I know this has probably been covered a zillion times, but hey let’s make it a zillion o’ one. 
My traditional Irish music collection is very limited, tonight I plan on stopping at a couple of stores and looking around. So the question is: What do you like?
i almost like all the itm, but sometimes i like something real special like:
sean-nos by joe heaney! i love his ornamentation http://www.cic.ie/cgi-bin/music.asp
but this is actually more related to the irish traditional music forum http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewforum.php?f=8
Here are some flute ideas (of course we have the exact same musical taste!): 
- Anything of Harry Bradley's - he has 3 CDs, all good.
- "The Best of Seamus Tansey."
- Seamus Tansey - The Phantom Shadows of a Connaught Fire
- Anything by Grey Larsen, but especially "The Orange Tree"
- Either of Hammy Hamilton's CDs.
- Josie McDermott - Darby's Farewell.
- Colm O'Donnell's CD.
- Matt Molloy - the "black CD"
- Wooden Flute Obsession - if you can find it, it's sold out.
And some non-flute ideas:
- Tribute to Michael Coleman.
- John Carty - Last Night's Fun.
- Paddy Keenan - The Long Grazing Acre (thanks Fool!)
- Chieftains 6 (Bonaparte's retreat).
- Other old Chieftains stuff.
- Chieftains' "Water From the Well" DVD.
- Lunacy - Redwood.
- Bothy Band - the first album
- Kepa Junkera - Bilbao 0:00h
Anything by Lunasa.
Bothy Band.
Altan - tho’ I like the instrumentals better - it’s only ‘cos I
don’t like listening to people spoiling the tune by singing over it.
At the moment my fav’ CD is The Long Grazing Acre
by Paddy Keenan & Tommy O’Sullivan.
Fav’ track 2 =Eimhin’s, Cahir’s Kitchen.
It’s taken me a month to learn Cahir’s kitchen.
Absolute killer reel!
See if the CD Shoppe will let you listen to the tracks before you buy.
Then spoil ye self and buy 'em all 
You know it makes sense!
HTH
Lord, there are so many…what would I take with me to while away my time on a desert isle?
Lawrence Nugent’s “Two for Two”
Mick O’Brien’s “May Morning Dew”
“The Fire Aflame”
“The Maple Leaf” (I’m still fixated on that one)
“Contentment is Wealth” with Matt Molloy and Sean Keane: classic.
For high-caloric supergroup stuff, just about anything by Altan, Dervish or Danú…Lúnasa gets the bin, sorry. 
Thanks for your replys, I think I’ll cruise over to the trad music forum, and post over there, and maybe get some more suggestions. Might not make it over to the music store tonight after all, so that gives me time to fish for more ideas.
my HUGEST! personal recommendation is whatever Chieftain CD that has “Maggie in the Wood” (Chieftains 8?). My TiVo recorded them playing it on a classic SNL show and it was one of those tunes that ble-uw me away. I found it on musicmatch for 99 cents (they only have 2 Chieftain CDs, BTW). Great tune…
I second the recommendation for Paddy Keenan “The Long Grazing Acre” - Uilleann pipes and low whistle…good stuff.
I think my absolute favorite is the first Planxty album.
Also the first Solas, the first couple of Altan. I definitely prefer some songs along with the tunes.
I also concur on the Long grazing Acre and Lunasa, but you might really want a Grinter low-F after hearing them. I know I did.
I second one of Nano’s suggestions, Mick O’Brien’s “May Morning Dew,” and I’m even more taken with Brian McNamara’s new album “A Piper’s Dream.” Also, JOHN McSHERRY & Michael McGoldrick’s “At First Light.”
here’s my list (collection actually), and not in any particular order either!
1 Capercaillie- From Dusk Till Dawn
2 Capercaillie-Live in Concert
3 Michael McGoldrick-Morning Rory
4 Michael McGoldrick-At First Light
5 Michael McGoldrick-Fused
6 Michael McGoldrick-Twice Live with Ed Boyd (private recording)
7 Kevin Crawford-‘D’ Flute Album
8 Kevin Crawford-In Good Company
9 Lunasa-“The Live Album”
10 Lunasa-Otherworld
11 Lunasa-Merry Sisters of Fate
12 Lunasa-Redwood from Green Linnet
13 Lunasa-Redwood from The lad’s website, the ‘Official Album’
14 Lunasa-Live in a D.C. pub
15 Cruise’s Pub-County Clare, Ireland (private recording)
16 Cillian and Niall Valley-Callanbridge
17 Conal O’Grada-Top of the Coom
18 Danu
19 Danu-Think Before You Think
20 Danu-All Things Considered
21 The Bothy Band-Live in Paris
22 Matt Malloy-Shadows on Stone
23 Matt Malloy-Contentment is Wealth
24 Matt Malloy-Live at Matt Molloy’s (to arrive this week)
25 Matt Malloy and Donal Lunny (on backorder right now)
26 Jim and John Coen-Traditional Irish Music
27 Colm O’Donell-Farewell Evening Dances
28 Chieftains-Down the Old Plank Road
29 Chieftains-Water from the Well
30 Chieftains-An Irish Evening-Live at the Belfast Opera House
31 Chieftains-Live in Gainesville, FL. I & II
32 Chietains -Chieftains 9-Boil the Breakfast Early
33 Larsen and League-The Green House
34 Larsen and League-Dark of the Moon
35 Old Blind Dogs-Fit?
36 Brian Dennehey and Todd Denman-Like Magic
37 Ashley McIassac-Hi How Are You Today?
38 Leahy
39 Leahy-Lakefield
40 Solas
41 Solas-The Words that Remain
42 Seamus Eagan-When Juniper Sleeps
43 Seamus Eagan/O’Donnell/Moloney-3 Way Street
44 Seamus Eagan-Week in January
45 Turlach Boylan-Shame the Devil
46 Jim and John Cohen-Traditional music of Ireland
47 John Williams-Steam
48 Donal Lunny-Coolfin
49 Paddy Keenan-Live somewhere (private I think)
50 Christy Moore-Live on Vickar Street
51 Laurence Nugent-Tradional Music on Flute and Whistle
52 Laurence Nugent-The Windy Gap
53 Marcus O’Murchu- O’ Bheal go Beal
54 Paddy Carty-Traditional Irish Music
55 Waking Ned Devine
56 Flutes Galore-Various Compilation
57 Joe McKenna- The Low Whistle
58 Washington Irish Folk Festival Live-I, II, III, IV (private recording)
59 Sean Tyrell and Tommy Peoples-Live in a NY Pub (private recording)
60 Heart of the Gaels- Compilation
61 Brave Hearts-Compilation
62 Afro Celt Sound System-Volume Three, Further in Time
63 Phil Hardy-Whistleworks
64 Full Moon Ensemble
65 Kevin Henry-One’s own place
Wow, now I know why you are the Tradman.!
Personally, I like the following groups and artists:
Turlach Boylan
The Chieftains
Gaelic Storm
And for Non-Trad Celtic:
Loreena McKennitt
Clannad
Enya
Good stuff. I wish I could expand my CD collection more though… I’d like to get a little more variety in there, but my budget tells me not to.
I’ve recently stumbled upon Mary Custy, a fiddle player from Clare. I heared her in concert here in Nuremberg, and bought one CD, “After 10:30”.
I don’t know much about fiddle playing and what is traditional, but her playing is wonderfully relaxed and a pleasure to listen to, so she’s my current favourite 
Sonja
Actually there are some people around who would regard hardly anything on that list as trad at all. Those of us who are more tolerant would still like to see a few of the classics that have stood the test of time. Where’s Seamus Ennis, Johnny Doran, Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford? Where’s Tony McMahon and Noel Hill for that matter?
…don’t forget Joanie Madden! If you’re a whistle fan, “Songs of the Irish Whistle” #1 (the best selling whistle CD of all time) is a must have BUT there are a few non-trad tunes on it. The recently released #2 CD has received fine reviews. (I don’t have it…yet.)
If I could take only one CD to a desert island it would be “Greenwood Slide” by Lothlorien – and they’re from New Zealand of all places (the other Emerald Isle?).
I bought that CD from MP3.com about three years ago. Since then I’ve collected dozens of celtic CDs and downloaded hundreds of tracks from eMusic.com and Lothlorien is still my hands-down favorite.
(BTW, for those who don’t know, eMusic.com is going to the dogs at the end of the month.)
John