| He's been releasing as a solo artist since the 60's, working in both salsa and (sometimes pretty straightahead)Latin jazz, winning acclaim in both areas.
I have been geting a chance to hear a bunch of his albums all at once, and this is a little bit of an overview, even though it's still pretty incomplete.
I like all the albums I've heard from the 60's with his band La Perfecta. The band has a distinctive trombone-heavy sound, but with flute in the mix as well. (Unfortunately, the audio quality on all these early recordings really poor.)
My particular favorites from the La Perfect material, so far are:
Azucar Pa'ti (Sugar for You) (1965)
Lo Que Traigo es Sabroso (1964)
During the 60's, he also collaborated on a couple albums with vibraphonist Cal Tjader (who some of you may be familiar with). From those two, I've only heard Bamboleate (1967), which I can recommend. The usual cliche about his collaborations with Tjader is: Latin hot meets Latin cool, but that's basically what it is, and it works rather well.
From the 70's, I particularly like:
Unfinished Masterpiece (1976) (although the last half is somewhat ruined by bad recording). This one really stretches out, and has some tracks that are high-energy even for Palmieri.
Vamonos Pa'l Monte (1976)
Lucumi, Macumba, Voodoo (1978). (Out of print.) This one is maybe the most "out there" I've heard from him, but I like it (or should I say, "so of course I like it"?). There are a couple funk and disco-influenced songs, but in between there is a track with an extended piano duet with his brother Charlie Palmieri, another that veers from cello to African-rooted drumming and singing, etc.
From the 80's:
Eddie Palmieri (1981) This features three tracks from the great sonero Cheo Feliciano, but for some reason I don't fully click with it. It starts with songs that offer compressed histories of Cuban music (begin with classical sounding danzons, which reflect a French element in Cuban music).
Palo Pa' Rumba (1984) is another favorite, and it escapes the shoddy sound of so many of his earlier releases. If I had to recommend one general-purpose starting point among his albums, it would be this one.
La Verdad - The Truth (1987)
None of the albums from the 90's on really stand out for me as entire albums, but there are some tracks I like a lot scattered across them.
There are also lots of compilations of Palmieri's work, including Gold and Eddie's Concerto, which are both good ones, although they only cover relatively early material. I haven't heard any of the more comprehensive ones.
Those who are more into jazz than I am might like the albums Palmas and Vortex. He also has a new Latin jazz album out this year which is getting very good reviews, and features some mainstream jazz luminaries. | 
