Best sounding music


I'm not a collector but I have bought more that 1400 LPs and 45s, 450 CDs/DVDs in addition to numerous cassettes and reel to reel tapes.

I got to thinking about which are the best sounding. These are some of mine!

I just purchased the Classic 45rpm of Willie Nelson's "Stardust" Buy this, it is the best recording I have ever heard, and I'm not even a Nelson fan.

A Three Blind Mice XRCD sampler. This is Japanese Jazz of the highest caliber. Cuts one and two are supreme.

Another Classic reissue Sonny Stitt "Blows the Blues" is a 180g Lp that is so intimate it makes you feel right there.

A while back I bought an MFSL 200g Lp of Gerry Mulligan and Paul Desmond called "Blues in Time". It doesn't get much better than this. My only regret is that I didn't play it for over a month after buying.

Booker T's "And Now! on Sundazed is terrific. I didn't know he was such a great organist. And the sound is what you would expect of a 180g reissue.

The Cars "Greatest Hits" on DCC heavy vinyl is just about as good as a multi-track studio recording can sound.

I've owned the Sheffield Lab CD of Thelma Houston's "I've got the music in me" for years, but recently found the Lp version. It blows away the cd.

Red Rodney on Classics 24/96 DAD is the one to get if you go this route. Of course, it only plays on a DVD player

Sonny Rollins MFSL "Way Out West" cd is excellent. I am currently contemplating the Classic 45rpm version.

Now, DVD-A in my mind hasn't cut it. But! The best I've heard is Aaron Neville's "Devotion". This is what multi-channel is all about.

As a point of reference, I'm driving Maggie SMGs with Quicksilver 60w mono tube amps with a HSU su on the bottom. I have a line level Opera Consonance tube preamp and AES tube phono preamp. MY TT is a ten yr old VPI Jr with Audioquest arm and Shure V15mr Cart. Not a very expensive sytem (relatively speaking), but I love it. I'm also fortunate enough to have a dedicated HT in another room.

I'd like to hear about other great sounding music. Just try to stay away from the really esoteric crap that many audio reviewers like to cram down our throats.

Jim
128x128jwrobinson
Take a look at the Audio Annex recommended recordings page. They update it all the time.
Janis Ian, "Breaking Silence", on LP, great music, stunning recording. Folks, this is my reference recording. The generic CD version is very shallow however.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, "Will The Circle Be Unbroken", on LP, even my non-bluegrass loving friends love it. This one will test your systems ability to recreate acoustic guitar.

Joan Baez, "Diamonds And Rust", on LP, I don't like her but I love this album.

Jonie Mitchell, "Miles Of Isles", on LP, wonderful recording and really great music. Where did she go?

Nancy Wilson, "The Best Of Nancy Wilson", on LP, this proves that they knew how to do it in the old days. She was better solo than The Supremes ever were.

Greg Alman, "Laid Back", on LP, the best white-boy southern blues that I've heard. This was made at the height of his heroin addiction. Hmmm.

Dire Straights, all of them, on LP.

Donald Fagen, "Night Fly", on LP, sit down, shut up and hold on.

Leon Russell, "Will O' The Wisp", on LP.

Paul Simon, "Still Crazy After All These Years", on LP. Why doesn't he get back together with Art Garfunkel? "My Little Town" proves he should.

Anything by Steely Dan, on LP. Preferably import pressings.

Most of what I have suggested are on generic pressings and makes you wonder how good they would be if the tapes were handed over to MFSL.
I just picked up a CD by the English folk guitarist Wizz Jones - a re-issue of a 1972 recording called 'Right Now' that is rather stunning and immediate in it's sound quality. It also happens to be rather excellent music. His other disc, 'Magical Flight' is an equally crisp and pristine recording. This has gotten me to reflect on how well-recorded much of the English folk scene from this era was, and the rather definitive character inherent in these prodcutions. The recordings I own from Davy Graham, Bert Jansch, Mike Cooper, Pentangle and similar artists are uniformly excellent in sonic quality. Considering the fact that some of these date back to the early '60's, it's interesting to consider that they should easily be able to go head-to-head with many of the currently lauded audiophile recordings of modern times.