Wow moments while listening to vinyl records

With 2M Black, everything's a wow moment.

Check out the Moody Blues "In Search Of The Lost Chord" . Song: "Legend Of A Mind"! Timothy Leary's dead. No he's not! He's outside looking in!

Every collection needs Pink Floyd's "The Wall". As good as the US Columbia pressing is, the British EMI is even better! And I am referring only to the original all-analog pressings - not to current digital remasters!

Always seek out original all-analog pressings - even if a bit worn! They have that LP "magic" that I feel is lacking in digital remasters!

Forget about 180 gram vinyl! This is just a clever marketing ploy!

Here's an outstanding LP for 3-D sound staging: Weather Report "I Sing The Body Electric". Song: " The Unknown Soldier"!!!  Also by Weather Report "Suite Nighter". Song: " Boogie Woogie Waltz"!!! These two LP's have been long-time favorites of mine!

Peter Paul and Mary 

Both their first album and In the Wind pressed by Original Recordings Group at 45 rpm. Better than the original pressing which I also own.

Mofi Alan Parsons project 45 RPM, probably the best recording I've ever heard. Dynamic Range is insane.

As an ex-radio engineer, my vinyl collection genre is all over the place , but I will add in : 

Reflex - "The Politics of Dancing"  -  A well cut album with exceptional listenability !  A true joy. 

Creation - ( A Toshiba-EMI Pro Series ) Direct Disk - An exceptional homage to rock . Unbelievable sonic purity due to recording direct to the disk with no tape involved. 

Sugar Loaf Express ( w/ Lee Ritenour ) JVC Direct Disk - Another example of sonic amazement unfettered by tape. Just pure, clear, music as it was intended to be enjoyed. 

I have many more, but these are my version of audiophile magic to listen to. 

Shad 

I thought I was the only one that had that Mickey Newbury album.  I just rediscovered it recently while looking for things to play through my (then) new Schiit Mani phono preamp.  The whole album is mesmerizing.

I never paid much attention to Paul Simon's "Graceland" when it came out in 1986. Last year I got the 25th anniversary reissue and the sound is outstanding. It is definitely "wow" worthy. 

I am so grateful for getting all these responses. I have some of these albums mentioned here. I am going to listen those again with renewed interest.  I am also going to spend some time to explore albums/songs that I do not have.

Please keep posting. Thanks again for sharing :)

There is a mofi recording of the 1812 Overture with the LSO/Previn.  When the canons go off towards the end you can feel them.

https://www.discogs.com/London-Symphony-Orchestra-Conducted-By-André-Previn-A-Tchaikovsky-Spectacula...

These come to mind quickly.
They're in my section of reference LPs which I go to when I want to hear (or show off) what my system is capable of....

Beatles - Love   Apple 0946 379 808 11
Janis Ian - Breaking Silence   Analog Productions APP 027
Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest  Acony ACNY-1109LP
Phoebe Snow - Phoebe Snow  Analogue Productions APP-2109-45
Duke Ellington - Masterpieces   Analogue Productions APJ 4418
Rickie Lee Jones - Rickie Lee Jones    MOFI MFSL 2-45010 (Box Set)
Neil Young - Massey Hall 1971  Reprise 43328-1
Blake Mills - Heigh Ho   Record Collection B0021196-01
Leonard Cohen - Old Ideas    Columbia  88697986711
Paul Simon - Still Crazy After All These Years Columbia (2013) PC 33540
Ten Years After - A Space In Time     Audio Fidelity  AFZLP 112
Duke Ellington - Jazz Part in Stereo Classic Records CS8127  or
Original Recordings Group ORG 131
Ella Fitzgerald - Let No Man Write My Epitaph Analogue Prod AP-4043
Johnny Hodges with the Billy Strayhorn Orchestra Analogue Prod AP-8452
+1 on the Graceland reissue

All of these make me say "Wow!"
There are others, and I haven't even touched classical.



 

Replacements' Pleased To Meet Me; the song "Alex Chilton" gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. 
And I am glad someone mentioned Gillian Welch and David Rawlings' The Harrow and the Harvest. It does not have goosebump inducing effects on me, but it is one of the best recorded good-music efforts I have run across. 

Miles Davis- You’re Under Arrest
A Clockwork Orange- Soundtrack 
Lee Michaels (Stormy Monday)
Procol Harum- Live. A Salty Dog , Conquistador 
* I agree with earlier post- Willy Nelson’s Stardust
Louie Armstrong- St James Infirmary 
Hugh Masakela- The Coal Train Song (not correct album title)

Emmylou Harris - Wrecking Ball
Pentagles - Open The Door
Bob Dylan - Oh Mercy (Man in the long black coat)
Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska 
John Mayall - A Sense of Place (Sensitive Kind)
John Hiatt - Bring the Family (Learning How to Love You)

Thelma houston. "Pressure Cooker"
Sheffield labs direct to disk

@yc25, great list! Have you heard any of Buddy Miller’s albums? He plays guitar/sings harmony/leads Emmylou’s road band. Great singer, in the same league as John Hiatt, though not a songwriter of John’s caliber. Few are! Also a great producer (Richard Thompson, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, Allison Moorer, Patty Griffin, Solomon Burke, Ralph Stanley, Robert Plant, a bunch of others).

@bdp24, yes but only have him on CD. Robert Plant and Allison Moorer always give me the chills (in a good way)

Buddy Miles Live.
Michael Jarre. Equinox
Pink Floyd . The Final Cut
Steely Dan. Aja, Gaucho
Rick Ocasek
Supertramp Crime of the Century

I would add:
Lowell George- thanks I’ll eat it here
Marvin Gaye- What’s Going On
Grateful Dead- Recckoning
David Crosby- If I Could Only Remember My Name

I have many of the albums mentioned here and agree, if original, well cared for, and clean, they can sound very good, even exceptional.  That said, if you want to take it up a notch, for pure ‘are you kidding me?’ listening pleasure, nothing I’ve heard sounds like mint jazz recordings on original Verve labels.  Even if you don’t prefer jazz, Stan Getz, Charlie Parker, Blossom Deary, Bill Evans, Charlie Byrd, et al, on a nice vinyl rig are worth a listen. 1950’s, 1960’s, even some 1970’s Japanese represses sound phenomenal.  What really separates them from other fine recordings is 1) the clarity and detail, 2) the soundstage - 3 D holographic ‘you are there’ imaging, but more than anything, 3) the explosive dynamics.  

Louis & Ella - Two volumes Louis & Ella Again - Analog Productions- Mono 45 rpm reissues of these Verve classics...

http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/67241/Ella_Fitzgerald_and_Louis_Armstrong-Ella_and_Louis-45_RPM_Vi...

http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/67243/Ella_Fitzgerald_and_Louis_Armstrong-Ella_And_Louis_Again-45_...

Like they are in the room with you....

I have many of the records listed above, for the most part agree with 90% of those listed. My nominee is a recent release by Tangerine Dream titles "Quantum Gate"

Bold, powerful, detailed, and pressed with the utmost of care. Probably the best record I have purchased in the past two years. 

Muddy Waters "Folksinger" 45RPM;
Bruce Springsteen "The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle"
(especially "Rosalita"):
Jennifer Warnes "Famous Blue Raincoat" 45RPM Cisco.

Just put on a Columbia 1/2 speed master of "Stardust". My son's comment (an iPhone/earbud kind of guy) was "Yeah, well he's right here with us."

Listening to Ramsey Lewis Trio - Reunion on Columbia. Great clear dynamic recording.

Jsm71-which Stardust lp are you referring to?  There’s the original issue, a Mobile Fidelity reissue and perhaps some others. I’d like to buy one to hear what you describe but would appreciate knowing which one. 

The Jazz Corps with Tommy Peltier and Roland Kirk on Pacific Jazz/Liberty.
Holy...! This is a great 60s recording. So utterly see-through and dynamic. They don't make them like this anymore.

Scott Hamilton - Is a Good Wind.
Another lovely jazz recording. All these old pre-digital albums are treasures.

I think it would be more productive if we’d add the LPs we feel are substandard in sonics. Because majority of the LPs in my collection are quite good sounding, and if I were to sit down and try to list all the ’wow!’ moments, it will take me many hours and the list would be so long it would be useless.

But if everyone pitches in with some LPs they found less than satisfactory, at least you’ll have a nice list f purchases you should avoid.

What’s that? Me fist? Okay, here are some records in my collection that I find not that satisfactory to listen to (this is not in any way a negative critique of the actual music recorded on those LPs; I’m only referring to the mastering/pressing quality):

1. Big Brother And The Holding Company (great music, harsh and cringe inducing sound)
2. Jethro Tull "Benefit" (great music, awful sound, extremely bass shy)
3. Grand Funk "We’re An American Band" (lots of good songs on there, the production is atrocious with that horrendous ’radio friendly’ midrangey sound that robs the music of all juices)
4. Jimi Hendrix "Band of Gypsys" (phenomenal music, bad and lifeless sound on all the LPs I’ve heard)
5. Jethro Tull "Aqualung" (epic album, unfortunately sounds much better on a remastered CD)
6. Wishbone Ash "Argus" (their best album, the LP sounds wimpy for some reason)
7. Emerson Lake and Palmer "Brain Salad Surgery" (unremarkable sound for such bombastic band; very congested and murky sounding LP; not even close to the brilliance of their first LP)
8. The Beatles "White Album", 2012 reissue pressed from the 2009 digital remaster (flat, murky and dull sounding pressing of the most phenomenal album; such a shame, but any older pressing from analog tapes destroys the 2012 remaster -- what were they thinking?)

I'm thinking... how can I add to this list...? Hmmm......?

Buddy Miller "Sometimes I Cry"
Bob Dylan  "I Believe in You"
Dire Straits  "Communique'" (entire lp)

Dire Straits "Making Movies";

Jack Bruce "Songs for a Tailor" import, is super amazing.

Try the original US pressing of Julee Cruise’s - Floating into the Night.  WB 1-25859. 

Velvet Underground w/Nico. Original pressing. White Light/White Heat is just as good but sadly mine has gone missing after all these years.

Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland - the British Track pressing is worth acquiring! Song: "1983...Moon Turn The Tides"

15 years ago when I was auditioning speakers I burned a CD from digital and vinyl sources with songs that had various important speaker-choosing attributes. Some of the songs:
Boats To Build, Guy Clark, from Boats To Build CD
Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Eva Cassidy from Live At Blues Alley CD
Rock My Soul, Elvin Bishop Group, from Rock My Soul LP
The Song Remembers When, Trisha Yearwood, from The Song Remembers When CD
Song Of The Wind, Santana, from Caravanserai LP
Corner Pocket, Harry James Big Band, from King James, Sheffield Labs direct-to-disc LP
Paz, Tom Harrell, from Wise Children CD
Besame Mucho, Frank and Joe Show with Jane Monheit, from 33 1/3 CD
Hayden's Quartet in G Major, 1st Movement, Emerson Quartet, from String Quartets CD
Mozart's Symphony 40 in G Minor, 4th movement, Chicago Symphony Orchestra James Levine conducting, CD

Some other of my favorite Wow moments on vinyl:
First We Take Manhattan, Jennifer Warnes, from Famous Blue Raincoat
The Nightingale, Jennifer Warnes, from The Well
Sunday At The Village Vangard, Bill Evans
When I Grow Too Old To Dream, Nat King Cole, from After Midnight
Extraordinary Machine, Fiona Apple, from Extraordinary Machine
A Hangin On, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis, from Our Year

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue / All Blues
This track, on a system that can resolve it, will wow you with not only great music, but a very wide/deep soundstage with exacting instrument placement that'll blow your mind!

If This Bass Could Only Talk is a 1988 album by American bass player Stanley Clarke. This is an exceptional recording on vinyl.

"88 Basie Street" Count Basie and Orchestra originally released by Pablo Records. The 45 RPM reissue was a WOW moment for me when a friend brought over a copy to compare with my Japanese JVC XRCD. Unfortunately difficult to find as it was a quite limited release by Analogue Productions. The dynamics and immediacy of this recording is as lifelike as any vinyl recording I am familiar with. 

I have a couple of thousand albums on vinyl and I rate each one after listening.  There are so many extraordinary recordings, that trying to list the all best ones is like trying to list the best wines.  But I have noticed that many of the best are those rare direct-to-disc.  I believe that these best exemplify the best qualities of vinyl as a medium.  Be prepared, though, to search long and hard to find some of these and then pay dearly when you do ... but if you have the coin, they are worthy!  I have also found that in general the remastered pressings from Analogue Productions are superb and often far better than the originals.
Direct to Disc must-haves:
> Bill Berry: For Duke; M&K Realtime RT-101
> Thelma Huston: I've Got the Music in Me; Sheffield Labs LAB-2
> LA 4: Just Friends; Concord Jazz CJD-1001
Remastered Must-Haves:
> Dead Can Dance: Into the Labyrinth; Mobile Fidelity  MOFI 2-001
> Donald Fagen: The Night Fly;  Mobile Fidelity UD1S 2-003
> Ray Brown Trio: Soular Energy; Analogue Productions APJ 268-45
Special Mention:
> Herbie Hancock: Future Shock; Columbia FC 38814

@crazybookman:
I agree with you on the stereo Beatles "White Album" debacle. Good news though, they got it right on the Mono remaster & pressing.

Ok, it is my turn again. Let me add three songs.
1) Sade - Jezebel
2) Norah Jones -  The Long Day Is Over
3) Jewel - Pieces of you

Traffic  Mr. Fantasy   the entire album.

I have a list of songs that move me so much that I collect different versions of them. They include:
MORNING DEW - Best version Long John Baldry from his self-titled LP on EMI, started with Jeff Beck, Truth
SUMERTIME - Can't beat Big Brother & The Holding Company. I get what @crazybookman is saying; but the guts of this music certainly outweigh the poor production and I actually like the guitar. Honorable mention - Perry Como, if you can believe it, and of course Audra McDonald.
HEY JOE - Sorry, Jimi. Spirit, Black Cat Bone, and Vasti Jackson get my vote now.
WALK AWAY RENE - no one beats the original Left Banke; but Sothside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes do a nice one.
DOWN BY THE RIVER - I am a huge Neil Young Fan; but yo gotta hear the Indigo Girls' live.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a_NQoXvE-w
HALLELUJAH (Leonard Cohen, although Martin Sexton's song is AMAZING!) - Jeff Buckley, the Grace SACD.
GO NOW - The first release of the song by Bessie Banks.

I also keep a list of songs I heard once (wow) and had to search for, not knowing the exact title or artist. But that's another thread:
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/long-lost-songs

All I can say 2channel is I just love your eclectic choices, my kind of music man, btw how about Robert Preston why we're at it? 😁