The Bible tells us to make a joyful noise unto God -- and the great gospel anthologies, enhanced by the Web, certainly give us an opportunity to do so. Anthony Heilbut, record producer who put together the definitive collection "The Gospel Sound" suggested the following albums as a foundation for any good collection:

Compilations

• The Great Gospel Men
  Heilbut's own compilations on the Shanachie label features famous soloists like Alex Bradford.
  
• The Great Gospel Women, Volume 2
  Stars powerhouses from Mahalia to Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
  
• Kings of the Gospel Highway
  A brand-new anthology of quartets.

Single-artists

• Shine on Me and Sam Cooke with the Soul Stirrers
  These feature the Soul Stirrers in their R.H. Harris and Sam Cooke versions, respectively.
  
  
• Swan Silvertones/Singin' in My Soul
  
  
• Oh Lord Stand By Me
  By the still-active, passionate Five Blind Boys of Alabama
  
  
• My Soul Looks Back: The Genius of Marion Williams, 1962-1992
  
  
• Best of Dorothy Love Coates, Volumes 1 and 2
  This album illustrates what gospel is all about, from the singer who once leapt around the stage in ecstasy, singing in her ragged but fervent contralto thrilling original songs like "That's Enough," tearing up churches and lifting hearts everywhere.

Links

To keep up in the latest with gospel, it's hard to beat a few basic sites:

• Black Gospel.com
  Full-length samples of current gospel albums
  
• Gospel City
  A range of old and new gospel styles aired on Internet radio
  
• Spinner
  An all-purpose gospel channel at the Web jukebox, cross-referenced with the definitive artist information at www.allmusic.com