"Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis and "Blue Train" by John Coltrane are always credited as the albums that brought most new fans into the jazz genre and justly so. When you think about it, you begin to realize that a lot of these new fans are going back to the improv stylings of jazz (mostly the post-Parker era between the mid-1950s to 1970) because they realize that it's the foundation for a lot of the modern music that they listen to now. Where would modern rock, electronic, and hip-hop be if jazz didn't do the groundwork in the 20th century? The dynamics of playing off each other's sound is something that jazz built and perfected for a whole new generation of musical artists.
Anyway, forgive my little "rant" there...since I discovered jazz many years ago, it holds a dear place in my heart. I strongly urge all music fans to give it a try...start off with the above two albums and move into other recordings such as "Sketches of Spain" and "Miles Ahead" (Miles Davis and Gil Evans), "Screaming the Blues" (Oliver Nelson), "A Love Supreme" (John Coltrane), "Saxophone Colossus" (Sonny Rollins). Yes, I obviously lean heavily on the "cool" era but this is where it all began for me. After that, you can go wherever you want...jazz has a plethora of styles and artists to choose from.