With so many great and thoughtful recommendations mentioned above, I hesitate to add another: Jazz at Massey Hall aka The Greatest Jazz Concert ever. This is an excellent live recording of be-bop greats at their peak -- Parker, Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus (who, as I recall made the recording) and Max Roach. The recording has been issued under several names and forms over the years. I have a 70s era double lp under the title The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever on Prestige. Dizzy's solo on Wee still blows my mind. You can find it relatively cheaply on Discogs. Snag one!
As others suggested, you can explore from there. One approach would be to go backwards in time to Jelly Roll Morton in the '20s or forward to today (Yusef Dawes) with many stops along the way in either direction. Or pick an artist (Monk is the guy who hooked me); or an instrument, an era, a label etc. Whichever path you take, enjoy the music.