I recently picked up the 2 cd Styx Gold set. I like 10 or so of their songs, & already had the best of but BMG had this pretty cheap (under $7).

Other then Lady, I've never heard their Wooden Nickel material before. I really liked the 2 songs on Gold from Styx 1 & 2 (Best Thing & You Need Love); I didn't like the songs from Serpent Is Rising (Winner take All) & Man Of Miracles (R&R Feeling).

My question to those familiar with early Styx: How are Styx 1 & 2? Are they worth picking up?

"Winner Take All" and "Rock & Roll Feeling" strike me as being very similar in style to "You Need Love," so I'm surprised you liked one but not the others. It's hard, then, for me to say whether you'll like the material from the first four albums. They're all a bit of a mixed bag, but all have enough good songs to be worth getting, IMHO. (Of course, I'm a pretty big Styx fan, so take that for what it's worth.)

If it makes it any easier for you to decide, you can get all four original albums in their entirety -- plus the excellent bonus track "Unfinished Song" -- in one fell swoop by picking up The Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings, which can be had for less than $15.