What are the treasures in your vinyl library?


They don't have to be the collector's items, necessarily. I'm just asking, what is your short list of LPs in your personal library that you prize the most (maximum 5)?

I'll start:

Diana Krall: "From This Moment On" from Classic Records, mastered on a tube cutter

Buddy Rich: "Class of '78", Direct-to-disk recording of my favorite drummer leading the best incarnation of his band

Muddy Waters: "Folk Singer", not MFSL or German pressing or original pressing or anything fancy, just a Chess/MCA 1987 reissue LP that puts you in the room with Muddy

I also have a 35mm Everest recording of Mozart woodwind sonatas that I picked up at St. Vincent DePaul for $1. It's old and a little ragged, but that 35mm mag tape really puts the players right there in the living room.
johnnyb53
Hey - Johnny...might have mis-interpreted your initial post. I have no idea the monetary value of the discs I listed. Probably have some things that are worth more. But these are "treasures" to me.
A private release LP of The Beatles. The concert occured on Dec.23,1963 .

This is the only known Beatles recording actually recorded by the Beatles themselves. It was was performed in Manchester , England . The mono-sound is amazying. I have no idea how many exist.

For historical vetting, that concert was discussed as a turning point in the bands career in Barry Miles book "Many Years from Now ".
Grateful Dead / Reckoning
50 Years of Blue Note / BIG box set
King Crimson / Starless & Bible Black / Import
Lambchop / How I Quit Smoking
Brian Eno / Here Come The Warm Jets
I have quite a few rarities but if I have to choose one it'd right now be CREAM Wheels Of Fire original US ATCO in MINT condition (it is next to impossible to find without any cover wear!) and it sounds AMAZING (much better than the UK, Japan, German and other pressings and various regular and audiophile re-issues I've compared with)!
Intersting that Ghosthouse mentioned Laurie Anderson's Mr. Hearbreak.

I have a Quiex version of that that I have not played in probably years.

A friend recently came over to hear my new Raven One table and asked to hear Mr. Heartbreak. We were shocked at how amazing it sounded. The bass actually caused some hanging lamps to move slightly - I have never seen that before. The distorted guitars (or synths) on SHarkeys has so much texture to them - the last time I listened they had just sounded like distortion.

Incredibly spacious. -

I know everyone always says Nightly is great but to me (I only have a quiex )
I think it sounds very digital.
My "most treasured list" evolves. Currently, I am being relatively flexible with the term and it is the next five in the stack of stuff I pull out from the larger stack. The front five there are currently...

Kenny Dorham - AfroCuban
Thelonius Monk - Brilliant Corners
The Magnificent Thadeus Jones
Jimmy Smith - Open House
Talking Heads - not sure which one

(the next five are ELP and classical albums).
Nothing is particularly mint, and nothing is that rare (they are almost all Japanese pressings but I live in Japan so that comes with the territory), but it sounds nice...
Emailists -
What is Quiex vs Nightly relative to the Mr Heartbreak LP?
I just have it on regular release vinyl. The bells at the beginning of "Gravity's Angel" amaze me. The entire LP is very well recorded.
Just received well over 100 LPs from my father's collection ranging from vintage mono from around 1950 to pre-digital early 1980s. Very broad range of stuff. I have only a vague idea what treasures are buried in there, but will get back to you on that.

Of my own collection - love drummer Ed Thigpen's "Out of the Storm" and "The David Grisman Quintet". If you're in the mood, the original London pressing of The Rolling Stones "Let it Bleed" is pretty great.

PS - I have Laurie Anderson's Mr. Heartbreak and haven't listened to it for about 20 years. even on my much more rudimentary system of that time, I could tell it was well recorded - have to dig it out.
I have an import London pressing of The Stones "Let It Bleed". Very nice! Probably far and away the best Stones recording I have in any format.
For anyone wanting some fabulous,and almost tongue in cheek,early stereo era "classics",look for many of the COMMAND label discs.Especially Enoch Light series stuff.These discs were recorded by the Mercury LP team of Piros and Fine,with sound that will enthrall many "fun music" lovers(some were recorded in Carnegie Hall)!Very inexpensive,and these would be great to re-issue.
Best of luck,and leave me some.
Wow,

I thought I was the only one that appreciated Laurie Anderson's Mr. Heartbreak. We used to play it 20 years ago amongst a group of friends while "testing" our systems. Gravity's Angel and Sharkey's day are favourites. Peter Gabriel's background vocals are haunting on this one. I still play it regularly. Another good one is Bruce Cockburn's Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws .The Candadian True North label had some really good recordings including some of Carol Pope's stuff try: Avoid Freud....
Radiohead "OK Computer," Paul Kelly's "Gossip", The Clash's "This is Radio Clash"
Wow, you made me pull out my copy of Mr Heartbreak. I'd forgotten how good it is. For Nkj; if you like Avoid Freud, remember Blue Peter? "Don't walk on past" is suprisingly good. Maybe not "treasures" but here's what I keep going back too this week( on vinyl of course ) Roxy music - Avalon, Lucinda Williams - West, Souxsie and the Banshees - kalidescope, Bruce Cockburn - Night Train, Bjork - Debut, The The - Dusk, John Coltrane - Blue Train
I would say the promo label Japan pressing Of John Coltrane's Sun Ship in Mint condition.
Also the Japanese pressing of Miles Davis' Bitche's Brew. My copy of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here on Japan MasterSound half -speed.
Right now,
My OBI JJ Cale records are giving me the most joy.
Grasshopper
8
Shades
I wish I could find some more.

Tim
Numbered but not in any particular order:

1. Elgar's Starlight Express-2 records HMV Greensleeves
2. La Fete De Lane - Harmonia Mundi
3. Handel's Organ Concerti - Philips - Concerto Amsterdam w/Jaap Schroder
4. Harry Belafonte @ Carnegie Hall - Classic Reissue
5. Vaughn Williams - The Lark Acending - Marriner w/St Martins in the Field - Philips

I agree with my dear friend Rushton, the list changes depending upon my mood, but these bring me pleasure more often than most others.
Wow! Good stuff!
My mint records japan obi pressings of
1,let it bleed
2, aftermath
3,first stereo pressing of kind of blue
4 a signed tamla 1st pressing of Stevie wonder
the 12 year old genius
5 art Blakey and the jazz messengers Buttercorn Lady,
featuring a young Keith Jarret, and a young Chuck Magnione,
pry it from my cold dead hands

there are so many more, but these were all given to me,
except kind of blue!
My current "front five" on the stack are:
1) Cootie Williams Sextet & Orchestra "Original Hit Recordings from 1944 featuring Bud Powell, "Cleanhead" Vinson, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Pearl Bailey (Phoenix LP-1)
2) Sonny Rollins' Movin' Out (Prestige 7058 mono)
3) Schubert Piano Sonata in C Minor, Impromptus; Alfred Brendel (Japanese Phillips)
4) Chopin Preludes; Martha Argerich (DG Japan pressing)
5) Zino Francescatti and Robert Casadesus playing Faure Sonatas for Violin and Piano (Japanese pressing; CBS Sony mono SOCU 58)

But what I am really waiting for is the next 30: just bought a stack of (only) saxophone jazz over the weekend - several Coltranes I don't have, a few Sonny Rollins I don't have, more Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Phil Woods, Art Pepper, Coleman Hawkins, Archie Shepp, and a bunch of other artists. Am really looking forward to that!
E. Grieg, Peer Gynt, Oivin Fjeldstad with LSO,
DECCA 2012, Silver Wide Band :-)
Well, I've acquired a few LPs since my first post in this thread.

My sister (she's in her 70's) was cleaning out her shelves and sent me some LPs. There, nestled in the box among the movie soundtracks and swing band collections was the 1965 Mercury Living Presence edition of Janos Starker playing the Bach Cello Suites. Yee hah!

I grew up listening to this version, and it's spoiled me for all others. Unfortunately, the one I grew up listening to got destroyed when my brother's garage and part of his house burnt about a year ago. The stereo versions of this still fetch something north of $1K on eBay. Mine is the mono version, but even those go for amazing money. Besides, with solo cello you aren't losing a whole lot going from stereo to mono.

Anyway, that's got to be at the head of my new short list.
I guess "maximum 5" means different things to different people, but here's mine.

MFSL Half Speed Mastered
Al Stewart - Year of the Cat
Supertramp - Crime of the Century

Cisco
Steely Dan - Aja
Jennifer Warnes - Famous Blue Raincoat

WB/Rhino
Van Morrison - Moondance
I guess "maximum 5" means different things to different people, but here's mine.

MFSL Half Speed Mastered
Al Stewart - Year of the Cat
Supertramp - Crime of the Century

Cisco
Steely Dan - Aja
Jennifer Warnes - Famous Blue Raincoat

WB/Rhino
Van Morrison - Moondance
The first few things that come to mind out of so many:

Prestige 1010, Blind Lemon Jefferson's Penitentiary Blues

Szigeti Bach Sonatas and Partitas (first or early pressing).

Milstein Bach Sonatas and Partitas (stereo version)

Rob Wasserman Duets (german pressing).

Heifetz Bruch & Wieniewsky No 2's (mono dog).

Oscar Peterson Jazz Portrait of Frank Sinatra.

Bill Evans Waltz For Debby (Analogue Prod)

Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (first).

The first 5-6 Dylan albums (some COL reissues, some Sundazed).

The first 5-6 Joan Baez albums (mostly firsts)

Roland Kirk Bright Moments

A few "talking letters" on instant recording discs sent home by U.S. soldiers.