What's the Best LP You Bought in 2008

the Doors box, the bee gees box, emmitt rhodes-american dream

Ray Davies - "Working Man Cafe'"

I, also, am enjoying the Shelby "can't roll a joint on an iPod" Lynne - Just a Little Lovin'.

Kind of Blue

Consolers of the Lonely by The Raconteurs

Second the Raconteurs. Also Lucinda Williams "Little Honey".

My Little Honey warped as well! {Side note, I just picked up at Thorens 145mkII and it tracks this nicely! My old Pioneer couldn't play that album.}

My best pick up this year: Wilco, Sky Blue Sky.

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The Columbia (6 eye) box set of the complete works of Anton Webern from the late 50's (I think).

Way too many to think of. But off the top of my head

" the Gutter twins" LP. aka Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan making haunting dark music like no one else.

Art Pepper + 11, Count Basie - 88 Basie St and the 45 RPM version of Coltrane's Blue Trane.

db,

Yeah, Wilco - Sky Blue Sky is a real gem. This instrumental finish to Impossible Germany is sublime. One of the most underrated bands IMO. Maybe if they get to play the Obama inauguration, the press coverage will find them some new fans. Jeff Tweedy was great on the Colbert Report recently!

Cheers,
Spencer

Sarah McLachlan, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy and The Freedom Sessions, 2 LP set

Cat Power - You Are Free

a nice full tone and one of her best...

Not the single best album, but I purchased a fairly large collection that included 6 sealed Mel Torme albums on the Bethelehm and Verve labels from the 50's and 60's.

Still sealed BTW.

Dear Spencer: I agree with Shelby and I add two others: Hugh Masekela " Hope " and Gotan Project " Lunatico ".

Both are a little unusual ( at least for me ) but very nice recordings.
I know that you ask for one but that is almost impossible to choose, I like too: Dido.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Im excited to hear recommendations for Shelby Lynn, I will have to pick up her new album. I saw her live a few years back and believe she is one very unappreciated artist. "I Am Shelby Lynn" has always been a favorite at my house.

I thought I was the only Dido liker...the electronic tricks in the recording are very interesting...give it a try.

Is the lp version of Wilco's sky blue really much better sonics than the cd version? If so, why? If you automatically dislike anything digital please confess this before educating me?

Same question about the cat power you are free which is a great album and sounds great on cd. Its a slow album and what does the vinyl version do that the cd does not? can you hear a lot of surface noise?

I must have gotten lucky with Lucinda (smile). My pressing of Little Honey sounds great.

Radioheadokplayer(Awesome moniker btw!),

Tough question about the SkyBlueSky. My turntable is so much better than my cdp that I can't really judge the cd. The vinyl is quiet with great separation, deep and wide soundstage and plenty of instrumental body. It reminds me in spots of a good Steely Dan LP, if you know what I mean. Cheers,
Spencer

LP vs CD of Sky Blue Sky (2007) depends entirely on your set-up. Both are great, with LP sounding more expansive & richer & bit less aggressive on my system.

The big score LP of '08 is probably the $100 Dylan Tell Tale Signs box, though I have so far only heard the excellent sounding 2-CD set.

Ditto above praise for Ray Davies Workingman's Cafe. Other fine '08 releases include John Hiatt Same Old Man, Lou Reed Berlin Live at St. Ann's Warehouse, Steven Malkmus Real Emotional Trash, Shearwater Rook, Mercury Rev Snowflake Midnight, Calexico Carried to Dust.

Forgot The Pretenders Break Up the Concrete double LP. Wonderful live-in-studio sound. Lucinda should send Crissie a thank you note for paving the way.

Ryan Adams "Cardinology"...on vinyl (own the CD and LP...the LP has much better sonics). His writing is phenomenal. Stay sober, RDA!

My pride of 2008 (and it's perfect for holiday giving) is the 150g red vinyl version of the Diana Krall "Christmas Songs" album. I prefer the quietness and dynamics of this 150g red one over the 200g Classic Records pressing I have of "From This Moment On."

The 150g red vinyl Classic Records also costs about $11 less than the black 200g ones. And they look so festive for Christmas.

I have bought so much great vinyl this year, among my favorites are the Alfred Brendel Beethoven Sonata set from the 70's, the Dutch Philips pressings, the Bernstein/Marilyn Horne Carmen from DGG, several great Ella Fitzgerald Verve records, the London ffrr Solti Ring cycle, to name a few.

11-21-08: Tvad
Strictly answering the question posed, the best LP I purchased in 2008 was unquestionably Pat Metheny's "80/81". Wow. What a great performance and recording.

I have a couple of those. One I rescued in n/m condition from a dollar bin.

It's hard to beat the '70s ECM LPs for artistic, musical, and sound quality. I have ECMs of Metheny, Gary Burton, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Ralph Towner, Eberhard Weber, and John Abercrombie.

The Concord jazz albums of the '70s and '80s are stunning in every way too--The LA Four, Great Guitars, Laurinda Almeida & Charlie Byrd, Ross Tomkins, Cal Collins, Woody Herman.

Besides that Diana Krall Christmas album, my other favorite find in 2008 was Count Basie and the Kansas City Six on Pablo, with Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass and Louie Bellson on drums, plus Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Joe Pass, and Willie Cook.

Great music, great sonics, and kick-ass acoustic bass.

"The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus", Spirit.

The sonics on this LP blew away the SACD version. This band was way ahead of the curve for that era (late 60's, early 70's). You should hear what these guys did with old fashioned analogue recording and overdubbing. The seperation and the dynamics on this LP simply blew me away. Sounded a lot better than on my old pioneer/KLH set up of yesteryear.

Ray Brown/Duke Ellington "This one's for Blanton" 45RMP. Amazing bass and piano sound.

Jennifer Warnes Famos Blue Raincaot, Cisco 45 Reissue.
Led Zepplin Box sets.
Doors Box set.

It's not new this year but I recently bought the German import of Clapton Unplugged and would highly recommend it. Also the new release of Miles Davis 'Round About Midnight is well done(Speakers Corner I believe).

new album releases from these bands in no particular order; drive by truckers, wilco, lucinda williams, the pretenders, the virgins, spoon, loose fur, the new pornographers, vampire weekend, tv on the radio, the hold steady, the black crows, ryan adams, beck, alejandro escovedo, little joy, flaming lips, parts & labor, jolie holland, springsteen(magic), john fogerty, conor oberst, weezer, white stripes, neil young, amy winehouse, radioheads, kings of leon, the ting ting, etc. these are many of my favorite new releases and not used originals i purchased and not the re-releases that i liked. like traviling wilburys, nick lowe among others. the list of used original another time.

Koegz,

To repeat the question, what is the best LP you've bought this year?

Dear Stringreen: If you liked Dido maybe you will like: Beth Orton " Central Reservation ".

Regrads and enjoy the music.
Raul.

they were this year and most if not all are newest releases.

Many good LPs arrived here this year. To choose just one:

Fone 016, Rossini Overtures, Myung-Whun Chung and the Orchestra dell'Accademica Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

A 45 rpm disc with just 16 minutes of music, but what delightful music making it contains. For those who know the performances by Reiner (RCA) and Gamba (Decca), these are lower key less driving performances, instead more focused on delineating the nuance and whimsy of this wonderful music. Simply miked direct to two channel analogue and pressed using a one-step pressing process, the sound is very transperent and well refined.
.

As usual, Tvad gets IT.

Hey, Raul, if you enjoy Dido & Central Reservation(as I do), I heartily recommend the early LPs by Everything But The Girl, all availalbe on vinyl:

Eden
Love Not Money
Idlewild(their 4th album, but their masterpiece IMHO). Cheers,
Spencer

Dear Spencer: Thank you I appreciate that.

regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

My favorite LP for 2008? I have two. One recorded 20 years ago and re-issued just a few months ago. The other, a used original pressing, was recorded in 1989 and given to me by Bruce of Stereo Unlimited. The first is the 20th Anniversary 45 RPM re-issue of Famous Blue Raincoat. Simply stunning from performance to pressing quality to sonics. The other is an equally impressive Harmonia Mundi pressing of solo Lute Music by Giovanni Kapsberger, an unknown composer to me, recorded in Michigan of all places. Fabulous performance and recording!

I have picked up many LP's this year as well. Most, if not all, not new releases. I was lucky to get a NM+ promotional copy of Robbie Robertson's first solo. Sound is fantastic. Also got a few Micheal Hedges that are also NM.

Too many to list what's the best...... Kinda like asking who's your favorite artist, or your favorite (insert instrument here) player

Since it's still 2008, I'll throw this one in also. I just received a copy of Shawn Colvin's first LP. Got it off fleabay. It was listed as VG++ for 5 bucks. I thought, what the heck. Well, it got here yesterday. Turns out, it was a sealed promo copy..... SCORE!

Oh, it sounds great...

Dear Spencer: I don't thing make any harm to put some other LPs: Esther Ofarim, Chie Ayado-Love ( that piano on the tittle track: lovely! ), Radka Toneff- Fairitales, Jheena Lodwick-All my loving and this one that I don't know the artristy name because everything come in Chinese the only reference is the label: Better Music, BM-208003, yes is a chinese female singer.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

I have to take my previous post back I meant Cat Powers - Moon Pix a very full and clean recording with nice tone

Raul, I believe you have discovered Tsai Chin :)
-Ken

The best I bought this year and the biggest vinyl surprise of the year is Freight Train Heart by Jimmy Barnes.
This Aussie can rock.Its on Geffen.
Shelby Lynne is waiting,wrapped under the tree.Not to to opened till Xmas.

Dear Kelso: Thank you for the info, I like this the voice of this girl but till now I can't find her name.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.