OT: Kansas album recommendations?

Ah, Kansas, how we love thee. Simultaneously one of the best and worst progressive bands ever! The Best Of Kansas is a good recommendation, but it's extremely likely you'll end up buying all the albums it gleans from anyway, so it would ultimately be a waste of money (especially considering how many of the re-masters are out now).

Personally, I'd suggest getting Point of Know Return, then Two For The Show. There's nothing like a live album to really give you a feel for a band, and TFTS is arguably the best one in their discography.

Other studio albums to get early on are Leftoverture, Masque, and Monolith. Starting with Audio Visions, Kansas begins to put out some really awful material with only a few gems here and there. Buy these at your own risk.

Oddly enough, their latest studio release, 2000's Somewhere To Elsewhere, penned entirely by founding/ex-member Kerry Livgren, is tantamount to some of their best material ever. Device-Voice-Drum is also phenomenal, but not as a first purchase. Given the way Steve Walsh's voice has changed, I'd recommend getting D-V-D after you've fallen in love with the band's previous releases.

Hope this helps.

--Hero Boy