Best vinyl purchases based on pressing, studio production, sound quality and enjoyment.


As you all know this question has been asked a million times on a million sites BUT each time it’s asked, it can be very helpful to those trying to find great vinyl that is quiet, produced well and touches the heart each time it’s played.

I’ve only been into vinyl for 6 months now and have purchased 250 albums, 99 percent new, recent pressings, reissues. So within the last year, what are 10 of your favorite album purchases based on pressing, studio production, sound quality and pure enjoyment??? Here’s my top 20:

1. The Wonderful Sounds of Female Vocals. (Various artists, 200 gram QRP)
2. Willie Nelson- To all the Girls (Various artists 180 gram Legacy)
3. Dead Can Dance- Into the Labyrinth (180 gram Mobile Fidelity reissue)
4. Rickie Lee Jones- Rickie Lee Jones (180 HQ Pressing Warner Bros reissue)
5. Stevie Ray Vaughn- The Sky is Cryin (200 gram Analogue productions 45rpm reissue)
6. Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon (2016 reissue)
7. Renee Flemming- The Beautiful Voice (Decca 20th anniversary gatefold)
8. Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong- Ella and Louis (Analogue productions Mono reissue)
9. Eva Cassidy- Nightbird (Blix Street Records 180 gram)
10. Doors- All the new reissue 45’s from Analogue Productions, 200 gram
11. Cash- The Man Comes Around (American Records, QRP, 180 gram)
12. Shelby Lynne- Just a Little Lovin (QRP, Analogue Productions, 45 rpm, 200 gram)
13. Vanessa Fernandez- When the Levee Breaks (Groove Note, 45 rpm, 180 gram)
14. Nils Lofgren- Acoustic Live (Analogue Productions, QRP, 200 gram)
15. Neil Young- Live at Massey Hall (Reprise, 180 gram reissue)
16. Tony Bennett- I Wanna Be Around (Mobile Fidelity, 180 gram reissue)
17. Linda Ronstadt- What’s New (Analogue Productions, QRP, 200 gram, reissue)
18. Cat Stevens- Tea for the Tillerman (Analogue Productions, QRP, 200 gram reissue)
19. Muddy Waters- Folk Singer (Analogue Productions, QRP, 200 gram reissue)
20. Fleetwood Mac- Tango in the Night (Rhino, 180 gram, 2017 reissue)

Ps: You can go beyond 1 year if needed.


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Showing 20 responses by tzh21y

Johnny Cash at San Quentin Mono Great raw performance.
Julian Bream Guitar Concertos RCA Red Dog original
Elvis Presley Xmas Album original press
Carmen Living Stereo - Soria Series original Shaded Dog
Readers Digest Treasury of Light Classical music (Stereophonic) sound original
Casino Royale - original LP
Led Zeppelin Presence Classic Reissue
David Bowie Lets Dance Original LP
Dire Straits Communique
Dire Straits - original LP
Faust and Carmen Suite- Wilkinson RCA/Decca recording Classic reissue



Fleetwood Mac - original pressing
Bruce Cockburn Waiting for a Miracle - import
Herb Albert The Beat of the Brass - Original
Rachmaninoff 3rd Symphony and Easter Overture - Classic Reissue
Sir Adrian Boult Concert Favorites Chesky 180 Gram
Pink Floyd The Wall original US is good
Black Sabbath Master of Reality-2nd press US
RCA Gala Wilkinson recording - Classic reissue
Delibes Sylvia - Original London

Guantanamera - The Sandpipers Original
The blue note reissues from Music Matters are quite good if you like Jazz.
Gaite Parisienne Offenbach Boston Pops - Classic Reissue
Byron Janis/Fritz Reiner Liszt Todtentanz Rachmaninoff Concerto No 1 Classic Reissue
The Reiner Sound - Classic Reissue
The Pines of Rome - Original Shaded Dog
Italian Pleasures - Sheffield labs
Moscow Sessions -Sheffield Labs
Petrouchka Stravinsky - Chesky Reissue
Solti The Planets - London Original
The Classic reissues are probably not as easy to find some of them as they are out of business but Analogue Productions has reissued most if not all and they are probably as good if not better than the Classics.
The original Heart Like a Wheel is outstanding, no doubt about it.  Beautiful analog sound
Sibelius - London CS-6488  Symphonies 5 and 7 Lorin Maazel Vienna Philharmonic original pressing
The Pines of Rome and Fountains of Rome Fritz Reiner and Chicago Symphony LSC-2436 Original LP.
Linda Ronstadt - Prisoner in Disguise  Get the original as it blows away the MoFI.
Nice.  most of her recordings are top notch and she always had great musicians backing her.  Doug Sax mastered many if not all of her most popular albums.