Can Rock-N-Roll have great sound quality?

I remain convinced that it can though there are few exemplars which might serve to justify that hope. I've wasted alot of money chasing this, but in the process of searching for wickedly heavy screaming guitars and driving beats WELL RECORDED, stumbled upon the genre which most closely matches my lust for musical nirvana. Also I've had some limited success with new-issue tribute albums among which is BLUE HAZE/Songs of Jimi Hendrix. Some of the tracks, notably Purple Haze and Belly Button Window, are among the best recordings of anything I have on CD.
For heavy instrumental try:
Squadrophenia by Cosmosquad
For fusion with rock instrumentation:
Tribal Tech's Thick and their Rocket Science
Then there is the hard to classify:
We Saw a Bozo Under the Sea by Zoot Horn Rollo

Most of these you can sample over the internet -- some actually may penetrate the digital haze to show their merit, but at least you can taste the type of music to see if it satisfies enough of the Rock and Roll classification to fall into what you are looking for.
I will be watching this thread with interest as well as I've found precious little that I could recommend.

Silly Onhwy61, I like the music as hard as it comes, definitely harder, deeper and more menacing than the likes of most cookie-cutter, standard issue metal bands are capable of cranking out (read the utterly BORING Metallica, et al), but I want the heaviness/hardness to arise from musical concept and the way an electric is tuned and played vs. the hideous decimation wreaked by poor recording technique.
I defy anyone to find anything much harder or more intense than "On the Virg" by Serious Young Insects, yet the recording technique is pretty fair, so it is listenable. Same with Squadrophenia cited above, but still one wishes for even better. Buckethead has released some of the rawest most grating guitar tones ever recorded and yet some of it is recorded well enough to make it sweet sonic nectar to me.
I second the last 2 Steely Dan releases and would add vis-a-vis Robben Ford, the sonically rewarding "Jing Chi".
Good thread -- please keep adding.

Thanks to those who have added dimension and intriguing new possibilities to this quest! I will definitely be checking out those mentioned with which I'm unfamiliar.

I am aware there may be a problem of classification on some of this stuff. Personally, I will listen to AND PERPETUALLY RETURN TO ANYTHING well recorded (about 25 to 50 of my thousand or so CDs). The rest I just won't listen to, so it is obvious to me that recording quality is MUCH more important than content to me. I have everything from Jane Monheit to African tribal chants to the hardest fusion (my musical core preference) BUT IT MUST BE RECORDED WELL!!

On ELP: LOVED THEM during their heyday on the world stage and years ago tried to reacquire the remastered CDs. Sound quality was OK, but like all the archive R and R stuff, the instruments sounded small and recessed in space. I want my instruments to sound life sized or larger -- as big in a room as an amped live guitar would be -- very rare that an old recording will give you that.

A few more entries in best recorded electric-guitar based post advent-of-rock music: Uncle Moe's Space Ranch by Brett Garsed et al. And the first two Attention Deficit CDs don't know if they've put out any others.

Wilelupine:
Perhaps the best advice I can give you is to go over to the Audiophile Imports website. They specialize in fusion music which in ALOT of cases is produced by the maturing ex-members of metal bands, including a few of Ozzy's guitarists.
Notably one of these cases that comes to mind is Chris Poland, ex Megadeth guitarist, who is now doing work in OHM that I hear great things about. Talk to the guys running the site by phone and explain what you seek. The main man has a long history with alot of these folks and knows his stuff so can direct you properly. Audio samples on their offerings too will help validate.
Another case I just remembered is Steve Stevens formerly of Billy Idol affiliation who is the guitarist behind "Black Light Syndrome" (name of the first CD by Bozzio Levin and Stevens) -- it is excellent and well recorded (avoid their second effort though -- sound quality is atrocious). Bozzio, the drummer has been with Jeff Beck, etc.
Without doing more research, I've forgotten the band roots of alot of these people since I have little interest in what they used to produce, but if you ever wondered what happens to an aging metalist with chops galore but no fan base, FUSION is where they are headed in droves!