Now handily in one TPB!

I was just about to mention this, but I'm glad someone did beat me to this.

Outstanding book, one of the most completely underrated series in DC history. Funny, yet horrible fact: DC Comics was on the verge of making this into a television series. With the right cast and direction it would have been a remarkable show. Instead, ideas got tossed around, things got changed and we ended up getting another DC themed show instead.

Birds of Prey.

It's like opening a Christmas gift to reveal a Xbox 360 box, only to reveal it's contained with Twlight DVD's.

I have to second/third/whatever the Dini run.

It had some fun possibilities Dini kicked around, and the stories were more self contained (while still keeping a rolling narrative) that the 6 issue arc everything is these days.

I just started reading Batman a few months ago and was in the same boat. Very luckily the our comic book store guy is a huge Batman fan and set me straight.

I definitely am reading all the New 52 stuff and it's great. Not loving "The Dark Knight" much, but Batman is awesome and Detective Comics are very solid, along with Batman and Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl and Catwoman.

But basically, I wanted to get into Batman to read No Mans Land to increase my enjoyment for the Heroclix event, but then I found out Cataclysm led into NML, and that Legacy led into Cataclysm... and that Contagion preceded Legacy, and that they all owed a lot to the Knightfall saga. Yeah, it got to be a lot.

For me, I really enjoyed where I started. Right around the Knightfall saga, however, you definitely don't have to start there, but there are a couple things that are MUST reads imo, because they are referenced a lot and have big impacts on the Batman mythos, and not necessarily because they are the best stories. They are:

A Death in the Family / A Lonely Place for Dying - I really didn't love this story, but it's impact is undeniably huge, even till this day. Probably the absolute must read in terms of continuity.

The Killing Joke - Honestly I think this hasn't aged as well, because I can see why it was great in the day, but I only liked it instead of was blown away. Still, HUGE in terms of impact on the Batman mythos. A definite must.

Imo those are the only two must reads so far, but some of the others I'd throw in there to a lesser degree:

Knightfall: Introduction to Bane and the start of major crossovers in Batman titles. Great dynamics too, with an exhausted Bruce, coming into his own Tim Drake, and a troubled assassin trying to do good in Azrael. I enjoyed it a lot.

Hush/Under the Red Hood: Very good and reintroduces a controversial character and reinvents an old time villain. Red Hood: The Lost Days is really good too.

Batman Year One: Pure awesome. Isn't referenced as much as I expected it to be though (read it first). Still, pretty much a must and a solid starting place, especially to really get to understand Gordon better.

Robin Year One: Wish I read these earlier. Encapsulates a lot of old Dick Grayson Robin continuity, some of which is definitely referenced in different story arcs (Prodigal from the Knightsend for one). A a good quick read.

Musts in terms of being very good, but not necessarily musts continuity wise:

The Dark Knight Returns: My favorite graphic novel so far, but a different universe all together.

I know I'm leaving a lot of great stuff out, but I'm still a noob, so I haven't read a lot of the other stuff yet (Dark Victory, Long Halloween, NML, etc). This is the best of what I've read so far though and what I consider musts.

Court of Owls, No Man's Land, and the current running Death of the Family in the new 52 are all great stories. I personally loved Hush also.