David, you're in for a buffet of treats.

White Music
Go 2
Drums And Wires
Black Sea
English Settlement

..and I'd definitely throw in
Mummer
The Big Express
That Dukes Of Stratosphear collection

although it's more the Steely Dan era of XTC than the early live era. (And there's nothing wrong AT ALL with Steely Dan! Just sayin'.)

I should add that The Singles 1977 to 1984 thing is basically Waxworks plus the post-live-band era stuff, so Waxworks is obselete, especially since that early Singles CD is now available in the U.S. Still though, Waxworks, for quality ratio is super prime.

That is so odd you brought up Steely Dan--I've been having a bit of an SD renaissance lately, playing the first four records into the ground (again).

Steely Dan makes me kind of queasy, but in a good way, that I will never tire of, apparently. (I've also been reconnecting with one of my favorite SD-flavored '80s pop bands, Prefab Sprout. Does anyone even know what a Prefab Sprout is anymore?)

Thanks for the XTC tips, I shall continue my investigation.

Just keep in mind that Waxworks is a sugary assortment of those first five records. XTC can be unexpectedly abrasive in moments. They're not unlistenable of course, but just keep in mind that Captain Beefheart is a HUGE influence on the band. If you can deal with that, just step right in. I'd start with Black Sea or Drums And Wires then spread out in either direction from there.

I love love love XTC. Listening to Skylarking for the first time as a teenager was a truly formative experience. Back in the olden days when my band used to tour all the time, we'd play the singles collection over the clubs' PA systems before the show. Every night. It wouldn't have been the same without hearing "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Generals and Majors."

I recommend Mummery.

Who could disagree? They were an exceptional and vastly underrated band, then and now. The record I played incessantly was English Settlement, but I really loved them all.

Have you heard the new albums that Andy Partridge has been pumping out? The Fuzzy Warbles series? They are uneven, but there is an amazing amount of very very good stuff on them. If you're an XTC completest, or even just a casual fan, they are worth getting.

I wish a jazz singer would cover my favorite track on Skylarking, The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul.

Dukes Of Stratosphear all day

Ahhhh, yes. Another convert. Their live bootlegs are worth tracking down, as they were a ferocious live band from the get-go. The best place to start is http://xtc4u.org/. There are a plethora of free, quality shows from nearly every year of their touring phase (roughly 77-82). They even played the old Showbox in 1980.

Hey even the over-produced Oranges & Lemons, and Nonsuch were great albums in their own right

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oranges_and_Lemons_%28album%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonsuch_%28album%29

@4:
Owning most of Captain Beefheart's discs, and all of XTC's, I'm a-thinking that you are unjustly pushing his influence on them. It's truely only a very MINOR part of what XTC did.

In a more cynical frame of mind, it almos' sounds like you are trying to scare people off XTC, i.e. most people, either A)(unfairly) run screaming when you mention the good Captain, or B) have no idea what you are talking about.

Jus' don' want people getting the wrong idea about the (slight) connection between Captain Beefheart & XTC. Goddammit!

oKay--Time for my Paxil.