If dynamics is all you want then generally the older versions are best. However, newer versions are usually more clear, detailed. The best, such as beatles,mono, have both. Some that are slightly compressed such as stereo beatles are still very good. overly compressed are usually almost unlistenable ( such as Dwight Yoacham best on Rhino) or many Fuel titles like Cosmic Blues Band. Check out review sites for comments on audio quality. Go with the majority.
How do you guys choose between CD releases?
This has been been bugging me for some time now and I'm wondering if any of you guys have a sensible way of choosing which release of a CD to buy. I buy the vast majority of my CDs on Amazon and too frequently have to choose between two releases of a CD e.g., 1990 or 2003. If there is a remaster I usually go with it, unless I'm warned off. That doesn't bother me, it's choosing between to releases with no more to go on than the year of release. You can't judge by sampling; you don't even know which release you're listening to, and Amazon reviews are seldom release specific. Should I just buy the newest, the cheapest or (gulp) most expensive? Any secrets? How do you guys decide?