Foggy Mountain Banjo (1995)

This all-instrumental Flatt & Scruggs collection is the gold standard of traditional ensemble bluegrass. Earl Scruggs's three-finger banjo drives the tempo like a locomotive, but what lifts the record is how smoothly the lead passes between banjo, fiddle and the rest of the Foggy Mountain Boys while the rhythm guitar and bass never waver. Every break sounds like the next line of one conversation, which makes it the textbook for hearing how a bluegrass band works.