As one who is an uneducated fan of Cajun music, I can vouch for "Encore Encore" as a good introduction to the genre. Perfect for the stereo for an outdoor barbeque, BeauSoleil tosses off traditional two-step with ease ("Le Chanky-Chank Francais"). This is the kind of good-time Cajun music you associate with bowls of jambalaya and gumbo on a sweaty Louisiana night, and it's a lot of fun.

BeauSoleil is not a one-note pony, however, and "Encore Encore" shows off some of the band's different influences. "Conja" and "A Bebe Waltz" are two examples of tunes that don't fit the stereotypical Cajun tune, but they are also lots of fun.

I'm not sure what would be a five-star intro to Cajun, but if you want to get a good, representative album that gives you a sense for the music, both its classical forms and its various tangents, "Encore Encore" would be for you.