World of Weird Al Yankovic

Which of Al's albums (not including compilations) would you recommend to someone who's completely unfamiliar with his work? It doesn't necessarily have to be his best album or your favorite, just the one that you think best represents what he's all about and you think is most likely to get somebody interested in hearing more.

Part of me loves to go through an artist's catalog chronologically, but I don't think the debut album is really the place to start, although it was my introduction to Al and is relatively under-appreciated, IMO. In 3-D is probably the best pick from the 80s, mainly because of "Eat It," and as his most recent album I don't think you could go wrong with Alpocalypse. But I think Running with Scissors is the perfect way to indoctrinate someone into the ways of Yankovic.

-You start off with a parody of one of the most well-known pop songs of all time, featuring Al's typically twisted take on a still-relevant pop culture phenomenon.
-There's plenty of accordion, but not so much that it feels like a gimmick.
-"Your Horoscope for Today" is one of his most laugh-out-loud songs--and if a joke doesn't work for you, there's another one 10 seconds later.
-"It's All About the Pentiums" is widely considered one of his best and most effective parodies.
-And of course, if someone hears "Albuquerque" for the first time and doesn't completely crack up, they're a lost cause.

SOL was my first album and the one that really introduced me to Al. It produced W&N which was the all time biggest hit single of his career. It's also backed up by some solid and underrated originals and supporting parodies. That's a pretty solid way to familiarize ANYONE with Al. I feel the best way to introduce someone to Al's work would be to ease them into AL's catalog w/SOL and then later introduced them to his standard trope you might find on RWS or any of the '80s albums.

Sol and rws are the best ones for an intro to al's world for sure

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Agree with anth on all points regarding RWS.

Not listed for obvious reasons, but I think the upcoming album will best represent what Al (and the band) does from a performance and lyrical standpoint, with strong parodies, originals that show what a "style parody" is all about, and a stellar polka medley. It's a really, really good album!

Bermuda

Okay, I want to change my vote to Album 14 plz!

Honestly, I'd probably go with the cheesy compilation "The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic" because it covers the full spectrum of Al's career, but if that's off the table because it's not listed in the poll, I'd either go with the most current album because it has a polka and parodies of the most recent hits on it, or I'd choose the album depending on who it is and what kind of music they are into.

Dave

I guess the best way for someone to really get into Al in this day and age would always be for them to discover his most recent album and have them look at his previous work from there. The last four albums have been among Al's all time greatest works and I got into Al this way starting w/SOL, so I guess that has been proving to be more and more true in recent years.