King Diamond is totally gay .. just kidding .. they're great!! KD is probably my favorite band. I've had other bands I liked better (Queensryche, Megadeth, Metallica, Iron Maiden, and one of two others), but one by one those bands let me down in one way or another and KD rose to the top of the heap.
To answer question #1 I'd say .. get The Puppet Master. It's his latest, and it was very well received overall. The long time fans liked it a lot, and it brought in some new fans as well. He doesn't go way over the top with the falsetto stuff on that release, and the songs are pretty well written.
For Question #2 I'd rank them this way.
#1 Abigail - has stood the test of time .. great concept, and the playing is very good all the way around. This is probably considered KD's best by the majority of long time fans.
#2 Them - This was my 1st KD disc. Nice creepy story .. great guitar work. I loved the combination of Andy LaRocque/Pete Blakk. Lots of classic KD track to be found.
#3 Conspiracy - It's basically Them Part II. It was my favorite at one point .. mainly because of the beginning two tracks (At The Graves & Sleepless Nights). At The Graves is my favorite KD tune, and Sleepless Nights is in my Top 5 or so. It tails off some after the great opening, but it's a strong disc. Great production, and King never sounded better.
#4 The Eye - They went more melodic on this one, and it alienated the fan base a bit. As time went on though I think most of the long timers came around to really liking this. I think it's a step down from the previous three, but not a lot. It's still a winner. It's a concept about The Inquisition. They used a drum machine on this one .. I never knew or noticed for years. I still can't tell.
#5 The Puppet Master - Like almost everything KD does it's a concept album. Most people who don't like KD do so because of King's very high falsetto. He uses it rarely in this disc, and I think some of those folks that were put off by the falsetto really liked this one. The songs are very catchy. I was so happy when this disc came out. The one before it (Abigail II) was a turd, and this one ranks pretty well with his best stuff.
#6 The Spider's Lullabye - Kind of an underrated disc. I think it's one of the better of KD's 2nd tier of releases. It's not up to the level of their best, but it's a strong disc overall. I'd recommend it. This is a partial concept album about poor Harry's fear of Spiders, and his subsequent encounters with Dr. Eastmann.
#7 Voodoo - This one got me back into KD after being away for a few years. Solid disc .. A concept about a family in Louisiana who takes over a mansion near a voodoo cemetary. One interesting note on this one .. the late Dimebag Darrell did some guitar work on the title track.
#8 House Of God - Most KD stuff doesn't really deal with religion, but is more horror story based. This one has a concept that is religion based, or anti religion based depending on how you want to look at it. It's a good disc .. not one the best, but not a weak disc by any means.
#9 The Fatal Portrait - A lot of the long timers rate this one pretty high, but I didn't own it until far after I got into KD, and really never did give it it's due. King's vocals are way high all the time, and the songs never seemed very catchy to me.
#10 The Graveyard - This has a few good moments, but all in all it's one of KD's weakest.
#11 Abigail II - Bands just should not try to catch lightning in a bottle twice. Sequels are okay when done back to back or something, but when they are done more than a decade apart it never seems to work.
Special note .. Deadly Lullabyes is a pretty good live album that came out two or three years ago. It's got all the hits on it, and is good if you like live stuff.
Also, KD has a new disc coming out in Late June called .. Gimme Your Soul .. Please. Poor name, but I'd be suprised if it was a total stinker. It sounds pretty dark judging from what King and Andy have had to say. We'll see .. it could go either way.
Britt
Well, it was Disney World to be more accurate and I came real close to buying "Them" at the Virgin Music store down there. I guess you could say that Mickey has warmed me up to the idea of exploring some of his stuff. 
