| Artist | CD Title | Label/Number |
| Cannonball Adderley | Live At the Lighthouse | Capitol Jazz 31572 |
| Toshiko Akiyoshi | Desert Lady-Fantasy | Columbia 57856 |
| Louis Armstrong | Louis Armstrong and King Oliver | Milestone MCD 47017 |
| Louis Armstrong | The Complete Hot 5's and 7's | Columbia C4K 63527 |
| Art Ensemble of Chicago | Full Force | ECM 1167 |
| Count Basie | The Complete Decca Recordings | Decca GRD-3-611 |
| Bix Beiderbecke | Singin' the Blues | Columbia CK 46175 |
| Bob Belden | Black Dahlia | Blue Note 23883 |
| Art Blakey | Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk | Atlantic 1278 |
| Art Blakey | Mosaic | Blue Note 46623 |
| Lester Bowie | The Odyssey of Funk and Popular Music | Atlantic 83159 |
| Clifford Brown/Max Roach | Clifford Brown and Max Roach At Basin Street | Polygram PGD Special Markets 334 391 |
| Dave Brubeck | Time Out | Columbia CK 40585 |
| Betty Carter | The Audience with Betty Carter | Verve 835 684 |
| James Carter | The Real Quietstorm | Atlantic 82742 |
| Serge Chaloff | Blue Serge | Capitol 94505 |
| Ornette Coleman | Beauty Is A Rare Thing | Rhino Atlantic Jazz Gallery 71410 |
| John Coltrane | A Love Supreme | Impulse 051155 |
| John Coltrane | My Favorite Things | Atlantic 8122 75350 |
| John Coltrane | The Ultimate Blue Train | Blue Note 53428 |
| John Coltrane/Johnny Hartman | John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman | Impulse 051157 |
| Eddie Condon | Dixieland Jam | Columbia CK 45145 |
| Chick Corea | Return fo Forever | ECM 1022 |
| Chick Corea | Trio Music | ECM 1232/33 |
| Miles Davis | Aura | Columbia CK 45332 |
| Miles Davis | Bitches Brew | Columbia C2K 460602 |
| Miles Davis | The Complete Birth of the Cool | Blue Note 94550 |
| Miles Davis | Kind of Blue | Columbia CK 64935 |
| Miles Davis | Miles Smiles | Columbia CK 65683 |
| Miles Davis | 'Round About Midnight | Columbia CK 40610 |
| Miles Davis/Gil Evans | Sketches of Spain | Columbia CK 65142 |
| Eric Dolphy | Out to Lunch | Blue Note 46524 |
| Duke Ellington | ...And His Mother Called Him Bill | Bluebird ND 86287 |
| Duke Ellington | Early Ellington (1927-1934) | Bluebird 6852 |
| Duke Ellington | The Blanton-Webster Band | Bluebird 74321 13181 |
| Bill Evans | Waltz for Debby | Riverside OJCCD-210 |
| Art Farmer | Blame It On My Youth | Contemporary CCD 14042 |
| Ella Fitzgerald | Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book | Verve 825 024 |
| Erroll Garner | Concert By the Sea | Columbia CK 40589 |
| Benny Goodman | At Carnegie Hall 1938 - Complete | Columbia C2K 65143 |
| Kenny Garrett | Pursuance | Warner Brothers 46209 |
| Stan Getz | Complete Roost Recordings | Roost 59622 |
| Dizzy Gillespie | An Electrifying Evening With the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet | Verve 567 544 |
| Dizzy Gillespie | The Complete RCA Victor Recordings | Bluebird 66528 |
| Charlie Haden | Dream Keeper | Blue Note 95474 |
| Coleman Hawkins | Body and Soul | Bluebird 85717 |
| Herbie Hancock | Maiden Voyage | Blue Note 95331 |
| Herbie Hancock | Headhunters | Columbia CK 47478 |
| Fletcher Henderson | A Study in Frustration | Columbia C3K 57596 |
| Joe Henderson | Lush Life | Verve 511 779 |
| Joe Henderson | The State of the Tenor | Blue Note 28879 |
| Woody Herman | Blowin' Up A Storm | Columbia C2K 65646 |
| Andrew Hill | Point of Departure | Blue Note 99007 |
| Billie Holiday | Lady Day: The Best of Billie Holiday | Columbia C2K 85979 |
| Dave Holland | Not for Nothin' | ECM 1758 |
| Ahmad Jamal | Cross Country Tour | Chess GRP 182132 |
| Keith Jarrett | Koln Concert | ECM 1064/1065 |
| Keith Jarrett | The Cure | ECM 1440 |
| Jazz at the Philharmonic | The First Concert | Verve 521 646 |
| J.J. Johnson | The Eminent J.J. Johnson, Vol. 1 | Blue Note 81505 |
| Harold Land | The Fox | Contemporary OJCCD-343 |
| Joe Lovano | Rush Hour | Blue Note 29269 |
| John McLaughlin | Birds of Fire | Columbia CK 31996 |
| Carmen McRae | Carmen Sings Monk | Novus 3086 |
| Shelly Manne | At the Blackhawk, Vols. 1-5 | Contemporary OJCCD-656, 657, 658, 659, 670 |
| Charles Mingus | Blues and Roots | Rhino Atlantic Jazz Gallery 75205 |
| Charles Mingus | Mingus Ah Um | Columbia CK 65512 |
| Wes Montgomery | The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery | Riverside OJCCD-036 |
| Lee Morgan | The Sidewinder | Blue Note 84157 |
| Jelly Roll Morton | His Complete Victor Recordings | Bluebird 2361 |
| Gerry Mulligan | The Original Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker | Pacific Jazz 94407 |
| Gerry Mulligan/Ben Webster | Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster | Verve 841 661 |
| David Murray | Morning Song | Black Saint 120075 |
| Modern Jazz Quartet | European Concert | Label M 495721 |
| Thelonious Monk | Brilliant Corners | Riverside OJCCD-026 |
| Thelonious Monk | The Complete Blue Note Recordings | Blue Note 30363 |
| Charlie Parker | The Charlie Parker Story | Savoy SV 0105 |
| Charlie Parker | Complete Savoy Live Recordings | Savoy SVY17021 |
| Art Pepper | Meets the Rhythm Section | Contemporary OJCCD 338 |
| Oscar Peterson | At the Stratford Shakespearean Festival | Verve 513 752 |
| Port of Harlem Jazzmen | The Port of Harlem Jazzmen | Blue Note 28892 |
| Bud Powell | The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 1 | Blue Note 81503 |
| Don Pullen/George Adams | Breakthrough | Blue Note 46314 |
| The Quintet | Jazz At Massey Hall | Prestige OJCCD-044 |
| Sonny Rollins | Saxophone Collossus | Prestige OJCCD-291 |
| Howard Rumsey | Music for Lighthousekeeping | Contemporary OJCCD-636 |
| Maria Schneider | Coming About | Enja Enj-9069 |
| Woody Shaw | The Moontrane | 32 Jazz 31019 |
| Archie Shepp | Four For Trane | Impulse IMPD-218 |
| Horace Silver | Song for My Father | Blue Note 99002 |
| Bessie Smith | The Bessie Smith Collection | Columbia CK 44441 |
| Art Tatum | 20th Century Piano Genius | Verve 531 763 |
| Cecil Taylor | Unit Structures | Blue Note 84237 |
| Lennie Tristano | Intuition | Capitol 52771 |
| Various Artists | Interpretations of Monk, Vol. 1, 2 | Koch International 7838, 7839 |
| Sarah Vaughan | Sarah Vaughan | Verve 543 305 |
| Fats Waller | The Joint is Jumpin' | Bluebird 6288 |
| Weather Report 8:30 | 8:30 | Columbia CK 57665 |
| Cassandra Wilson | New Moon Daughter | Blue Note 32861 |
| Larry Young | Unity | Blue Note 56416 |
| Lester Young | The "Kansas City" Sessions | Commodore CMD 14022 |
These CD's were selected using my own judgement of jazz history and records along with the use of ratings in the fourth edition of The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD (Penguin Books) and The All Music Guide.