Picking the Best of the Hall of Fame Class of ’94

It sounds easy enough: Pick the eight albums that best reflect the musical imagination and spirit of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 1994 induction class.

Step into a record store, however, and in most cases you’ll find a dizzying array of choices.

Do you go for one of the artist’s numerous studio albums, a greatest-hits package or a multi-disc box set? In Elton John’s case alone, you can choose from some 20 studio albums, two live albums, three greatest-hits packages and two box sets.

Don’t assume a box set or a greatest-hits is the best way to go. In some cases, an artist doesn’t have enough noteworthy work to justify a multi-disc package and in other cases a greatest-hits album fails to capture the character of an artist as well as the best of the artist’s studio collections.

Before beginning your search, it’s a good idea to consult Schwann Spectrum, a comprehensive guide to what’s available on record, and frequently at what price. The winter 1993-94 edition is available now at most record stores for $6.95.

Here are the albums that best summarize the musical spirit of this year’s induction crop.

* The Animals--”The Best of the Animals” on ABKCO Records brings together 15 of the recordings, from “The House of the Rising Sun” to the influential “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” that made the English rock group an early challenger to the Beatles.

* The Band--Skip the single-disc “Best of the Band” and the two-disc “Kingdom Come” retrospective and choose between “Music From Big Pink” or “The Band,” the group’s first two studio collections. The latter is widely considered one of the two dozen best albums of the rock era--clearly the group’s crowning achievement. But there is an innocence and soulfulness to “Big Pink” that makes it equally endearing.

* Duane Eddy--Your only option, according to Schwann Spectrum, is “Twang Thang: The Duane Eddy Anthology.” The good news about the two-disc, 40-song package from Rhino is that it’s well designed and includes everything you’d want by Eddy, including “Rebel Rouser” and the remake of “Peter Gunn.” The bad news is that a single disc at half “Twang’s” $28 price tag would be a more reasonable alternative.

* The Grateful Dead--Lots of choices here, including live and greatest-hits packages, but pay special attention to the group’s two admired 1970 studio collections, “Workingman’s Dead” and “American Beauty.” Both are available in mid-line packages.

* Elton John--If you want to go for the compilations, “To Be Continued” is an excellent four-disc package, while volume one of the Polydor “Greatest Hits” packages is superior to volume two from Polydor or MCA’s “Greatest Hits 1976-1986.” Of the studio collections, “Elton John,” the 1970 debut, still offers the most disarming glimpse of the freshness and craft that he brought to pop music.

* John Lennon--You can’t go wrong with the four-disc “Lennon,” which contains more than 70 tracks, but anyone looking for a more modest introduction should stick with “Plastic Ono Band,” the landmark 1970 album that set a new standard for introspection and raw emotion in rock.

* Bob Marley--Marley is not only the most important figure ever in reggae, but one of the most vital of the entire rock era. You can sample his work nicely in his splendid “Live!” from 1976, but serious pop and reggae fans shouldn’t settle for anything less than “Songs of Freedom,” the four-disc box set.

* Rod Stewart--Stewart has done some delightful work during his uneven tenure at Warner Bros. Records, but the British singer defined his art in the ‘70s on Mercury, a period captured nicely in “Rod Stewart: The Mercury Anthology.” Among the selections in the two-disc package: “Maggie May,” “Every Picture Tells a Story” and his original “Reason to Believe.”