Hawksun was asking about Ponty, and I'll start with my quick opinions... Gort, Sharc, other fans..please chime in! (numbering is for ease of typing)
1 Aurora
2 Imaginary Voyage
3 Cosmic Messenger
4 Enigmatic Ocean
These four 70's are must have. Daryl Stuermer is on 1,2,4. 3 has Joaquin Lievano and Peter Maunu, and Holdsworth is also on 4. Different people on the other instruments, but they're all great players.
His first solo one I don't have (something about wings). He's also on some Zappa, and has a live record from that era.
A Taste for Passion (1979) is a bit slow, but I have it. About half and half. this is where he dabbles in synth and loses his edge.
Civilized Evil (1980) is nice. You'll like that one, Stuermer returns. Individual Choice (1982) has my favorite Ponty track, "Far From the Beaten Paths". It's pretty good overall.
The remaining 80's records are decidedly more jazzy and much more mellow (No Absolute Time, The Gift of Time, Storytelling). Tchkola is mostly African rhythms...good for a bit but fizzles out.
Open Mind (1984) is not as good, but sharc is a bit harsh on that
I did a Ponty Rickter Scale about 6 months back. I don't save my shows, but could repeat it. But I'd rather wait another 6 months.
You'll just have to get them on your own.