Best CD

To fulfill the 'jazz' category,an easy pick for best sound quality,'Dick Hyman-From the Age of Swing' on reference recordings,in HDCD.It is of such a calibre of quality that you,(or I do anyway)perceive that you can 'feel' the chuffing out the bells of the saxes on certain cuts,and I do not mean chuffing from the speakers.Cymbal work also is a clear indication of the quality of the recording. OT,I wonder how much 'ribbing' Mr.Hyman has suffered in his life with those names.

Imo the best CDs are audiophile gold-plated discs such as Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs (MFSL), Digital Compact Classics (DCC) and Sony Mastersound. Unfortunately, most of these are long out of print from the 90s, and carry some pretty hefty price tags on eBay. MFSL also pressed many jazz, classical and easy listening aluminum audiophile CDs in the 80s before they started pressing golds. Almost every one of the hundreds of titles from these three manufacturers are the best redbook CD recordings ever made. If you're interested just search eBay music category for MFSL, DCC or gold CD to see what titles are available at any give time, but beware of cost since many have become rare collectibles that keep increasing in value. Some of my favorites are the Pink Floyd gold CDs. Another great source of audiophile-quality redbook CDs is to look for the titles you want on discs made in Japan which are also quite collectible and can get expensive for various rare pressing. I've converted over 90% of my U.S. made disc collection to audiophile gold/aluminum and Japanese-made discs, most are rock and blues.

I typically reach for these to give me goosebumps:
1. Joss Stone - The Soul Sessions
2. Kate Walsh - Tim's House
3. Buddy Guy - Blues Singer
4. Brian Bromburg - Downright Upright
5. Joe Pass - Virtuoso
6. George Winston - December
7. Dave Brubeck - Time Out
8. Fourplay - Elixir
9. Johnny Hartman - John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman
10. Keb' Mo' - Keb' Mo'
11. Lyle Lovett - The Road To Ensenanda
12. Steely Dan - Everything Must Go

Anything Steely Dan is well recorded and will make your system sound great. Second Eva Cassidy Live at Blues Ally. Also I like Dave's True Story: Play "Miss Lucy" for your guests and see what happens :)

In all honesty, I'm in the camp that people who don't care about music before they showed up at your house won't care about the sound of your system. I've tried for many years with (non-audiophile) friends and family with no success.

The one time I really got through was when I played the MCH SACD of Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon." Only time I put on the disc, walked out of the room and the person listening didn't come out until the album was over. Roxxy Music's "Avalon" or Beck's "Sea Change" would probably work well, too. Oh, the stereo SACD Rolling Stones albums are revelatory - and I'm not even a Stone's fan!

Other than that, I get knowing smiles, nice compliments, nodding heads, and kind hugs from family members.

Fact is, this is a pretty small club. As a non-linear example, how about this: my wife's scrap booking blog has 5 times the hits of my system page on AudiogoN. OK, OK, it proves nothing, but still, it's a small club (and please visit my system page. If not for me, for the sake of the hobby :)

Dan

PS Don't usually do this but I bought the Ray Charles "Misery Loves Company" album on SACD and hated it. True enough, it sounds great (as in well recorded), but I thought most of the performances were just mailed it. There were a couple of exceptions, but no way would I use this disc to show off my system - unless it was as a sleeping aid. YMMV and no disrespect meant to Dgd123. In fact, if you want my SACD copy Dgd - email/pm me and I'll mail it to you free of charge - it should be enjoyed and I just don't.

Neil Young, "Eldorado", a Japanese import EP. Paul Kelly, May 1992.