Writer,
I'm on a "Rediscovering Rush" mission also. I started liking them in 1977 when my twin brother brought home this new album with the cool cover, 2112. Over the years, I've held on to my favorites off of each album up until Moving Pictures. I couldn't embrace their need for the strong synthesized sound on Signals, so I let them go, missing all the hidden gems in the subsequent CDs (the format changed during the journey also). Fast forward from 1977 to 2006, when I picked up a copy of Neil Peart's book, Ghost Rider. I can't even remember what led me to the book at this point. After I finished that one, I immediately read Travelling Music and Roadshow, back to back. They lit me on fire, and the fire's been growing ever since. My first concert was this year, 8/24/07, and that was a month before I purchased Snakes & Arrows. Now, I'm 3 CDs short of owning everything they've put out.
It's been an expensive journey, but such a soul satisfying one. My job allows me to listen to my iPod all day long, so I've been listening to all the CDs in chronological order (Signals through Hold Your Fire is a painful era for me... not really, I just don't like the synthesizers). Things start cooking for me when Presto comes on, then it's smooth sailing through Snakes & Arrows. They are now my all time favorite band. Period.
Forever!
Dana