Enrico Caruso:

The Best of: (1958)

The Voice of The Century: (1962)

Enrico Caruso was the first international multi-media celebrity, and damn what a voice. He made some 206 recordings from 1904-1920, and came along right as commercial recordings were coming into fashion. For a time his records were given away as demo records with the purchase of Victrolas. Because of this many rural Americans were exposed to opera for the first time, and his influence was guaranteed. Elvis and Mahalia Jackson citied his records as important. You can really hear it in Elvis' latter day performances. Now, I'm not a big opera fan by any stretch of the imagination, but some people transcend genres, and Caruso is one of those. I don't need to understand the language or story to understand the emotion emanating from his throat.  I also think something is added by the roughness and scratchiness of the recordings themselves and the vinyl they rest upon.