Best Audiophile Album in terms of Dynamic Range and Mastering Quality?

What NEW records are you speaking of? No new performers are using anyone of quality to make a record. So to answer your question: Eric Clapton's Unplugged (RTI) is one of the best sounding records you can lay on a turntable.

Good list- people getting into audiophile-ness should bookmark it. 

Yes, there are many new albums just as good- go to NativeDSD for an example- Patricia Barber's Clique is as good as it gets for sound quality. I much prefer many of her previous albums for musicianship over Clique however. 

This is great!  Thanks for sharing.

The question, posed many times, has been answered.  While you may not agree with all of their choices, look to The Absolute Sound Super LP List and the annual Stereophile Records to Live For  (pre covid name Records to Die For) lists.  All listed albums are generally excellent performances and mastering worthy of system demonstration. The list includes old, old/ newly remastered, and newly recorded albums.  Some of my favorite newly recorded albums to demonstrate my system capabilities are:  

1. Classical:  Boarders, Henning Sommerro, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, 2L Records 2L-173-SABD.  Modern classical, natural timbre, dense imaging, wide and deep staging, phenomenal clarity, excellent bass extension and excellent dynamics.  
2. Pop/Rock:  Cunningham/Bird  Loma Vista Recordings.  An excellent, Avant-garde take on the phenomenal compositions on Buckingham Nicks, a pre-Fleetwood Mac vinyl record now out of print.  All of the same qualities as #1 but in this genera. 
3. Pop:   Any of the three Billy Eilish albums.  You may not like the genre or all of her music, but if you are looking to demonstrate your system from a studio engineering effects perspective, you have to complement the recording engineering team. 
4. Folk:  Katja Werka, Contact Myself 2.0, Stockfish Records SFR 357.4102.2, OK it’s not newly recorded, but many do not know of the artist or recording.  All attributes of #1 in this genre.
5. Jazz:  Echoes Of The Inner Prophet, Melissa Aldana, tenor saxophone, Blue Note Records/UMG Recordings 00602458277470. It’s a Blue Note mastering.  I do not need to say more.  
6. Big Band:  BENNY GOODMAN - LIVE IN HAMBURG 1981" ANALOG PEARLS VOL.5, Stockfish Records, SFR 357.4806.2 recent, excellent digital remaster of one of the band leaders that defined the genera.  

Interesting list - reminded me of a few albums I need to listen to and a few that will never grace my rig no matter how good they are recorded. 
 

I am stunned that no Grateful Dead albums were on the list (unless I missed them). Both American Beauty and Working Man’s Dead are exquisitely recorded/mastered. Likely other dead albums are as well - these are the 2 I’m most familiar with and what I play to demo my rig. 

Do these assessments carryover to streaming quality?

I think most people would prefer an assessment of streaming since most people aren't listening to albums anymore and would prefer not listening to albums.  Because most people don't have everything recorded on the planet like streaming sources do.

Edgar Meyer, Christian McBride But Who's Gonna Play The Melody? 2024 - nice recording.

Probably something from David Chesky. His new audiophile masters stuff probably too.

I own 27 of the albums on the list. There is good stuff there. If you are looking for more modern albums with excellent sq, mastering, dr, etc. check out recordings by Radiohead, Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish, Tool, Dominique Fils-Aime, Raye

Frank Sinatra and the Modernaires "When The Sun Goes Down" 78rpm.

@emergingsoul 

Generally the great recordings carry over to streaming. I have an extensive vinyl library with a lot of audiophile and well recorded albums When I listen to one of those, thinking they will outperform my streamer (I have a very good streamer), first, typically there is usually a red book and a high resolution version available on streaming. Second, they usually they sound the same. However, sometime the streaming version sound a little better and sometimes the vinyl sound a little better. I have come to believe that there is a lot of variation in the vinyl (even with really good recordings) because the molds that they are using to create the vinyl version wear out... pretty quickly. So the first few hundred or thousand sound much better than later pressings. Several of my audiophile friends have confirmed this through there own observations as well.

When I was a kid 50 years ago, I picked up an album titled San Francisco Ltd.  It's a Crystal Clear album (code CCS5004) from 1976.  There's a mix of jazz, funk and soul on the album from various artists.  it's a 45 RPM Direct to Disc recording.

For pure sound quality, I have never heard an album that comes close to this recording - sheer perfection.

@feldmen4 Blues For Allah along with Europe '72 are worthy too! 

These are go-to's, as anyone familiar with RMAF can tell you.

https://bluecoastmusic.com/

Well, these don't exactly make the last decade cutoff, but I can't imagine a list that didn't include these:

Mighty Sam McClain  Give it Up to Love

Holly Cole   Don't Smoke in Bed

Chris Jones    Roadhouses and Automobiles

Well here I was all ready to jump all over the list for being the same audiophilic dreck always mentioned, but the list is actually more diverse than I expected. 

But I will still say that I'd rather listen to a bad recording of good music than a good recording of bad music. Lots of this list is good music though. 

Though I am not a religious I have to agree with Mighty Sam McClain.

I have some very good recordings and my all time favorite is also my favorite test disk. It also contains superb musical tracks, machine gun, canon, jet flyover.....

Alan Parsons Project

It will test any system to the max in every way and the recording quality leaves nothing to be desired.

I have the original MFSL version which cost a lot when new and still quite valuable.

Rick

I have to add Return to Forever, Romantic Warrior to this list. Fabulous recording for showcasing your system. 👍🏻

Thank you jsalerno277 for your list! A couple of jems there! 

XTC Apple Venus Vol 1

I set up the cartridge on my turntable to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon UK pressing. 

OP list consists of reliable audiophile familiars that everyone has used for decades: Dark Side, Graham Parsons, etc.. Personally I incline to After The Gold Rush over Harvest, and to FM's 1975 eponymous LP over Rumours -- two glorious, colossal hit LPs overshadowed among reviewers by these artists' rabidly anticipated succeeding work. Can't Buy a Thrill would be another example. Meanwhile, Forever Changes gets "newly discovered" by every generation, while its impressive sonic virtues are rarely mentioned.

For dynamics in NEW pop recoding, my go-to is Katie Pruitt, "Expectations" -- the title cut in particular is off the charts.

Thank you to OP and others for contributing.  As noted by the author, one should seek the SACD hybrid, SACD or some remastering for best results.  The Fleetwood Mac recommendation in SACD hybrid or other versions is miles ahead of the redbook version as I'm sure others are too.  I applaud and appreciate the effort of that remastering.

Dark side of the moon a Classic .

Jazz at the pawn shop.a classic 

Hope,- Hugh Masacala a Classic 

Kind of Blue classic Great 

Give Gregory Porter's album, Take Me To The Alley, a listen.  Marvelous!

Any of the early Telarcs are obvious choices.  The company’s first half-dozen or so LPs were consciously mastered to feature an insane dynamic range and low-end.

Particular standouts: the first release (Michael Murray’s "Organ Music"), Fennel’s Cleveland Winds, Rite of Spring, 1812 Overture.  Most are available on eBay or sometimes Discogs for not much money. Take your pick.   They are all friggin’ jaw-droppers.

These Telarc releases stand out even more b/c they boast performances that are in a class with their sonics.

Maybe this is a bit off-topic, but I can't see how The Nightfly merits such a high dynamic-range ranking in the list presented by the OP.  It's mostly a constant volume level, except for fadeouts and the end of "The New Frontier," where all the instruments except the electric piano and cowbell drop out.

I think there's got to be more dynamics in some of the other recordings mentioned, especially the Telarcs mentioned in the last posting.

For all of you Deadheads, Ladies and Gentlemen - The Grateful Dead Filmore East April 1971 is one of the best live recorders of the band I’ve heard. Incredible separation and sound stage as well as dynamics.  Steve Gutenberg used it to evaluate some amplifiers on his YouTube channel. He has great recommendations to consider. I’m grateful he turned me on to this gem. 

Gillian Welch's Ancony Records are superbly recorded. All analog. All tube equipment. Beautiful singing and guitar.

Aja, Steely Dan.

Sara K. Waterfalls.

Sheffield Labs I've Got the Music In Me By Thelma Houston with Pressure Cooker.  I practically wore this album out back in the late 1970's.  The music was so dynamic with Thelma's powerful voice and Pressure Cooker's rock instrumentals.  A wonderful album! 👍

@hilde45 +1 and thanks. I am presently creating a Qobuz "Audiophile" playlist leading off with Blue Coast recordings. We'll see whether my incoming preamp extracts more from this material than the outgoing.

+1 for I've Got the Music in Me - I think it is one of SL's best sounding albums. Period.

Also - Umbrella - Rob McConnell Big Band Jazz - D2D

ANY of the new Original Source releases from DG. All re-mastered recordings from 50's, 60's, 70's - at least so far - tape to cutting head. Can't get any purer than that. And the sound is incredible.

Crystal Clear - if you can find any - 45rpm D2D

Analogue Productions - they have remastered a LOT of stuff - I have yet to be disappointed. 

I've always thought my original copy of Rickie Lee Jones debut album was recorded very well(WB).  I have tried a "fresh" copy from Mo-Fi.  While still good, it seemed to be missing something.  Maybe that was because it was thicker vinyl and my VTA on my table wasn't readjusted or something. 
Also, I think The Siegel-Schwall Band's 953 West on Wooden Nickel Records is  really good, too FWIW.

Sublime "Sublime" the CD is fantastic

"Jerry Garcia and David Grisman" Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab

Giant Sand "Giant" Vinyl