Great Recordings, Sonically Speaking - and Why.

"It does not matter how much I spend on a piece of new gear or a tweak, the single biggest contribution to my listening pleasure is the quality of the recording."

@chilli42

AMEN!
Understanding recording quality to derive from: composition, performance, sonics.

In line with that, some worthy titles:
Black Light Syndrome - Bozzio, Levin, Stevens
Earth + Sky - Andy Summers
If You Look Far Enough - Andersen, Towner, Vasconcelos
If Summer Had Its Ghosts - Bruford, Towner, Gomez
Last Dance of Mr. X - Andy Summers
(forget The Police, just listen to these two from Andy)
Meltemi - Alboran Trio
Never Ending January - Espen Eriksen Trio
Searching for Jupiter - Magnus Ostrom
St. Germain (self-titled)

Eric Clapton - Change the World, Alison Krauss & Union Station - Live, Tarrus Riley - Human Nature, Brantley Gilbert - Man That Hung The Moon, yes to much of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler, Super Tramp, much of the remastered Beatles, many classics and too many more to mention.  It's great that these artist care about what their music actually sounds like and spent the money for the best.  Unfortunately very few seem to care or notice anymore so we may hear fewer and fewer great recording.

I have enjoyed Hugh Masakeka Hope.  Great live recording.  Really puts your system through its paces

As Wolfie says, look for early Audio Fidelity pressings.  One features Louis Armstrong and one of his last bands as well as Thelma Middleton, and the sound is spectacular.  Audio Fidelity also packaged this disk with one by the amateurish Dukes of Dixieland and, amazingly, actual got Louis to record yet another record with them (what a mismatch).  This was only sold as a three record set as a private label offering by EJKorvette, the early discount chain. I own that set, and while I don't know for sure I suspect it is worth a fair amount of change.  The individual Dukes-only recording and the Armstrong recordings were also sold as singles.

BTW, that discount chain had sound rooms in each of its stores in the late fifties/early sixties.  Filled with Japanese receivers.