Ohio Players - Gold (1976)

When it gets right down to it, the Ohio Players' albums were as memorable for their risqué covers as they were for their music. Sure, there were some seriously funky individual tracks, but the Players couldn't keep the momentum up throughout the course of an entire album. And that's why Gold is such a useful collection, even in light of more comprehensive latter-day collections. Gold has the good stuff and absolutely no filler. From the scorching "Fire" and the wild "Love Rollercoaster" to the sly "Jive Turkey" and "Who'd She Coo?," nearly every one of the group's finest songs is present and accounted for on Gold. Naturally, there are some omissions "Funky Worm" really should have been on the collection, especially since it was their first number one R&B hit but this album should satisfy most listeners who just want the hits. If you want to dig a little deeper into their catalog without sampling their albums, try Funk on Fire: The Mercury Anthology, but otherwise, stick with the Gold and you'll reap its rewards.