I'm a self-confessed obsessive collector of and listener to a cappella music. I'd be very happy to exchange knowledge and ideas with the similarly afflicted.

I confess to that addiction, too…

So, for a start, why don't we exchange our TOP 5 Vocal Albums . I mean albums that we really listened to a lot of times from beginning to end (does anybody out there do this anymore, by the way?)

Here are my TOP 5 Vocal Albums

NY Voices - Sing Sing Sing (my favourite Vocal Swing Album - and there's only 1 a cappella track… oops)
Take 6 - the first album (doo wop boo dottle dee pop or so…)
Vocal Line - Emotional Landscapes
The Real Group - Jazz Live
Cadence - Frost Free

hmmm… ok, that's too hard! [cough cough] so - let's make it the TOP 10. here's some more:

The Blenders - Most Wonderful Time (xmas)
West Coast All Stars - California Dreaming (singers of Toto & Chicago a cappella)
The Singers Unlimited - A Cappella II
Groove For Thought (first album)
Bobby McFerrin - The Voice

there's no ranking inside the list, and it sometimes changes with my moods ;-)


gee - there are still some more… this is a pandora's box!

but it's a start for an exchange. I wonder if that's interesting for you? anyway - I'm looking forward to your input, Jeff (and everybody else's)!

Rajaton's Best Of.

I get very good vibes of the cd La Racolta from Neri per Caso. It gives me such a good mood!

I don't think I can give you a clear list. I listen to a lot of a cappella groups, and find very few albums that attract me straight through. Of course, TRG are the acknowledged masters, and I find great stuff in Rajaton, but neither have any albums that really hold me as units.
The Idea of North's Here and Now is pretty consistent. I like certain cuts from Cadence and Vox One, but no complete CD. The same, but spottier, with NY Voices, Singers Unlimited, the Swingles, Pust. One CD that I do listen to a lot is Kongero, a quartet of young women who sing traditional Swedish material. I never get tired of that. I've found some nice things in Mint Juleps, Coco's Lunch, Banda De Boca. Other groups that I haven't been overwhelmed by include the Hi-Lo's (hasn't aged well, but I bet it would be fun to sing), King's Singers, Neri Per Caso, Take 6, Bobs, Persuasions, Vocal Six, Vocomotion, Flying Pickets, M-Pact, Nylons. Petra Haden did an interesting experiment recording an entire CD of The Who vocally. But I admire it more than enjoy it. I've even been listening to years and years of BOCA (Best of College A Cappella, American colleges), but it usually doesn't do much for me.
I really admire Vocal Line, but haven't been able to acquire any of their CDs. I've been listening to them on YouTube. (If anyone can suggest to me how to get them…) I like the Bulgarian State Women's Choir a lot, but I guess we're not going to call them jazz, are we?
Among the soloists, I admire Bobby McFerrin a lot, but the only CD that grabs me is Circle Songs. My favorite jazz vocalist by far is Kurt Elling. I do listen to all his CDs, over and over. And his big influence, Mark Murphy, is also consistently great.
I've found a couple of female jazz vocalists recently that I've been pretty impressed with, Esperanza Spalding, and especially Luciana Souza (her early albums are more jazz-oriented). But we're straying pretty far from our a cappella groups here.
I would like to see jazz-oriented a cappella groups take more challenging music from the popular sphere, to explore vocally-based pop groups in a serious way. Not making lightweight versions of pop hits, or trying to copy pop hits note-for-note. But to explore that repertoire in a serious, challenging way.
The ones who have done some really interesting work in that direction are Vocal Line and TRG. But I think there's a lot more to be done. But that's another story…
Where do you find groups like West Coast All Stars or Groove For Thought?

you'll find a lot of stuff (e.g. California Dreamin' by West Coast All Stars, also as MP3 Download in case you like single titles) at amazon.com - either in the regular store or in the marketplace.
vocal line cds can be found either on their own website vocalline.dk or on iTunes - which is also great for listening to exerpts and buying individual tracks.
Groove For Thought can be found at grooveforthought.com

In general, it's always a good start to google the bands you search for…

Is there any particular CD by The Bulgarian State Women's Choir that you can recommend?

I did manage to hear some West Coast & Groove on YouTube. Incredible, there's so much hiding out there. I wasn't able to buy the Vocal Line CDs from their site--they sell only to Scandinavians, it seems. How ethnocentric! And I use eMusic, rather than iTunes, but I suppose these are obstacles that can be overcome.

The Bulgarians' recordings are quite a hodgepodge. I have a Complete Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares (4 CDs), but I'm not sure that's necessary. To be perfectly honest, it all sounds more or less alike to me. Probably the most commonly found Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares is good enough. From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Myst%C3%A8re_des_Voix_Bulgares): The Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir is an internationally renowned World Music ensemble that blends traditional six-part a cappella repertoire with modern arrangements. It is most recognized under the recording name Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares.//In 1992, the choir divided into two: one for radio, one for television. Bulgarian television signed a contract with the one half, which is the Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir; the other half organized itself as a collective, and now performs as "Angelite - The Bulgarian Voices".
I listened to Sing!Sing!Sing! today, in your honor. What can I tell you? I don't think it really swings.
I wrote you a personal note on MySpace, please check it.

An article from The Boston Globe about a cappella today in the US. I think it's quite interesting.
http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2009/04/26/every_voice_is_heard/