What artist / singer / band has released the most albums?
I asked this at work and the top 2 contenders were Dolly Parton and Elvis Presley.
Frank Zappa would be a contender, i’m not sure of the actual count, but it is well over 80 albums.
unclviny
It depends on how you define things. Do you mean original albums only or compilations? Do alternate versions matter?
Zappa has 28 original albums credited at http://www.allmusic.com (though he recorded material for many more), plus 12 compilations.
Frank Sinatra at 103 original albums credited and at least 300 compilations. I’d say he’s the leader.
You’d think it’d be Chicago.
I’d guess Chicago too, although it sounds like Zappa might have beat them.
On www.zappa.com if you go to the “music is the best” page and look for the .pdf discography FZ is credited with 71 albums (but some of these are doubles, triples, quads hell the original “lather” is 10 discs!)
unclviny
Chicago has 29 plus 12 Compilations. Not even in the ballpark.
My count on Zappa was off; I neglected to view all his record. Allmusic lists him with 80, plus 33 compilations.
Still nowhere near Old Blue Eyes.
i thought this was gonna be a poll about Dopers who OWN a lot of records, in which case I was gonna mention the Cosmo(?) article about “Elvis Costello’s 500 essential albums”, about which I am intensely jealous. I have barely even HEARD 500 albums let alone consider 500 essential:mad:
oh well, carry on…
The Japanese icon Misora Hibari is said to have released nearly 300 albums during her forty year career. She must have lived in the studio.
UnuMondo
Who did the soundtracks for Rocky?
101 Strings?
I remember hearing when Tito Puente died he averaged 2 new albums a year for about 50 years.
Australian country music icon Slim Dusty has released 103 albums so far.
Great name for an Australian country music icon.
Dave Brubeck released 121 albums during his career as a jazz musician, according to the wiki discography. Sadly, I only own about 70 of them. 
You released an album better than every four days? Who does your quality control?
Quality control? What’s that?
Sounds like someone who records every extraneous noodle that comes out of his guitar, makes a file of 20 minutes of said aimless noodling, then uploads it as an “album.”
Frank is responding to a spammer who has been dealt with.
Note that said spammer bumped a thread that’s more than a decade old.
Do I need to take it to ATMB to note that the “spammer” was, at worst, promoting his artistic work (if that’s what you want to call it), which is generally condoned by the SDMB?
Even in 2002, this question needed to be qualified by “famous” or “professional” or “widely distributed.” It’s too easy to put out a cassette or CD.
Like Kevin Bath did.
Was the spammer Dennis Taaffe? No link if he was.