albums or songs?
my favorite album is without a doubt "live at carnegie hall", but of course his first two studio albums are essential, end-to-end masterpieces. none of his later albums are bad, but don't approach the brilliance of those first two imo (many are mired in lazy disco beats).

as for songs, i assume you know the biggest radio hits "ain't no sunshine", "use me", "lovely day", "lean on me", and "just the two of us".
alongside them, some of my favorite songs are "sweet wanomi", "grandma's hands" (providing a future sample for "no diggity"), "kissing my love" (providing a future sample for gawdknowshowmany tunes), "who is he", "world keeps going round", "can we pretend", and "i can't write left-handed".

two absolute groove monsters:

George, you are a gentleman.

this is a great album

aretha (1961) w/ray bryant combo, columbia

won't be long/ over the rainbow /love is the only thing / sweet lover
all night long http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3zBYPzDd-Q
who needs you / right now / are you sure / maybe i'm a fool / it ain't necessarily so / by myself / today i sing the blues

pretty cover, and Lord Westbrook on guitar, mebbe.

anyone ever listen to: Jimmy Witherspoon - Blues Around The Clock (1963) ?

I can reinforce that the first two Withers records are classics (and RYM bolds them too, if that helps). I'm off to find Live at Carnegie Hall now...

aww hell yeah...

Supremely good! What a thunderous vocal presence live and what a band. Wondering what version of the stax band that is.

that's righteous stuff, rev... pickett's as good a shouter as they come
did you know bobby womack wrote it about his new wife at the time (sam cooke's widow, of all people)

i enjoyed this interview with bill withers... i think of him as the antoine de st.exupery of the music world - he is a sage who was able to distill his wisdom into such simple and accessible terms; a very special gift, indeed...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1xQv6GhNSs

Anyone know where I can download this album?

Bill Withers - Live at Carnegie Hall

Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite is one of the best rnb/soul releases of the 90s. One of the 5-7 i'd definitely call essential

been obsessed with James Carr lately

I saw a really good Bill Withers documentary recently.... It had him in his hometown for the most part. He visited his brother's grave, and tried to find his parents but they were unmarked, in a part of the cemetery that was let totally over-grow. Heartbreaking to watch.

on a big Brothers Johnson kick right now. One of them played bass on MJ's "Off the Wall" album, and their four best albums were produced by Quincy Jones. Reccomended to fans of "Off the Wall," late 70s Isley Brothers, early Prince, and good times in general.

I'll Be Good To You
Strawberry Letter 23
Tomorrow
Celebrations

I've been meaning to get an album of theirs for a while, thanks for the reminder, batman.

any of their first four are really good, but I would reccomend either "Look Out for #1" or "Light up the Night" most. You'd probably enjoy "Look Out for #1" the most.

Their whole discography is available at my favorite blog:
http://allsoulandfunk.blogspot.com/