a stellar line up, I caught them once when I was a kid at the Felt Forum in NYC.  One of my friends was seeing Deep Purple at Madison Square Garden next door and he said that inbetween songs every once in a while some really weird noises would come through the wall from the Zappa show and everybody would turn to look at the wall.  I thought was pretty funny.