Calculating a minimum spouting velocity for a given solid-fluid system has never been easy as the right choice of the correlation was difficult. It is shown in the present work that an analytical approximation for the exponent on the major influential parameters may be helpful if the derivation results from the basic force balance between solid and fluid. Nearly a dozen of earlier reported correlations are compared here with their key experimental details. Systematic experiments were performed using seven different spouted bed apparatus, nine different solid particles and two different spouting gases. Results from the analytical approximation, present experiments and the past reported correlations, a comprehensive correlation is proposed covering a wide range of variables. An industrial engineer or a scientist can now judiciously choose suitable exponent on the major influential parameters for a given set of spouted bed apparatus/ column, solid and fluid.