Which mysql server package should I install?

I just switched hosts and now have the task of reinstalling everything. I'm on CentOS now and I need to install mysql but have no idea which package to install. I can't seem to find any info on the differences either. Would anyone know? Yum is not an option as it wants to install 1.0.77 and this is too old. The machine is 64 bit.

From serverfault $pageUsers[$entry.posts[0].author].name

• What version of CentOS did you install? On my recently-installed copy of CentOS 5.4, I show this:

  [root@server ~]# yum info mysql-server
  Loaded plugins: fastestmirror
  Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
   * addons: mirror.fdcservers.net
   * base: centos.mbni.med.umich.edu
   * epel: ftp.osuosl.org
   * extras: centos.omnispring.com
   * updates: mirror.ubiquityservers.com
  Available Packages
  Name       : mysql-server
  Arch       : x86_64
  Version    : 5.0.77
  Release    : 4.el5_4.2
  Size       : 9.8 M
  Repo       : updates
  Summary    : The MySQL server and related files
  URL        : http://www.mysql.com
  License    : GPLv2 with exceptions
  Description: MySQL is a multi-user, multi-threaded SQL database server. MySQL is a
             : client/server implementation consisting of a server daemon (mysqld)
             : and many different client programs and libraries. This package contains
             : the MySQL server and some accompanying files and directories.
  

  ErikA : Or did you just make a typo with "1.0.77"? I'm not sure if a more recent version is available from the official CentOS repositories. You always have the option to install the official binary or source packages to get up to the most recent revs, but that's just asking for headaches when you go to upgrade or do security patches in the future.
  From ErikA

• If the version you want to install differs from the version supported in your distribution and you have no reason to compile from source, I'd say your best off seeking MySQL's precompiled binaries.

  A very rough procedure is listed below. You might want to remove the mysql and mysql-server packages from your system, which means you would need to use a different init and create a mysql user. You may have system packages dependent on it.

  I tend to make my primary server roles (IE. Web, mail, proxy) built around scripts and source distribution as opposed to distribution packages, while using distribution packages for core system utilities and libraries. This is simply my preference.

  cd /usr/local/src
  wget http://mysql.tar.gz
  tar zxvf mysql.tar.gz -C /usr/local
  ln -s /usr/local/mysql-$VERSION /usr/local/mysql
  cd /usr/local/mysql
  scripts/mysql_install_db --force  
  chown -R root  .
  chown -R mysql data
  chgrp -R mysql .
  /usr/local/mysql/support-files/mysql.server start
  tail -f  /usr/local/mysql/data/`uname -n`.err
  cd /usr/local/mysql/data
  /bin/rm -fr test
  

  Download MySQL

  From Warner

• Download the MySQL 5.1 RPMs from dev.mysql.com.

  The RPMs are labeled "Red Hat & Oracle Enterprise Linux", but I believe they work fine for CentOS as well. I'm testing them on a CentOS 5.4 host now, and they installed without problems and seem to work fine.

  From Stefan Lasiewski