Rollersnake posted:

De-Loused in the Comatorium is their first album, and most popular. It's maybe their strongest melodically, but more conventional-sounding than anything they did afterward.

If you're into prog, I recommend starting with Frances the Mute, which I still think is their best. Not a single weak track, and the worst thing I can say about it is that some of the dissonant instrumental sections (like the end of The Widow) go on for too long. One of my favorite albums of this past decade.

Amputechture has the loving incredible Day of the Baphomets, in which they delve into a similar sort of manic jazz rock as early King Crimson. It's perhaps the best thing they've ever done, but altogether the album is kind of long-winded and tedious. I like it more now than I did when it came out, though.

The Bedlam in Goliath is their most difficult album. It's very dissonant, and relentlessly heavy from beginning to end with no room to breathe whatsoever. I actually like it quite a bit, but it's a very difficult album to listen to in one sitting.

Octahedron I consider their weakest album. The band described it as an "acoustic" album, which it isn't, but it's quieter and simpler than anything they've done since De-Loused. The problem is that it isn't nearly as strong as De-Loused melodically, so it ends up being pretty forgettable overall.