Being a black metal fan, it may seem shocking I dont even know anything about burzum. I was considering getting the greatest hits album. Would it be better to get one of his full lengths instead?

Get Det Som En Gang Var and Hvis Lysett Tar Oss, those are his two best albums.

Rather partial to Fliosofem, but either way for the love of god don't get a greatest hits album. Go for the whole perspective. I'd just work your way through them from the beginning. You're in for a treat, though.

I'd say Burzum is best listened to as whole albums. As the previous posters have said, avoid the greatest hits. As to which one, though... Everyone seems to have their own favourite. I'd say Det or Hvis first but you may prefer one of the others. You can't go too far wrong though, in fairness.

Get the debut first, then go chronologically from there.

If you're unsure, I would simply recommend downloading the albums and listening to them before you buy. If, for some reason you don't like downloading, even for the purpose of 'try before you buy,' then what album you should buy depends on what you like. I've never really liked the idea of 'best of/greatest hits' albums but it might be a good choice for your needs. Although, keep in mind that Burzum changed in sound a few times and I'm not sure how these sound changes will be received when listened to, placed all together in one album.

However, if you do choose to go for a full length, then the first two are pretty much in the straight forward black metal style; quite minimal, no flashy production, all with a melodic touch and Varg's signature, tortured vocals. I'm not a huge fan of the first two, so they are quite distant in my memory, but that very general description should be accurate enough.The next two are the ones that I really like. Varg mixes in more ambient elements and he goes almost solely for a thick and gloomy atmosphere. In my opinion, you can't go wrong getting one of these two, but it really depends on whether or not you like ambient music. I haven't heard his purely ambient albums and therefore can't comment.

Ultimately, if you can't deside, just listen to the songs before purchasing. You don't even have to download them, I'm sure you can find the songs on youtube.

This. Thats how i did it and i must say it was an amazing journey seeing how Burzum evolved and experimented for just simple black metal on there first album.. Hvis is my favourite album.

The debut is my personal favourite.

Get all of the albums. I'm not saying this from a fangirl perspective, but it's necessary with Burzum, as every album is so different from the others. There really is no definitive or completely representative one.

Or:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pguSt3P5PkI
If you like this get the debut.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvlSTL4FOzg
If you like this get Det Som Engang Var.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htN5C8lx ... re=related
If you like this get Hvis Lyset Tar Oss.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPyOhP1GTRQ
If you like this get Filosofem.



Remember that youtube always has shitty quality.

Do not get a greatest hits album, especially with Burzum! I own everything except Filosofem and Daudi Baldrs and I would have to say my personal favorite is Hvis Lyset Tar Oss. The other albums are good too, but I feel like that one embodies the most representative sound. But I would do as recommended earlier, start chronologically and work your way through. It seems to be the most logical procedure when listening to Burzum.

Filosofem and Hvis Lyset Tar Oss are best Burzum albums (i think) .

Exactly.

HLTO is the best metal album ever recorded, so get that.

I heard Filosofem and Hvis Lyset Tar Oss and are good albums, you may get this, but as Nolan_B says :


that's all about

All three are correct, though I agree with Karnstein in that the debut is the best. Most people seem to love Hvis the most but I personally regard that as Burzum's worst album (tired, anyone?), with the notable exception of Det Som Engang Var (the song) of course.

Go for the "Burzum/Aske" CD first. Hvis Lyset Tar Oss and Det Som Engang Var are great but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have appreciated them as much if I hadn't heard early Burzum first. It's just the right way to go about it.

From a different perspective, it's like hearing Dark Side of the Moon before Meddle or Obscured by Clouds. As you build up, the more developed and memorable albums are much more appreciated later on if you spend time enjoying the primitive stuff first. This isn't true for every band, but with Burzum, the whole discography is great, so there is no way you can be pointed in the wrong direction (besides the keyboard albums.) So yeah, go in chronological order like mentioend before.