Anyone care to recommend some good funk?

[Like A Bird Without Arms]

So, I recently developed an interest in acquiring some funky tunes after being shown some of James Brown's work other than the song I Feel Good (this being the album The Payback) As soon as I got the chance I downloaded that album along with Mothership Connection by Parliament and Maggot Brain and America Eats Its Young by Funkadelic. I could hardly believe my ears, the music was that amazing. The musicianship was tight, and the songs were just funky as all hell. I couldn't have been happier. I wanted to eat, breathe and shit funk. But good music is like crack; I needed more. Confused as to what I should explore next and deciding to listen to last.fm's recommendation, I went for Fundamentally Funky by the Meters. I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong, the music was good, but it just didn't reach the godly tier of awesomeness that I now expected from the funk genre. The guitar solos weren't quite tight enough, the audio levels always seemed a little off, and the vocals just weren't as out-there as I wanted them to be.* Hugely disappointed with the discovery that not all funk is, well, perfect, I come to you for suggestions. Let's get some funk up in this joint. *I am not trying to hate on The Meters; I've also gotten some single tracks by them that HAVE been incredibly tight. It was just off-putting to get an album released by a band that is supposed to be "considered one of progenitors of funk in the 1970s" and be disappointed.

[Ynot]

Some albums to check out Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On Afrika Bambaataa - Planet Rock: The Album SOS Band - On The Rise Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express

[Like A Bird Without Arms]

Thanks a lot for the recommendations, that looks like an interesting variety of stuff. I've kind of failed at appreciating Kraftwerk in the past but I'll give it another shot.

[blackjack]

Oh youve gone and darn hit my funk button haha lemme see what I got. Well I'm too lazy to post em but let me get you some funky artist haha This shit is so funky it stinks George Clinton the gap band rick james carl carlton funkadelic the whispers earth wind and fire Dazz Band Parliament Kool & the gang S.O.S. Band Earth wind and fire Kool & The Gang Midnight star Parliament Im too lazy to put the rest but maybe Ill give ya some more later aha

[jacobo]

medeski, martin and wood galactic

[Speesh]

Can't say I know much about the funk (in fact I'm writing these recs down right now), but if you enjoy the good ol' Crimson King you should check out Caldera. Funk influenced jazzy stuff, not limited to any one genre really. Sky Islands is a fantastic record, and their easiest to get into. However if you're into something more out there check out Time and Chance. Ohhhh man one of my faves, soo good. They recorded 4 albums, all amazing. Shit's not easy to find though, if you can't track it down then PM me and I'll help you out. That said, I heard a live Parliament track on some radio station a while ago, and it was massively epic. I was grooving so hard I nearly forgot I was driving. I need to stop putting this off and check em out. Edit: Ahhh how could I forget Mandrill? Check out Mandrill's first three albums, amazing stuff. Its somewhere in between traditional funkstuff and ethnic rock in the vein of Santana. Musicianship is tight as can be though.

[Universal Mind]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEUavg-j82I

[Speesh]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEUavg-j82I Fucking right! Awesome beat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fdesO8CdC8 ^^Also enticing.

[Like A Bird Without Arms]

@blackjack: This is kind of embarrassing to admit, but I didn't even know that Earth Wind and Fire, and Rick James were funk. My I-am-a-90s-child is showing! Thanks! btw despite enjoying Funkadelic and Parliament quite a bit, it didn't ever occur to me to check out George Clinton's solo stuff. I just listened to his track, Atomic Dog, on Grooveshark and it was interesting. At first I was kind of put off by the hardcore 80s beat but the song kind of grew on me as it went along. I'm definitely interested in hearing more of his stuff. @jacobo: I appreciate the suggestions. @Speesh: Huh, I don't think I've ever heard of Caldera or Mandrill before. I'll check them out. That said, I heard a live Parliament track on some radio station a while ago, and it was massively epic. I was grooving so hard I nearly forgot I was driving. I need to stop putting this off and check em out. haha, good thing there were no cops around or you might have been arrested for driving under the influence of good grooves. @Universal Mind: That was incredible, thanks! And damn, I don't think I've ever even heard of Jefferey Osborne/LTD.

[DrunkenArse]

It might be a little mellow in places but "A tribute to jack johnson" is good if you're into funk. It's miles davis playing around the edges of funk. If you like that, you could check out on the corner or bitches brew. Can't go wrong with headhunters either. That's just straight funk so you'll like it even if you think the stuff above is weird.

[Speesh]

S'more Mandrill http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9FI_...eature=related (I really gotta learn to embed youtube vids) It might be a little mellow in places but "A tribute to jack johnson" is good if you're into funk. It's miles davis playing around the edges of funk. If you like that, you could check out on the corner or bitches brew. Can't go wrong with headhunters either. That's just straight funk so you'll like it even if you think the stuff above is weird. As much as I love Miles Davis, his electric period always seemed far closer to avant-gardeish jazz than funk at any given time. Its up a completely different alley from my perspective, but Bitches Brew is certainly worth checking out, even if from a historical standpoint. Headhunters is a good one though, very catchy funky stuff (though personally I much prefer the Mwandishi band).

[blackjack]

@blackjack: This is kind of embarrassing to admit, but I didn't even know that Earth Wind and Fire, and Rick James were funk. My I-am-a-90s-child is showing! Thanks! btw despite enjoying Funkadelic and Parliament quite a bit, it didn't ever occur to me to check out George Clinton's solo stuff. I just listened to his track, Atomic Dog, on Grooveshark and it was interesting. At first I was kind of put off by the hardcore 80s beat but the song kind of grew on me as it went along. I'm definitely interested in hearing more of his stuff. @jacobo: I appreciate the suggestions. @Speesh: Huh, I don't think I've ever heard of Caldera or Mandrill before. I'll check them out. haha, good thing there were no cops around or you might have been arrested for driving under the influence of good grooves. @Universal Mind: That was incredible, thanks! And damn, I don't think I've ever even heard of Jefferey Osborne/LTD. Haha don't worry bout It, I'm a 90s child too but I just got the music from my parents

[Universal Mind]

@Universal Mind: That was incredible, thanks! And damn, I don't think I've ever even heard of Jefferey Osborne/LTD. I'm glad you like it. I like spreading knowledge of great 70's music. There's a ton of it, and I consider it one of life's great gifts. This is from a more obscure 70's group called the Nite Liters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtBjTdiFsiY