The Essential Albums: Kind of Blue

Kind of Blue
Album by Miles Davis
Released 1959
Recorded March 2 & April 22, 1959
Producer: Irving Townsend

John Szwed writing for Amazon.com:

This is the one jazz record owned by people who don't listen to jazz, and with good reason. The band itself is extraordinary (proof of Miles Davis's masterful casting skills, if not of God's existence), listing John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley on saxophones, Bill Evans (or, on "Freddie Freeloader," Wynton Kelly) on piano, and the crack rhythm unit of Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. ...

From Wikipedia:

… [T]he sextet recorded all the songs to Davis’s satisfaction with only one complete take each. …. Kind of Blue was a startling change for its era, and was almost instantly recognized, both critically and commercially. Though precise figures have been disputed, Kind of Blue has been cited as Davis’ best-selling album, and as the best-selling jazz record of all time.

And there's a very good reason this is the most popular jazz record of all time. It is unsurpassable as an introduction to jazz. You love it the first time you hear it; you love it even more the 500th time. You can use it as background music for a romantic dinner or as hangover medicine. It's pure, perfect joy for your soul.