From "Sex Machine" to around about 1975, he was near enough flawless in his output. Everyone needs to hear some of his live albums, Live at the Apollo is the obvious choice, but also amazing are Vols II & III of Live at the Apollo, and Live at L'Olympia is probably the best of all his live albums.
Also worth finding (it's readily available on the internet) is the bootleg live album Live in Zaire. This was recorded in 1974, so you get incredible live versions of The Payback, The Boss and Get On the Good Foot, none of which appear on any of the aforementioned albums.
Finally, also great were the solo records by the JBs (his backing band) and the various members of his entourage that were recorded around this time. The James Brown's Funky People comps (there are three) are all utterly essential, and there's plenty more great stuff on the studio albums of the JBs.
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