Truly Stunning Vinyl Album

@porchlight1 Absolutely stunning is what I understand is the first digital recording made available to the general public, the LP Fredrick Fennell conducting the Cleveland Symphonic Winds on Telarc Stereo 5038. ========== +1, and not just the Fennel/Cleveland release. All those early Telarc digitals still stand up to some of the finest MoFi & AP recordings, analog or digital – and you can sometimes find barely played copies on eBay for a lot less money than a 1-Step reissue. The Stravinsky Firebird (DG-10039), in particular, has dynamics and a low-end that knock you on your butt. And don’t start me about the cannons in the “1812 Overture” release (L293). ================ But before Telarc Digital, there was Telarc Direct-to-Disc – incredible dynamics and bass and this time, all analog. If you can find a copy at a reasonable price, snatch up “MICHAEL MURRAY PLAYING THE GREAT ORGAN IN THE METHUEN MEMORIAL MUSIC HALL VOLUME I” (5036 DD-2). You want 16Hz, we got 16Hz – on vinyl! ========== And if the OP has time on his or her hands, let’s not forget the fun of disk-rolling Columbia classic-rock first pressings. Michael Fremer and others have published articles explaining how to interpret the dead-wax codes to identify early stampers. I’ve verified that, so long as the original masters were good (and they usually were), the earliest pressings from the right stampers can produce breathtaking audio. ========= And I speak from experience. A few years ago, I decided to see for myself if there was any substance to claims about whether differences between pressings, stampers, and plants made a difference in an album’s SQ. So I did an experiment with Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. I compared a MoFi 1-Step “reference” copy with a 1971 Japanese import and six 1970 U.S. pressings created with different stampers. The first-pressing copy with the earliest (“1D”) stamper code – it cost me eight bucks in NM- condition! – had the most lifelike sound of them all. The 45RPM 1-Step had an edge in dynamic range, but on the 1D copy, when Garfunkel’s voice first enters on the title track – holy yumpin yeezus – it’s a transcendent moment! ============== Finally, yeah, YMMV, but the most realistic commercially released recording I’ve heard is the UHQR reissue of “Kind of Blue.” I have a lot of MoFi 1-Steps, 45RPM Analogue Production reissues, and UHQRs, and this one stands apart in its ability to deliver “you are there” (not merely “they’re in your room”) experience.

I'm finally getting a chance to listen to my old record collection after completing a media room but some recent purchases of stellar sounding vinyl that have blown me away I will recommend here.   Hopefully not the usual suspects.    Patricia Barber -  Cafe Blue,  Dorothy Ashby. - The Rubaiyat of Dorothy Ashby,   Alice Coltrane - Journey in Satchidananda, Dexter Gordon - One Flight Up, Nino Ferrer - Nino and Radiah

I also have that Heifetz/Impex record and I do have a mono cartridge. It's one of the best sounding mono records in my collection.

As for remasters, Analogue Productions reissued a good number of the RCA Living Stereo three track recordings. I'd recommend starting with Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade.

Some of my favorite original pressings are from Archiv Produktions. I only collect their earlier mono pressings but would assume that their stereo pressings are worthwhile too.