Charlie Parker is understood to be the king in terms of saxophone and bebop. Get a copy of
Now's the Time.
Coltrane is one of the most popular tenor players out there.
Cannonball Adderley was the next big alto player after Bird died. Look for a copy of a
Cannonball and Coltrane album.
Oh, and a copy of
Mercy, Mercy Mercy: Live at the Club by Cannonball too.
You should probably check out
Kind of Blue. It's a Miles Davis CD that's legendary. Both Cannonball and Coltrane were there.
Sonny Rollins is also great. Get a copy of
Saxophone Colossus. Saint Thomas is a great standard to know.
Dexter Gordon is another great tenor player. I think the album people keep talking about is called
Homecoming.
Stan Getz has an unconventional tone on tenor, but he's one of the most lyrical improvisors out there. Get a copy of
Getz and Gilberto. That'll introduce you to some bossa nova standards.
If you got an
Ella Fitzgerald and
Louie Armstrong CD, you'll learn a lot of standards. Their
Gershwin albums are great. That and the
Cole Porter songbook.
You might as well get some
Chick Corea while you're at it. He's a pretty eccentric piano player. I have a copy of
Light as a Feather and
Now He Sobs Now He Sings. The jazz in that last one is kinda thick. It might be too much if you're just getting into jazz.
Dave Brubeck is another big name in jazz piano.
Time Out has a lot of songs you should be familiar with
You'd also want to look into
Thelonius Monk, Clifford Brown, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Miles Davis, and
Duke Ellington.
> < There are too many to name. Wow, I wanna go get a couple more CD's now...
P.S.
STAY AWAY FROM SMOOTH JAZZ. It rots your mind. There are much better things to buy than smooth jazz CD's. 
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