"Bridge Over Trouble Water" sounds artificial

I agree with many of the comments above.  That is, S&G early recordings were poorly done and don't sound well at all on a quality, high resolution system.  Vinyl copies are somewhat better than CD, but either one is not great by any stretch of the imagination.

When Paul Simon made solo albums things got much better.  There Goes Rymin Simon is very good, but still not excellent.  For the very best recording of Paul Simon try Graceland.  And especially the 25th Anniversary Edition release, RTI pressing.  It is absolutely stunning and will highlight the very best capabilities of your new system.

Albums that sound like BOTW, and there are far too many of them, I simply keep the volume much lower than I do with a great recording.  This allows me to enjoy the music I wish to listen to and do so without being too terribly brash on my ears.  I would not build my system "down" to a lower level of quality for the sake of such albums.  I strive to put together the best system that I can afford and simply adjust the volume as needed.  But man, on those really great recordings, let 'er rip!  Full-tilt-boogie, what a blast that is.  Sonic bliss and entertaining as hell.

I'm in the $65K + range for my system and it is very well matched components and cables.  I have been doing this for a long time.  Trust, there are great sounding recordings, there are good recordings, there are not so good recordings, and there are terrible recordings.  Some reissues are good and some are fabulous.  It's all over the map.

mozartfan, by the way since you mentioned Carol King, the reissue of 'Tapestry'  by Mobile Fidelity, Original Master Recording, is absolutely fantastic.  That one you can turn the volume knob way, way up.  It has dynamic range, slam, and sonic bliss that will shock you.  Well worth the higher price for a MoFi edition.