I echo most sentiments here. Tick, pops, surface noise or not on original pressings, once the music kicks in the magic begins. With a great majority of reissues, the drive to make a buck on the vinyl revival is obvious - there is no care for the sound quality. Awful vinyl quality, warps, off-center pressings, digital recording and mastering process rendering the record lifeless are the norm in today's offerings. There are exceptions but they are far and few between. My short list is as follows:
- Blue Note "Music Matters" The Definitive 45 Reissue Series. Absolutely flawless. Expensive, but insanely good, and worth every penny.
- Select Mobile Fidelity offerings. These can be hit or miss, but many are tremendous. A few favorites to mention from my collection: Carole King "The Carnegie Hall Concert," Rickie Lee Jones "Pirates," Art Pepper "The Way it Was," McCoy Tyner "Sahara."
- Select Speakers Corner releases. Supertramp "Crime of the Century" is outstanding.
To sum up, my advice would be to seek out original pressings first, and then very judiciously settle for reissues.
- Blue Note "Music Matters" The Definitive 45 Reissue Series. Absolutely flawless. Expensive, but insanely good, and worth every penny.
- Select Mobile Fidelity offerings. These can be hit or miss, but many are tremendous. A few favorites to mention from my collection: Carole King "The Carnegie Hall Concert," Rickie Lee Jones "Pirates," Art Pepper "The Way it Was," McCoy Tyner "Sahara."
- Select Speakers Corner releases. Supertramp "Crime of the Century" is outstanding.
To sum up, my advice would be to seek out original pressings first, and then very judiciously settle for reissues.