In response to Sugarbrie, I nominate the applause track from the Stakatto disc from way back (the one with various instruments and, my favorite, the crystal glassware being thrown against the wall). A couple of minutes of a huge ovation--just what you need when you're feeling beaten down at the end of the day!
Applause: Bummer
Now that I have a rig I can call a "system", I often find myself looking up from a book or the computer or whatever to pay attention to a particularly involving musical passage. Finally, it ends and I think, 'wow, that was just right', or 'jeepers, Vladimir or Dizzy or _______ was right here a moment ago'. But if it's a live recording, the applause always brings me down. Never, not once have I heard applause on any audio rig that sounded like hands clapping. Baez "From Every Stage", Dizzy "An Electrifying Evening" and "Newport II", "Jazz at the Pawnshop", Horowitz at the Met", Clapton "Unplugged", nada. Am I opening the gates to hell pursuing realistic applause? Is it out there at $50,000 per? Should I care? Have I ruined anyone's day?