I've had a number of people contact me requesting recommendations on what shows to pursue to begin their collections. So I am indulging them (and myself!) by posting my 'essentials' list for any OTR collection.

Here's your chance to speak out, and maybe help some people who are new to the hobby get their collections off on the right foot. As experienced collectors know, not all radio drama is created equal, and a few unfortunate choices can dampen a newcomer's enthusiasm pretty fast. So...

I ENCOURAGE YOU TO SEND ME YOUR OWN 'ESSENTIALS' LIST AND I WILL BE HAPPY TO POST IT!

WEBMASTER'S TOP 10:

A Sound of Thunder (Bradbury 13)
Fatherland (BBC)
An Alternative to Suicide (BBC)
Kaleidoscope (Bradbury 13)
Prisoner of the Machines (CBS Radio Mystery Theater)
Here, There be Tigers (Bradbury 13)
The Map Makers (X Minus One)
The Last Objective (Dimension X)
The Martian Death March (X Minus One, Dimension X)
Call Me Joe (Sci-Fi Radio)
 

OTHER GREAT CHOICES:

When the Worlds Met (2000 Plus)
Leviathan 99 (BBC)
Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed (Bradbury 13)
The Lost Race (Dimension X)
Mars is Heaven (ABC Radio Workshop, Dimension X)
The Green Hills of Earth (Dimension X, CBS Radio Workshop)
Hostess (X Minus One)
Universe (X Minus One)
The Vital Factor (Dimension X)
A Gun for Dinosaur (X Minus One)
A Sense of Wonder (X Minus One)
The Seventh Victim (X Minus One)
Captain of the Pole Star (CBS Radio Mystery Theater)
The Abominable Snowman (Escape)
The Thirteenth Truck (Escape)
Three Skeleton Key (Escape)
The House in Cypress Canyon (Suspense)
Hallucination Orbit (X Minus One)
Sea Legs (X Minus One)
The Cold Equations (Exploring Tomorrow)
Bathysphere (Lights Out)

None of the above are in any particular order.

From Rich Carlson, Kirkland, WA:

Quiet Please - The Thing on the Fourble Board
Suspense - Ghost Hunt, Donovan's Brain
Dimension X - The Last Objective
Lights Out - Death Robbery
Quiet Please - The Man Who Stole a Planet
Arch Oboler's Plays - Johnny Got His Gun
The Shadow - The Gibbering Things
X Minus One - The Map Makers
Escape - Three Skeleton Key, Earth Abides
NBC Presents: Short Story - The Lottery
Space Patrol - The Hole in Empty Space

From Michael Lloyd, Los Angeles, CA;

1. Zero Hour (Suspense)
2. Mars is Heaven (X Minus One)
3. Marionettes, Inc. (Dimension X)
4. A Sound of Thunder (Bradbury 13)
5. Kaleidoscope (Bradbury 13)
6. The Too Perfect Alibi (Suspense)
7. The Parade (X Minus One)
8. The Ravine (Bradbury 13)
9. The Man (Bradbury 13)
10. The Waxwork (Suspense)

From M.P. Cassidy, Thornton, New Hampshire:

From Luc L'Heureux :

1. Quiet, Please: The Thing On The Fourble Board
Northern Lights
Whence Came You?
Let The Lilies Consider
Shadow Of The Wings

2. Suspense: The House In Cypress Canyon
The Hitch Hiker
Ghost Hunt
Three Skeleton Key
Sorry, Wrong Number

3. X Minus One: The Veldt
Mars Is Heaven
Zero Hour
Nightfall
Sea Legs

4. Lights Out: The Hole
The Dark
Chicken Heart
Cat Wife
Poltergeist

5. Dark Fantasy: Resolution 1841
Death Is A Savage Deity
The Man With The Scarlet Satchel
The Demon Tree
Penslvannia Turnpike

6. Dimension X: The Martian Chronicles
Nightfall
Dr. Grimshaw's Sanitarium
Mars Is Heaven
A Pebble In The Sky

7. Escape: Casting The Runes
Country Of The Blind
Three Skeleton Key
Bloodbath

8. The Shadow (all)
9. The Lone Ranger (all)
10. The Mercury Theatre On The Air: War Of The Worlds