Depends on the engineer and the artist they are working with. Digital artists like Bjork leave less room for the engineer / producer to effect the end results.
By contrast, recent American Records sessions of Johnny Cash are almost as elegantly engineered as the old Rudy Van Gelder pressings. Very simple set up, very minimalist approach with stunning results.
Many pop artists are engineered and mixed to make the sound acceptable for FM reception (such as in an automobile), where most of us are most likely to hear the song the first time. Certainly these can be fun to listen to musically, but can be disappointing from a audiophile standpoint.
By contrast, recent American Records sessions of Johnny Cash are almost as elegantly engineered as the old Rudy Van Gelder pressings. Very simple set up, very minimalist approach with stunning results.
Many pop artists are engineered and mixed to make the sound acceptable for FM reception (such as in an automobile), where most of us are most likely to hear the song the first time. Certainly these can be fun to listen to musically, but can be disappointing from a audiophile standpoint.