The Best of Bill Cosby

Anyone who has the first six Cosby standup records will have all of this material already covered, but The Best of Bill Cosby is nonetheless a pretty good introduction. The choice of material reinforces the fact that in the early days Cosby was inventive and wasn't content to roll around in the clichés of husband versus wife, instead telling wonderful stories from his childhood and making observations about the absurd aspects of everyday life. Even after he started talking more about his family life on the later records, that storytelling aspect was key, always preferring to let the story flow rather than pulling out a string of cheap one-liners, and here he's at his peak.