I have about 100 albums that might qualify but these come to mind today.
Tomorrow might be entirely different.
Thick As A Brick (original US pressing)
Fragile (original US pressing)
Crime Of The Century (MFSL)
One more for the road:
Bookends (original US pressing)
YMMV |
Al, nice list of excellent labels. :-)
Among others I would add is "Harmonia Mundi USA" - the USA
labeled offerings from Harmonia Mundi, produced by Robina
Young and engineered by Peter McGrath, are wonderful and
shouldn't be missed.
. |
Most of my listening is to classical music, and I have far too many excellent sounding recordings to be able to single out three. What I would suggest you do, to the extent that you are interested in classical recordings, is to focus on labels that are known to produce consistently good sound, and choose particular recordings based on the music and, to the extent possible, the performances.
I would recommend the following labels as consistently providing excellent sounding recordings (although unfortunately some of them no longer exist):
Accent
Astree
Audiofon
Chesky
Dorian
Harmonia Mundi France
Hyperion
Lyrinx
M&K Realtime
Mercury Living Presence re-issues
North Star
Pierre Verany
Proprius
Reference Recordings
Sheffield Labs
Syrinx
Telarc (many are excellent; some will be disappointing)
Valois
Wilson Audio
Among non-classical recordings, I would single out "The Sheffield Track Record." I have it on the original direct-to-disk LP, but it is currently available on cd together with "The Sheffield Drum Record" (which I haven't heard). One of the ultimate demo disks.
Regards,
-- Al |
The longer I think about it, the more likely the list will change so off the top of my head:
Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms, 20th Anniversary SACD
Steely Dan - Aja, Cisco LP reissue
John Coltrane - Blue Train, Blue Note 2008 45 rpm LP reissue |
Cat Stevens Tea for the Tillerman MFSL UHQR
John Hiatt Bring the family MFSL
Patrica Barber Cafe Blue MFSL
B.B. King Luceile MFSL
All are LP's
I have heard the same on cd and they just dont cut it.
Good Luck |
I don't know if these are "the best" recordings in my collection, but they are all excellent:
Cassandra Wilson, New Moon Daughter
Muddy Waters, Folk Singer
Martin Zeller, Bach's Cello Suites (MA Recordings) |
Patrica Barber 45LPMofi Cafe' Blue
Neil Young Greatest Hits LP classic records
David and David Boomtown LP Classic records |
The Eagles "Hotel California" 1/2 Speed Mastered 180g LP.
Hank Williams, Jr "Almeria Club" SACD.
The Beatles "White Album" (Remastered 2009) CD. |
Roger Waters: "Amused To Death" LP
Joan Baez: "Diamonds and Rust" LP
John Lee Hooker: "Healer" LP |
1. Monteiro, Young, & Holt; "Blues for the Saxophone Club" . DXD recording by FIM. The piano is unbelievable.
2. "The Blue Coast Collection" by Blue Coast Records (24 bit/96 khz)
3. Bucky Pizzarelli, Johnny Frigo; "Hot Club of 52nd Street". (24 bit/96 khz)
Puts you right in the audience ala "Jazz at the Pawshop" except the musicians are better. |
Louie Armstrong: St James Infirmary (45 rpm)
Jen Warnes: The Well (Cisco LP)
Tracy Chapman: S/T LP, standard pressing.
We need more threads like this. The what's on your turntable thread is ready to be retired IMHO. |
This is based simply on how magnificent these are recorded and sound. Trust me on these.
Lee Ritenour: "Smoke 'N Mirrors" CD
Elton John: "Honky Chateau" Multi-channel SACD
Norman Brown: "Celebration" CD
Brian Culbertson: "Somethin' Bout Love" HDCD
Toto: "Toto IV", Multi-channel SACD
Spyro Gyra: "Wrapped in a Dream", Multi-channel SACD
Peter White: "Good Day" CD
Steely Dan: "Gaucho" CD |
The Magnificent Seven on the Koch label.
An excellent demo record and a fun listen for movie buff's (not a soundtrack) as well as those not inclined to classical music, but who want something orchestral that is big and boisterous.
Excellent performance, and soundstage characteristics are grand as well. Certainly in Demo Class. FWIW, I bought this some years ago but never listened to it from an audiophile POV until the other day. I was really surprised!
. |
Here are three very good ones on vinyl:
Stravinsky - "Firebird" - Dorati/LSO, Mercury SR 90226 (45rpm vinyl reissue by Classic Records)
"A Meeting by the River" - Ry Cooder and V.M.Bhatt, WaterLily APW029-45 (45rpm vinyl issue by Analog Productions)
John Coltrane - "Blue Train" - Blue Note 1577 -45 (45rpm vinyl reissue mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray for Analogue Productions)
This listing could go on and on and on... |
Ricky lee jones-pop pop! on cd or lp
Congo soundtrack on cd
Sony Sampler sacd with James Taylor, Pink Floys and more |
1. Jerry Granelli V16 (SACD) Songlines records
2. Christoph Pregardien/Michel Gees Between Life and Death (SACD) Challenge Classics
3. Mozart Concertos 11,12 Janina Fialkowska (SACD) ATMA Classique |
