Must Experience Scents To Say You Understand Perfume

I've tried about 300 scents now, but I've very much leaned towards the niche & the weird, & I fear I may have a skewed outlook on perfumery as a result.

I'd like to be able to say I have a good understanding of perfumery as a whole: masc, femme, unisex, classic, & contemporary.

What are some scents you think everyone ought to try so that when we talk about perfume we all have a shared baseline understanding of the craft? Scents that if you haven't tried you're missing out on fundamental, core building blocks of perfumery.

Things like N°5 Eau de ToiletteMitsouko Eau de ToiletteTerre d'Hermès Eau de Toilette or Echt Kölnisch Wasser Eau de Cologne

These would be my picks:

Miss Dior Eau de Toilette Originale, or generally anything from Edmond Roudnitska
Jicky Eau de Parfum - or EdT, whichever; it's the oldest perfume that is still in productionPoison Eau de Toilette- not the flankers, the OG tuberose grape juice
Yatagan Eau de Toilette - A Caron immortal classic
Aramis Eau de Toilette - this one is just timeless
Femme (1989) Eau de Toilette - you already have Mitsouko on the list, but this one is a little spicier and sweeter
Iris silver mist - a mothership of cold irises
Relique d'Amour (2012) - why the hell not, it's a classic at this point, in my opinion; this was the damp stone scent before all the indie boom in the genre
Bornéo 1834 - a patchouli that set the baseline for patch scents 20 years ago
À la nuit - if you can find it; this is my reference indolic jasmine
Bandit (2012) Eau de Parfum - if you can get your hands on the 1944 version, go for that one; however, the 2012 version still works well
Philosykos Eau de Toilette - The primordial mother of green creamy figs from Olivia Giacobetti; I picked EdT because it's older but EdP is similar enough, pick whichever

and something from Comme des Garçons, they've been the vanguard of weird perfumes since the 90s and remain more "niche" than most niche houses - I'd say something like Comme des Garçons 2 or Odeur 53 or Odeur 71

also, Series 3: Incense - Avignon - THE reference incense that Duchaufour designed in the early 00s

This is not easy because there are a lot of ways to get to know aldehydes for instance. Despite the fact that every aldehydic perfume is being compared to Chanel No 5 (unrightfully so imo), there are a lot of differences between them.
I would have chosen Estēe (1968) Super Cologne for the best use of aldehydes, but it is sadly being discontinued, the reformulation still smells a bit aldehydic, but there aren't any aldehydes in the pyramid on their website and it is very different from the original. But ofcourse this is personal. Others will love Chanel 5.
Same goes for powdery perfumes,: Since it's release, every powdery scent is being compared to Teint de Neige Eau de Toilette while there are many differences (a bit like everyone comparing any powder to babypowder (making me ask what everyone is doing to their babies ).
I second Miss Dior Eau de Toilette Originale for getting to know galbanum; L'Air du Temps Eau de Parfum for getting to know carnation; Infusion d'Iris (2015) Eau de Parfum for getting to know Iris, but also Iris comes in many ways: cold, pencilshaving-like, warm, dusty, powdery...etc. I think in Infusion d'Iris, one gets the most balanced use of Iris and - along with the use of Iris - it is close to the skin like most Iris forward perfumes are.
Then I would suggest anyone to explore Guerlains for their use of vanilla, it will change your perception of all the modern, gourmand vanilla's forever and there will be no way back (though their latest L'Heure Bleue (2026) is an insult to the house imo).
Also musk comes in many ways: It can be 'clean' or 'dirty', 'second skin-like' or 'animalic'...I haven't tried many musky scents, so can only name Fleur de Peau Eau de Parfum which I love on skin, but I hate it's remains on clothing. Still it is a good reference for Iris (also nice in here) as well as for musk.
To experience real musky scents, I'd suggest some of the Narcisso Rodriques' line; I tried Musc K, very beautyful but too musky for me ; Mitsouko Eau de Parfum for it's legendairy beauty, It's too complex to say for which note, for any note that's in it I guess .
Like I said: this is just my personal take on things ofcourse....

Lots of good suggestions here. All I would add is Tabac Blond Eau de Parfum . Masterful use of tobacco, leather and carnation. It was revolutionary for its time - "good girls" didn't smoke in the 20's, and they certainly didn't wear tobacco and/or leather perfumes.

I think it still smells divine, even after the inevitable reformulations. If you can get your nose on a vintage bottle, it's wonderful.

N°19 Eau de Parfum
N°19 Poudré
Iris silver mist
Portrait of a Lady Eau de Parfum
Carnal Flower Eau de Parfum
Salome
L'Heure Bleue 1912 Eau de Parfum
Après L'Ondée Eau de Toilette
Tam Dao Eau de Parfum
Chypre-Siam
Psychédélique
Varuek
LAVS
Scent Stories Vol.1/Ch.11 - Moon Dust Eau de Parfum
Immortelle Solaire
Ganymede Eau de Parfum
Thé Noir 29 Eau de Parfum
Chypre Palatin
Black Afgano Extrait de Parfum

Some of these are modern and some are not, but I think everyone should at least sniff them to have a more eclectic opinion of fragances.

I wouldn't wish to be prescriptive and say that there are certain fragrances that one must experience in order to understand perfumery, so all I can really do is tell you what has been instrumental in developing my own knowledge and appreciation.

Firstly, the exercise can be approached in various ways: knowledge of notes and accords; knowledge of styles; knowledge of historical importance and influence; knowledge of various houses and perfumers. I do not suggest that any one of these approaches is necessarily the correct one, as I favour a broad experience of all these ways of gaining knowledge.

Starting with the very basics, I try to experience as many natural scents as I can ... plants, flowers, foods, beverages, inorganic substances, animalic scents, and so on. I also like to experience a range of essential oils. Doing this helps me zero in on exactly what I experience in perfumery, and I take the opportunity as often as I can. Take patchouli, for example, which in essential oil form often smells quite different from the way it is experienced in perfumes. Having this knowledge of a broad range of notes is an important first step towards gaining a good understanding of perfumery as a whole, I think. Individual notes are the building blocks for understanding fragrance accords and styles.

Next, I try to experience a wide range of houses and perfumers. Here, I think that broad experience is more useful than focusing on individual houses, although, if pushed on the subject, I'd list many that have already been mentioned and some others, such as Acqua di Parma, Aramis, Chanel, Dior, Geo. F. Trumper, Guerlain, Hermès, Marc-Antoine Barrois, Penhaligon's, Serge Lutens and YSL. Also, in agreement with Valhelsingv, I'd add Comme des Garçons as a house that creates more unusual scents. Along different lines, but still unusual, you may want to look at Demeter and CB I Hate Perfume.

If I had to pick a few fragrances from these houses, they would mostly be ones that have already been mentioned, with a few additions ...

Colonia Eau de Cologne – Dating from 1916, the classic of Italian perfumery, in my opinion. Much favoured by Hollywood stars in the 1950s, I believe.

Aramis Eau de Toilette – A classic men's fragrance of the 1960s.

N°5 Eau de Toilette – Like it or not, Chanel N°5 (EdT and EdP) remains one of the most iconic fragrances ever.

Antaeus Eau de Toilette – A classic masculine-leaning fragrance of the 1980s. One of the defining expressions of the decade's bold, animalic masculinity.

Kouros Eau de Toilette – Another 1980s animalic powerhouse.

Eau Sauvage Eau de Toilette – Like Aramis, a 1960s icon. Its use of hedione makes it a standout for me.

Jicky Eau de Parfum – For reasons I'll discuss later.

Eau de Cologne Impériale – For reasons I'll discuss later.

Terre d'Hermès Eau de Toilette – A fairly modern fragrance that I feel set a new direction with its flinty, mineral accord.

Ganymede Eau de Parfum – Another modern fragrance that I think represents a departure from the usual.

When it comes to historical importance and influence, all of the above are contenders, in my opinion. Jicky, from 1889, is particularly interesting because it is frequently described as the oldest continuously produced modern perfume in the world. However, there are fragrances that predate it and are still being produced today. Guerlain's own ...

Eau de Cologne Impériale – Dating from 1853, predating Jicky by 36 years. It is in production now, although whether it has remained in continuous production throughout that time is another question. Likewise for ...

Acqua della Regina – Said to date from 1533.

"Farina Eau de Cologne" – Dating from 1709.

"4711 Original Eau de Cologne" – Dating from 1792.

Hammam Bouquet Eau de Toilette – Dating from 1872.

And then there are several offerings from Geo. F. Trumper that predate Jicky and are still in production.

Of course, the distinction between these older fragrances and Jicky is an important one. From what I've read, Jicky's historical significance lies not simply in its use of synthetic materials, which were already beginning to appear in perfumery, but in the innovative way Aimé Guerlain combined them with natural ingredients. In that respect, Jicky is widely regarded as a landmark in the development of modern perfumery.

All these older fragrances are interesting, and I'd like to try them, but the difficulty I have is knowing just how close they are to the original formulations. I suspect most, perhaps even all of them, are somewhat different from what they were over a hundred or more years ago. This raises an interesting question: when we experience a fragrance that was created 150 years ago, are we actually experiencing that historical creation, or merely a modern interpretation of it?