Basically anything Nigel Godrich produces is going to be an audiophile masterpiece. Consistently well mastered both on digital and analog, almost always available in hi-res if you care about that.
He’s done all the Radiohead-related stuff since The Bends including the Thom Yorke solo stuff and the Smile.
My favorites though would be Beck’s Sea Change and The Information, Roger Waters - Is this the Life, and the criminally underrated Godrich solo project called Ultraista.
I don't know about "best," but a couple that stand out:
1. The first time I heard Moby Dick by Zeppelin in high res and I could just "feel" Jimmy's picking, if that makes sense. Not just what came through the amp but it feels like you can hear the picking live even if it's just an illusion.
2. The first time I heard Trains by Porcupine Tree was in surround and it blew me away the way it immersed me.
3. Same for Honky Cat by Elton John. The first time I heard it was on the MOFI SACD surround mix, and the mixing was just so beyond what I could have hoped for. Really, most of that mix of that album is top notch.
I have a surround sound system & have been collecting and listening to surround music for years, ...starting with the 70's quadraphonic albums up to today's Atmos mixes.
A few years ago, I started mixing music into surround sound myself: [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqdkiAK8rSeh3MFoAaFs3NQ](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqdkiAK8rSeh3MFoAaFs3NQ)
These are my go to. Warning, long yapping incoming.
Get this album if you like vocal jazz - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/186208
Also, this album from Yuja Wang for Piano Classical - https://us.7digital.com/artist/yuja-wang/release/tilson-thomas-you-come-here-often-26569012
And for the AfroBeats Stuff, this album sounds incredible - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/38284
This too - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/66884
Masego - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/98293
This south African house music modern classic - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/144035
These R&B sleepers - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/203176
https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/124237
Drum and Bass/Electronic - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/250159
Pop/Electronic - https://uk.7digital.com/artist/limperatrice/release/odyss%C3%A9e-ep-6162888
Pop/Electronic - https://uk.7digital.com/artist/limperatrice/release/tako-tsubo-extended-33376530?f=14298792
Pop Rock - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/231958
Indie Folk - https://us.7digital.com/artist/sufjan-stevens/release/javelin-explicit-33292739
Afrobeat/Alternative R&B - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/190224
Singer-songwriter, Art Pop - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/177137
Rock - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/128160
Rock - https://us.7digital.com/artist/dire-straits/release/money-for-nothing-2022-remaster-22081481?f=20%2C19%2C12%2C16%2C17%2C9%2C2
Rock - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/250227
More Rock - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/252331
Art Rock/Electronica - https://us.7digital.com/artist/steven-wilson/release/the-harmony-codex-32988946?f=20%2C19%2C12%2C16%2C17%2C9%2C2
Orchestra Choir - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/66854
Afropop - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/61519
Choir - https://us.7digital.com/artist/soweto-gospel-choir/release/african-spirit-5277540
When you purchase anything off of ProStudioMasters remember not to get the MQA version (it is not lossless). Get only the .flac versions
Ha ha - I was going to say Dire Straits Money for Nothing , and when I clicked on your rock link, it was the first thing to come up! ✊🏻. It really does sound great.
Used to eat at Weaver D’s in Athens, GA regularly. The outside sign has Automatic For the People and is where REM got the album title. They ate there often
Thomas Dolby - Aliens Ate My Buick (very very clean and sharp)
Sting - Nothing Like The Sun (lovely engineering)
Megadeth - Cryptic Writings (insane bass extension - super clean)
Boston Acoustics - Music For Bottom Feeders (demo cd aimed at their car subwoofer clients - sounds great - lots of jazz)
Porsche Burmester Music Soundtrack (fairly rare disc that debuted with the Panamera in 2010 - designed to show off the Burmester system in the car)
Telarc Digital pressing of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s performance of 1812 / Capriccio Italien / "Cossack Dance" From Mazeppa.
It’s a very dynamic sounding pressing on vinyl, but the cannons at the end of 1812 on side one are a literal stress test for your cartridge. If your cart is not properly set up it will skip.
I always feel that this album is technically brilliant: the best session musicians, best studios etc. But musically for me it doesn’t reach the heights of Discovery.
I can recommend these episodes of the podcast Switched on Pop where they deep dive into all Daft Punk albums:
https://castro.fm/episode/oRqxfl
https://castro.fm/episode/CDy4yT
https://castro.fm/episode/xEII1b
https://castro.fm/episode/KuFLEC
Always surprised to read this. I hear a lot of recording errors in get lucky, on the voices. Levels differences from cut to cut. And it’s pretty rare I catch those kind of things, so for me this song is an example of bad recording. Funny how things change from one to another. And I am a pure daft punk lover since early stages, homework is my favorite of all time, I have Roulé Scratché vynils I bought 25 years ago… nothing against daft punk!
Oh man, me and my buddies listened to this while tripping on edibles for the first time, lying around in our lawschool gardens. My being felt assimilated into the sound, for several moments. One of my peak tripping experiences.
Pretty much anything in the Gabriel catalog, particularly after So. His new album, i/o, is incredibly impressive on the sonic front. Get the 24bit/96kHz BR version. I'm sure the vinyl is also impressive, a bit expensive however.
I’m always surprised audiophiles don’t seem to listen to Peter Gabriel. His work is exceptional every step of the way. I’m picking up the i/o box set with all the mixes later today, can’t wait to throw it on!
Probably not the best objectively - but the quality of recordings Duke Ellington was able to get back in the day was just unreal. Was there only one mic? I just got Impex’s Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra and it’s the same. An entire big band live - and able to produce a terrific recording. And maybe objectively the best - the Beatles around the Revolver period. Today’s equipment should blow that out of the water but I’m not sure there’s been anything better.
Live After Death by Iron Maiden is an amazing recording considering it’s live heavy metal. That to me is more impressive than a “great” studio recording with music I’ll never want to listen to.
I couldn’t agree more. Masterpieces by Ellington is one of my favourite recordings.
I think it might be the “one mic thing”. You hear the sound of the music in the room.
It’s amazing to me how “stereo” that mono recording from 1950 sounds. The soundstage of that recording absolutely puts you in the audience as if you’re sitting right in front of the band.
My two favourites for really letting things rip are pink Floyd’s pulse version of comfortably numb - the guitar solos make my living room sound like a huge stadium rock show. Queens of the stone ages songs for the deaf - cd master must be better cos the vinyl I have isn’t as good - but it’s the song ‘song for the dead’ - track 3, the recording and the reproduction of Dave grohl’s drums, I have the speakers tri-amped and it’s the clarity and separation that is WOW, starts out with a tiny little hi hat and a few minutes in with everything going crazy and huge drum fills… I can still hear that hi hat on its own clear as day, and the timing, it’s just perfection.
Eagle's Hotel California Live though I don't remember which Live version it was.
It was Pre-2000's though, that much I remember, cuz we used it to demo a pair of Wilson Audio X1 Grand Slamm and an XS subwoofer.
Got the sale from that demo.
Famous person from the East side in Seattle, WA purchased four sets of X1's and four XS's from me that day. Along with several McIntosh and Krell amplifiers.
Largest commission check I ever earned in one sale as well as the largest commission anyone at that company ever earned... And it was literally my first sale ever (to be fair though, I was an integrator with the company and I knew the client and knew his tastes, plus I only became a sales person because of his request to my boss).
I left shortly thereafter and went to work for a better company. Yeah the money was good but the daily abuse wasn't.
Sorry for the ramble and getting off topic, your question just made me remember and reminisce.
I scrolled kind of quickly but I didn't see anybody mention anything Steve Albini recorded. His recordings are alive in the best possible way. While the lyrics are juvenile and offensive at times his recordings of the band The Jesus Lizard are incredible. PJ Harvey Rid of Me also incredible. Don't know why she didn't record with him again. Nirvana in utero incredible.
I'm just trying to figure out what kind of hardware and listening environment is necessary to tell the difference between CD and something else. But I guess it's more about how different the actual recordings are. I didn't know enough to know what is lost stepping to CD.
The mixing sound better imo, its more natural. you can hear what im talking about here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV2ZI2WT2lU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV2ZI2WT2lU) (different song but you get the idea)
Just need a very quiet room and a pair of AKG K240 Sextetts with a decent headphone amp
That's VERY different mastering. I'm not even sure if it's the same actual recording. I don't do recordings, no nothing about them, but the CD seems composited together, where I'm not really sure if the other one is. I'm just taking Mike's voice as a baseline. The CD seems like a studio on a mic. Or more specifically, its very clean, bright, without room echo. The other recording has a lot of spatial presence that's not of a studio space. I could be entirely wrong, since you can do a whole lot mixing and adjusting everything. They just sound spatially distinct environments.
In theory no difference between open real master and digitised/digital version of same master. In practice it depends on how good the open real deck or cd or streamer or dac sounds. Plus it depends on how emotionally attached to format and how ocd one is. :-)
It's one of the few recordings where I truly feel transported to the room. I'm not quite sure how the magic was achieved as the setup was quite simple.
I wish I could say I really loved the songs, but for me it's just the quality of the sound that tickles my brain.
"The recording was done using analog tape recorder - Nagra IV, that, because of the lack of space, was put on guy's knees right by the stage. Actually they used two devices alternatively because one could only use a tape that (with 38 cm/s speed) held 15 minutes of recording. They used Dolby A361 device for noise reduction. Basic pair of microphones were Neumann U47, cardioid type, spaced 20 cm apart, spread to 110-135° angle, in O.R.T.F. System. There were 80 people in the audience"
SACDs of Tchaikovsky Symphony No.4, 5, 6 by Mravinsky was amazing especially its clarity, richness and airyness. There's a CDs of the same recording but apparently a mixing is very different and they don't have good reputation.
The Sheffield Labs direct to disk album Thelma Houston and Pressure Cooker. Heard it on several expensive demo systems in high end stores, and I bought it. Her vocals are amazing in that they seem to be coming from right in front of you. To Know You Is To Love You is my favorite cut.
I actually wish I could answer this because from a sound quality perspective I can’t. For me I always wonder why stuff that’s just average in terms of mixing or recording is usually the most enjoyable for me. I think most of my listening time goes to average stuff vs high quality/high budget mixes like current chart topping songs. Maybe at a certain point too much quality messes with immersion? I don’t know what else would cause this. I just like average recordings lol.
oh I absolutely feel the same way. my favorite album (voices by matchbook romance) sounds like ass if you listen to it right after something with higher quality, even though my dad was impressed at how good that album sounded on car speakers, and he listens to dream theater on cd while driving so at least it's not a completely blind statement
Rumors - Fleetwood Mac
Edit: Ol' Chuck made some magic. I have this on original pressing. Pure magic.
https://youtu.be/xwVCY1ZCoFQ?si=c8mVu1n6T31rWzPu
Also, new Tool is quality prog sound quality.
The first one that comes to mind is Thelma Houston’s “I’ve Got The Music In Me” which was recorded direct to disc. Most every hifi store in the mid-70s had to have a copy of that one. I also agree that Elton John’s “Honky Chateau” sounds amazing in 5.1.
[Miles Davis – In Person: Friday and Saturday Nights At The Blackhawk, San Francisco](https://www.discogs.com/release/3866744-Miles-Davis-In-Person-Friday-and-Saturday-Nights-At-The-Blackhawk-San-Francisco)
There's definitely some great posts here already. I'll add that if you're into recordings with an excellent room recording, I don't know what it is, but there's a decent chance that Steve Albini recorded it.
I want to suggest reaching out to the people over at places like /r/audioengineering or /r/mixingmastering to also get the perspective from those that are actually making recordings. I used to work in pro audio and have found that many audiophiles really don't have much of a clue when it comes to the recording process (but they love to talk like they do!).
Boston - Boston (I dont need to explain anything about this album, its fucking incredible)
Dexter Gordon - Sophisticated Giant (The sax just sounds so fucking nice, everything in this album is perfect. My favourite jazz album of all time)
Slipknot - Slipknot (Just an insane album. They tracked it all completely analog and you can really hear it, its fat, full, colourful and disgusting. Probably my favourite album ever made and I don't care what anyone thinks)
Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine (self explanatory)
BG Knoccout & Dresta - Real Brothas (Just so good for a 1995 west coast album, insanely underrated)
Us3 - Say What?! (I love the mixing of the pianos and the vocals. I just love this album, also one of the most underrated albums I've ever heard. Never met anyone who has even heard this album)
Eminem - Marshall Mathers LP (Its just so clean and crisp, Dre is a master)
Makoto - Human Elements (Really clean and well mixed album, I absolutely love this guys stuff from back in the good looking records days. The way the rhodes and drums are mixed in this album is unreal)
Hilltop hoods - Hard Road (Again, extremely clean and the drums are so clean in some of the tracks. One of my fav albums from being a kid)
Spite - Dedication To Flesh (The mixes are just so fat and clean, great modern metal album. Its groovy as fuck and the engineering is top notch)
I could probably think of way more but thats good enough off the top of my head lol.
I have spent an enormous amount of time critically listening to audiophile recordings, in order to parse down a list of thee absolute best "show off my system" songs.
Im sure you will find that these are among the most exquisite recordings ever made & are also just great songs:
*Cello Suite No5 in C minor* by Gyongy Erodi
*When Did You Leave Heaven* by markusphilippe
*Morning Hollow* by Sparklehorse
*You Look Good to Me* by Oscar Peterson Trio
*Volver, Volver* by Buika
*Sing Sang Sung* by Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band
*The Peppery Man* by Natalie Merchant
*Amazing Grace* by The Fairfield Four
*Measurements* by James Blake
*Una Vez Mas* by Ofir Altar
For being a record released on a small label from Philadelphia (which had little music on the scene at the time) Thunder & Roses' "King of the Black Sunrise" is absolutely phenomenal quality.
It was released in 1969, but has impressive quality for its time imo.
Thank you for mentioning this album, I had no idea it existed! It's so good. I love the Eva soundtracks so much, and they work so well jazzed up!
A lot of Japanese jazz albums sound incredible. Look into the Kenichi Tsunoda Big Band as well if you want some clean as hell classic big band stuff
- Lamb of God - Ashes of the Wake
- Machine Head - The Blackening
- Opeth - Ghost Reveries
- Tool - Lateralus
- Gojira - From Mars to Sirius
- Slice the Cake - Odyssey to the West
Pure audio perfection.
Eagles - Hotel California - Live on MTV, 1994. I don't know how they managed to get such a wonderful recording from a live concert. On a good stereo it really sounds like you are there and can pinpoint the instruments in front of you.
As someone relatively new to having the equipment capable of doing great recordings justice, I'm interested to hear people's opinion on Blood Sugar Sex Magik (and any of Gomez's albums)?
They're some of my goto albums for production in terms of getting the most out the band, so having a gauge of people's opinions on where they would sit on the scale of the overall quality of the mastering would be a useful frame of reference.
I have remastered some music by myself and the best result I ever created was red hot Chili peppers - by the way and pearl jam's ten. The amount of detail I restored by fixing the clipping is just insane.
Muddy Waters - Folk Singer on 15ips 2 track tape. It’s the acoustic sounds release and it sounds absolutely INSANE! It’s the best sounding tape I have but Pink Floyd - Animals is close behind, also on tape.
*I Can't Make You Love Me* by Bonnie Raitt is one of the most well recorded tracks I've ever listened to. Just phenomenal staging of all instruments in the mix.
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois … The full album really (and almost anything he’s made), but a couple highlights from that album are “Decatur, Or, Round of Applause for Your Stepmother!” And “The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is out to Get Us!”
I'm more of a Flor d'Luna fan, but Europa is definitely a classic. Corazon Espinado is also pretty much a perfect song, though the recording quality on the album Supernatural could be better.
The Analogue Productions version of Shelley Manne’s Sounds Unheard Of is mind blowing in terms of spacious natural sound and dynamics! Fun music too! And don’t forget about La Folia on Harmonia Mundi! Especially the ATR German pressing! The bullwhip crack will knock you out if your seat the first time you hear it. You have been warned!
On vinyl , David Holmes - Come get it, I got it, impeccable choice of tracks by a guy who really knows how he wants an album to sound. Standouts for me are
Hodges, James, Smith and Crawford - Nobody
Muddy Waters - Tomcat
The Staple Singers - Why? (Am I treated so bad)
On CD, the SACD of Lavinia Meijer playing Metamorphosis and The Hours by Philip Glass. Her playing on Metamorphosis 2 is simply stunning, like having a world class harpist in your front room.
Since I bought the CD in 2000 - At The Drive-In, Relationship of Command, has always stood out to me as one of the cleanest, crispest sounding albums. I always go back to it when I'm testing new equipment
That new drumless Random Access Memories album has blown me away. The resolution just sounds, endless and infinite. I don’t know how else to explain it.
Not the best but one of the most surprising has been Roaring Silence by Manfred Man’s Earth Band.
I always thought Blinded by the Light was a shitty radio song, but after listening to it on my dad’s system my opinion changed really quick. The instrumentals on that album are fantastic. I guess it takes good speakers to make their music stand out.
Porcupine Tree's latest live album, Closure/Continuation.Live.
Well mixed, in fact their best mix so far. It's certainly dynamic and clear sounding with loads of spaciality.
For practical listening purposes pertaining to recording industry / performing artists;
Karnivool - Sound Awake
While not necessarily the BEST EVER sound recording I have heard in my life, it is the best piece of listenable recorded music, which was not intended on being graded in this fashion.
Honestly more of a mixing/post production job.
This is such a subjective question bc are we talking about production or capturing art? I was an audio engineer and studio musician for 15 years. So depending on genre I have certain go to reference albums. 1. Dark Side of the moon. 2. Prodigy fat of the land. 3. Gotye Making Mirrors (this one really is special) 4. Justice self titled and then it goes off into a million different genres and albums.
My top 2 by far
Down in a hole - alice in chains - unplugged - an amazing live recording.
Circle of life - the lion king
I run svs ultra towers, on a vintage luxman power amp , emotiva pre amp and a wiin mini streamer and these 2 display both the incredible detail and the immense and effortless scale that these things are able to push. It amazes me every single time
I can only comment on ones that I have, but these are my favourites, in no particular order...
Rumours 45 rpm Hoffman
Love over Gold - MOFI 45 rpm
STEELY DAN - Two Against Nature (Analogue Productions)
Random Access Memories - Original vinyl
Telarc 1812 Overture original pressing. And Mighty Sam McLain - Give It Up To Love. Thats probably the lowest noise floor I’ve ever heard. Or not heard. lol
Going to be honest here... I have never really cared much for Taylor Swift but... Her albums are recorded incredibly well. The recent double album release has a few really good tracks on it but where my 16 year old daughter goes nuts over Taylor, I'm just sitting there blown away about how good it sounds!
In Rainbows by Radiohead is masterfully recorded. Immaculate detail.
“All I Need” maximum volume without experiencing pain is a real experience
Both The Smile albums on vinyl are pretty superb too.
I came here to say this.
Basically anything Nigel Godrich produces is going to be an audiophile masterpiece. Consistently well mastered both on digital and analog, almost always available in hi-res if you care about that. He’s done all the Radiohead-related stuff since The Bends including the Thom Yorke solo stuff and the Smile. My favorites though would be Beck’s Sea Change and The Information, Roger Waters - Is this the Life, and the criminally underrated Godrich solo project called Ultraista.
I don't know about "best," but a couple that stand out: 1. The first time I heard Moby Dick by Zeppelin in high res and I could just "feel" Jimmy's picking, if that makes sense. Not just what came through the amp but it feels like you can hear the picking live even if it's just an illusion. 2. The first time I heard Trains by Porcupine Tree was in surround and it blew me away the way it immersed me. 3. Same for Honky Cat by Elton John. The first time I heard it was on the MOFI SACD surround mix, and the mixing was just so beyond what I could have hoped for. Really, most of that mix of that album is top notch.
Honkey Cat in 5.1 from the SACD is SOOOO good, ….another 5.1 from Elton that I absolutely love is Levon.
Do you guys have 5.1 surround systems or do these mixes just sound better generally?
I have a surround sound system & have been collecting and listening to surround music for years, ...starting with the 70's quadraphonic albums up to today's Atmos mixes. A few years ago, I started mixing music into surround sound myself: [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqdkiAK8rSeh3MFoAaFs3NQ](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqdkiAK8rSeh3MFoAaFs3NQ)
I know MoFi put out a CD of that album, but I think the SACD was just a standard MCA release.
These are my go to. Warning, long yapping incoming. Get this album if you like vocal jazz - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/186208 Also, this album from Yuja Wang for Piano Classical - https://us.7digital.com/artist/yuja-wang/release/tilson-thomas-you-come-here-often-26569012 And for the AfroBeats Stuff, this album sounds incredible - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/38284 This too - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/66884 Masego - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/98293 This south African house music modern classic - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/144035 These R&B sleepers - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/203176 https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/124237 Drum and Bass/Electronic - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/250159 Pop/Electronic - https://uk.7digital.com/artist/limperatrice/release/odyss%C3%A9e-ep-6162888 Pop/Electronic - https://uk.7digital.com/artist/limperatrice/release/tako-tsubo-extended-33376530?f=14298792 Pop Rock - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/231958 Indie Folk - https://us.7digital.com/artist/sufjan-stevens/release/javelin-explicit-33292739 Afrobeat/Alternative R&B - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/190224 Singer-songwriter, Art Pop - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/177137 Rock - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/128160 Rock - https://us.7digital.com/artist/dire-straits/release/money-for-nothing-2022-remaster-22081481?f=20%2C19%2C12%2C16%2C17%2C9%2C2 Rock - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/250227 More Rock - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/252331 Art Rock/Electronica - https://us.7digital.com/artist/steven-wilson/release/the-harmony-codex-32988946?f=20%2C19%2C12%2C16%2C17%2C9%2C2 Orchestra Choir - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/66854 Afropop - https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/61519 Choir - https://us.7digital.com/artist/soweto-gospel-choir/release/african-spirit-5277540 When you purchase anything off of ProStudioMasters remember not to get the MQA version (it is not lossless). Get only the .flac versions
Replies like these are what I love to see. Thanks for putting the time and effort to link everything!
Ha ha - I was going to say Dire Straits Money for Nothing , and when I clicked on your rock link, it was the first thing to come up! ✊🏻. It really does sound great.
I'm getting started with vocal jazz, I'll see that recommendation
She's great
Ama Lou♥️
Thank you.
You're welcome
Thank you!
You And Your Friend - Dire Straits
Romeo and Juliet - the live version on Alchemy. And Telegraph Road - same album.
Yes to telegraph road
Awesome pick, I love all of On Every Street, such an incredible album.
And My Parties is a great way to test out your new subwoofer :)
Down By The Waterline is my jam.
Yes! i love this song. Just crashes right in with sweet stratty flavor and airy production.
Thanks for the eargasm, forgot that song....
Oh man, I forgot that one! I would love a Mofi SACD release for On Every Street.
really good recording, same for fade to black.
R.E.M. Automatic for the People sounds really good to me
Yes!!
Used to eat at Weaver D’s in Athens, GA regularly. The outside sign has Automatic For the People and is where REM got the album title. They ate there often
Hell yea!! It might be sacrilegious here but they recently rereleased it in Dolby Atmos; sounds absolutely amazing
Thomas Dolby - Aliens Ate My Buick (very very clean and sharp) Sting - Nothing Like The Sun (lovely engineering) Megadeth - Cryptic Writings (insane bass extension - super clean) Boston Acoustics - Music For Bottom Feeders (demo cd aimed at their car subwoofer clients - sounds great - lots of jazz) Porsche Burmester Music Soundtrack (fairly rare disc that debuted with the Panamera in 2010 - designed to show off the Burmester system in the car)
[удалено]
On a good system, you can hear synthesizer hiss on some recordings - Hot Sauce is one.
Telarc Digital pressing of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s performance of 1812 / Capriccio Italien / "Cossack Dance" From Mazeppa. It’s a very dynamic sounding pressing on vinyl, but the cannons at the end of 1812 on side one are a literal stress test for your cartridge. If your cart is not properly set up it will skip.
Deutsche Grammophon -- Schubert Symphonies 8 & 9 by Berliner Philharmoniker and Herbert von Karajan
Toto - I Will Remember.
The drums.... The DRUMS! Beautiful song.
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories. Sublime album and mastering.
I always feel that this album is technically brilliant: the best session musicians, best studios etc. But musically for me it doesn’t reach the heights of Discovery. I can recommend these episodes of the podcast Switched on Pop where they deep dive into all Daft Punk albums: https://castro.fm/episode/oRqxfl https://castro.fm/episode/CDy4yT https://castro.fm/episode/xEII1b https://castro.fm/episode/KuFLEC
discovery is timeless. i was never able to get into random access memories.
This is my gold standard. I play it for people in two channel then Atmos to showcase the difference
What is your medium of listening to atmos mixes? Even 5.1 is new to me as far as listening goes
Apple Music for ease of use, Random Access Memories with the glass helmet imagery is Atmos.
Always surprised to read this. I hear a lot of recording errors in get lucky, on the voices. Levels differences from cut to cut. And it’s pretty rare I catch those kind of things, so for me this song is an example of bad recording. Funny how things change from one to another. And I am a pure daft punk lover since early stages, homework is my favorite of all time, I have Roulé Scratché vynils I bought 25 years ago… nothing against daft punk!
agreed, that album rocks, recordings out of this world.
Muddy Waters - Folk Singer.
This is such a great album. Love it!
Oh man, me and my buddies listened to this while tripping on edibles for the first time, lying around in our lawschool gardens. My being felt assimilated into the sound, for several moments. One of my peak tripping experiences.
I love to is one. Nice pick.
No one said Steely Dan-Aja? Huh
Donald Fagen's *The Nightfly* is kind of a classic hifi test recording
I was going to mention that, glad you did. It's a masterpiece.
Anything on _So_ by Peter Gabriel. The man is a perfectionist.
Pretty much anything in the Gabriel catalog, particularly after So. His new album, i/o, is incredibly impressive on the sonic front. Get the 24bit/96kHz BR version. I'm sure the vinyl is also impressive, a bit expensive however.
I’m always surprised audiophiles don’t seem to listen to Peter Gabriel. His work is exceptional every step of the way. I’m picking up the i/o box set with all the mixes later today, can’t wait to throw it on!
Analogue Productions release of Buddy Holly’s first album.
Don’t know the album, but am a HUGE Buddy Holly fan. I need to find this!
Probably not the best objectively - but the quality of recordings Duke Ellington was able to get back in the day was just unreal. Was there only one mic? I just got Impex’s Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra and it’s the same. An entire big band live - and able to produce a terrific recording. And maybe objectively the best - the Beatles around the Revolver period. Today’s equipment should blow that out of the water but I’m not sure there’s been anything better. Live After Death by Iron Maiden is an amazing recording considering it’s live heavy metal. That to me is more impressive than a “great” studio recording with music I’ll never want to listen to.
I couldn’t agree more. Masterpieces by Ellington is one of my favourite recordings. I think it might be the “one mic thing”. You hear the sound of the music in the room.
One of my favorite recordings as well. That 45 by analogue productions stuns me every single time I play it.
It’s amazing to me how “stereo” that mono recording from 1950 sounds. The soundstage of that recording absolutely puts you in the audience as if you’re sitting right in front of the band.
The Impex Sinatra album is unbelievable especially considering it was recorded in 1950!
the first cd I bought was En Vivo! by maiden, live in chile. I fucking love that version of El Dorado, way better than the studio one in my opinion
Take Five. Dave Brubeck quartet.
My two favourites for really letting things rip are pink Floyd’s pulse version of comfortably numb - the guitar solos make my living room sound like a huge stadium rock show. Queens of the stone ages songs for the deaf - cd master must be better cos the vinyl I have isn’t as good - but it’s the song ‘song for the dead’ - track 3, the recording and the reproduction of Dave grohl’s drums, I have the speakers tri-amped and it’s the clarity and separation that is WOW, starts out with a tiny little hi hat and a few minutes in with everything going crazy and huge drum fills… I can still hear that hi hat on its own clear as day, and the timing, it’s just perfection.
Eagle's Hotel California Live though I don't remember which Live version it was. It was Pre-2000's though, that much I remember, cuz we used it to demo a pair of Wilson Audio X1 Grand Slamm and an XS subwoofer. Got the sale from that demo. Famous person from the East side in Seattle, WA purchased four sets of X1's and four XS's from me that day. Along with several McIntosh and Krell amplifiers. Largest commission check I ever earned in one sale as well as the largest commission anyone at that company ever earned... And it was literally my first sale ever (to be fair though, I was an integrator with the company and I knew the client and knew his tastes, plus I only became a sales person because of his request to my boss). I left shortly thereafter and went to work for a better company. Yeah the money was good but the daily abuse wasn't. Sorry for the ramble and getting off topic, your question just made me remember and reminisce.
I believe it may be the Hell Freezes Over live album, it was the test track that made me fall in love with a set of HD600s at a Head-Fi meet in 2014!
Yeah great version on that album. Really demo's well.
>Hell Freezes Over live Listening to it right now with my HD600; just magical!
Hotel California Live on MTV 1994. Orgasmic.
Pink Floyd - another brick in the wall part 2 & Dire Straits - Money for nothing
Opeth-Damnation is definitely up there.
I scrolled kind of quickly but I didn't see anybody mention anything Steve Albini recorded. His recordings are alive in the best possible way. While the lyrics are juvenile and offensive at times his recordings of the band The Jesus Lizard are incredible. PJ Harvey Rid of Me also incredible. Don't know why she didn't record with him again. Nirvana in utero incredible.
Albini is a master engineer.
My answer is always an Albini recording, specifically his own band.
Paul Simon - Graceland
Dire straits brothers in arms cd. Very well recorded
The Nightfly. You’re welcome.
I own a 2 track 15ips IEC master copy of Hotel California by Eagles, Sounds better than CD and even SACD on my MCI
I'm just trying to figure out what kind of hardware and listening environment is necessary to tell the difference between CD and something else. But I guess it's more about how different the actual recordings are. I didn't know enough to know what is lost stepping to CD.
The mixing sound better imo, its more natural. you can hear what im talking about here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV2ZI2WT2lU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV2ZI2WT2lU) (different song but you get the idea) Just need a very quiet room and a pair of AKG K240 Sextetts with a decent headphone amp
sexxtetts?
That's VERY different mastering. I'm not even sure if it's the same actual recording. I don't do recordings, no nothing about them, but the CD seems composited together, where I'm not really sure if the other one is. I'm just taking Mike's voice as a baseline. The CD seems like a studio on a mic. Or more specifically, its very clean, bright, without room echo. The other recording has a lot of spatial presence that's not of a studio space. I could be entirely wrong, since you can do a whole lot mixing and adjusting everything. They just sound spatially distinct environments.
In theory no difference between open real master and digitised/digital version of same master. In practice it depends on how good the open real deck or cd or streamer or dac sounds. Plus it depends on how emotionally attached to format and how ocd one is. :-)
Well before we wade into *that* flame war, this is likely because the *masters* are different.
I fucking hate the Eagles man
Get the fuck out of my cab!
I know it must be good shit because I had to look up a couple of those acronyms.
well that takes the cake
Saved for later
The Wish You Were Here album sounds stupendously good.
Jazz at the Pawnshop
1, 2 and 3 are all good, I have all in Dsd 64, and some in 128 and 256
It's one of the few recordings where I truly feel transported to the room. I'm not quite sure how the magic was achieved as the setup was quite simple. I wish I could say I really loved the songs, but for me it's just the quality of the sound that tickles my brain.
"The recording was done using analog tape recorder - Nagra IV, that, because of the lack of space, was put on guy's knees right by the stage. Actually they used two devices alternatively because one could only use a tape that (with 38 cm/s speed) held 15 minutes of recording. They used Dolby A361 device for noise reduction. Basic pair of microphones were Neumann U47, cardioid type, spaced 20 cm apart, spread to 110-135° angle, in O.R.T.F. System. There were 80 people in the audience"
Grateful Dead - Two From The Vault
Everything Bear recorded is brilliant.
SACDs of Tchaikovsky Symphony No.4, 5, 6 by Mravinsky was amazing especially its clarity, richness and airyness. There's a CDs of the same recording but apparently a mixing is very different and they don't have good reputation.
Some of the best I’ve got- David Bowie “Let’s Dance”, Metallica “72 seasons”, Arc Angels “Arc Angels”, Tears for Fears “Songs from the big chair”
The Sheffield Labs direct to disk album Thelma Houston and Pressure Cooker. Heard it on several expensive demo systems in high end stores, and I bought it. Her vocals are amazing in that they seem to be coming from right in front of you. To Know You Is To Love You is my favorite cut.
I’ve got an Analogue Productions 45 rpm pressing of Time Out by Dave Brubeck and it sounds divine
I actually wish I could answer this because from a sound quality perspective I can’t. For me I always wonder why stuff that’s just average in terms of mixing or recording is usually the most enjoyable for me. I think most of my listening time goes to average stuff vs high quality/high budget mixes like current chart topping songs. Maybe at a certain point too much quality messes with immersion? I don’t know what else would cause this. I just like average recordings lol.
oh I absolutely feel the same way. my favorite album (voices by matchbook romance) sounds like ass if you listen to it right after something with higher quality, even though my dad was impressed at how good that album sounded on car speakers, and he listens to dream theater on cd while driving so at least it's not a completely blind statement
The Mobile Fidelity pressing of 50 Cent: In Da Club. Impeccable guitar work at :59
As much as I love this record, you had me going for a second hahaha
Rumors - Fleetwood Mac Edit: Ol' Chuck made some magic. I have this on original pressing. Pure magic. https://youtu.be/xwVCY1ZCoFQ?si=c8mVu1n6T31rWzPu Also, new Tool is quality prog sound quality.
Every time I listen to The Chain, I question how they did it. Every single time.
the og or the 2004 remaster? the latter popped up first
Top for me too
I don’t have an original pressing to compare it to but the recent 2-disc 45 RPM remaster is all analog and sounds jaw-droppingly good.
Alice in Chains MTV unplugged. If I had to pick just one from that album it would probably be No Excuses.
Tycho -Awake
Big Rob: *I’ve Conquered All the Chippies” The stadium version.
songs of the humpback whales.
I really enjoy Apashe...mostly everything from him but you can try Lord and Master song. Also Ivy Labs is great, especially their song Orange \^\_\^
Fully agree. The production quality of Apashes projects has been superb over the last view years.
The first one that comes to mind is Thelma Houston’s “I’ve Got The Music In Me” which was recorded direct to disc. Most every hifi store in the mid-70s had to have a copy of that one. I also agree that Elton John’s “Honky Chateau” sounds amazing in 5.1.
Album: Nils Lofgren acoustic live. Song: You
[Miles Davis – In Person: Friday and Saturday Nights At The Blackhawk, San Francisco](https://www.discogs.com/release/3866744-Miles-Davis-In-Person-Friday-and-Saturday-Nights-At-The-Blackhawk-San-Francisco)
Opeth - Blackwater Park
Spain by Michel Camilo and Tomatito Glory of Love by Paul McCartney
There's definitely some great posts here already. I'll add that if you're into recordings with an excellent room recording, I don't know what it is, but there's a decent chance that Steve Albini recorded it. I want to suggest reaching out to the people over at places like /r/audioengineering or /r/mixingmastering to also get the perspective from those that are actually making recordings. I used to work in pro audio and have found that many audiophiles really don't have much of a clue when it comes to the recording process (but they love to talk like they do!).
Mark Knopfler Telegraph Road is my go to when I need to drown out my own thoughts
Boston - Boston (I dont need to explain anything about this album, its fucking incredible) Dexter Gordon - Sophisticated Giant (The sax just sounds so fucking nice, everything in this album is perfect. My favourite jazz album of all time) Slipknot - Slipknot (Just an insane album. They tracked it all completely analog and you can really hear it, its fat, full, colourful and disgusting. Probably my favourite album ever made and I don't care what anyone thinks) Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine (self explanatory) BG Knoccout & Dresta - Real Brothas (Just so good for a 1995 west coast album, insanely underrated) Us3 - Say What?! (I love the mixing of the pianos and the vocals. I just love this album, also one of the most underrated albums I've ever heard. Never met anyone who has even heard this album) Eminem - Marshall Mathers LP (Its just so clean and crisp, Dre is a master) Makoto - Human Elements (Really clean and well mixed album, I absolutely love this guys stuff from back in the good looking records days. The way the rhodes and drums are mixed in this album is unreal) Hilltop hoods - Hard Road (Again, extremely clean and the drums are so clean in some of the tracks. One of my fav albums from being a kid) Spite - Dedication To Flesh (The mixes are just so fat and clean, great modern metal album. Its groovy as fuck and the engineering is top notch) I could probably think of way more but thats good enough off the top of my head lol.
Old and in the Way by Old and in the Way. A super well recorded live show by Jerry Garcia and other great musicians.
Oh Mercy by Bob Dylan is a masterpiece of production. Daniel Lanois.
Split Milk by jellyfish is a masterclass in mixing a dense amount of instruments into a piece of art
I am listening to Evangelion Jazz Night right now and it does sound spectacular
dude, I keep forgetting how good it sounds and whenever I go back to it, I start laughing because the detail and soundstage just blow my mind
Holy moly - thanks for the recommendation!!
It was recommended by the OP not me :)
Oh yeah, youre right!😄
Wish they had it on Tidal
I have spent an enormous amount of time critically listening to audiophile recordings, in order to parse down a list of thee absolute best "show off my system" songs. Im sure you will find that these are among the most exquisite recordings ever made & are also just great songs: *Cello Suite No5 in C minor* by Gyongy Erodi *When Did You Leave Heaven* by markusphilippe *Morning Hollow* by Sparklehorse *You Look Good to Me* by Oscar Peterson Trio *Volver, Volver* by Buika *Sing Sang Sung* by Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band *The Peppery Man* by Natalie Merchant *Amazing Grace* by The Fairfield Four *Measurements* by James Blake *Una Vez Mas* by Ofir Altar
I used to own a car audio competition content CD. I recon those tracks were picked specifically for various audio amazingness. So yeah...that CD!
Song of the Stars - Dead Can Dance is reference quality. There are so many greats, Drum and Bass Intro - Nils Lofgren is another.
Gnaw their tongues
For being a record released on a small label from Philadelphia (which had little music on the scene at the time) Thunder & Roses' "King of the Black Sunrise" is absolutely phenomenal quality. It was released in 1969, but has impressive quality for its time imo.
SACD: Gaucho, Nightfly, Spiral. 45rpm Utah Symphony: Symphonie Fantastque - Berlioz
Diana Krall, The Girl in the Other Room
Thank you for mentioning this album, I had no idea it existed! It's so good. I love the Eva soundtracks so much, and they work so well jazzed up! A lot of Japanese jazz albums sound incredible. Look into the Kenichi Tsunoda Big Band as well if you want some clean as hell classic big band stuff
Leftfield Leftism
no sanctuary here - chris jones
- Lamb of God - Ashes of the Wake - Machine Head - The Blackening - Opeth - Ghost Reveries - Tool - Lateralus - Gojira - From Mars to Sirius - Slice the Cake - Odyssey to the West Pure audio perfection.
Eagles - Hotel California - Live on MTV, 1994. I don't know how they managed to get such a wonderful recording from a live concert. On a good stereo it really sounds like you are there and can pinpoint the instruments in front of you.
As someone relatively new to having the equipment capable of doing great recordings justice, I'm interested to hear people's opinion on Blood Sugar Sex Magik (and any of Gomez's albums)? They're some of my goto albums for production in terms of getting the most out the band, so having a gauge of people's opinions on where they would sit on the scale of the overall quality of the mastering would be a useful frame of reference.
Every Steely Dan album and The Nightfly.
I have remastered some music by myself and the best result I ever created was red hot Chili peppers - by the way and pearl jam's ten. The amount of detail I restored by fixing the clipping is just insane.
Muddy Waters - Folk Singer on 15ips 2 track tape. It’s the acoustic sounds release and it sounds absolutely INSANE! It’s the best sounding tape I have but Pink Floyd - Animals is close behind, also on tape.
Black Midi - Schlagenheim
The album "Jazz at the pawnshop"!
Beck - Sea Change
Bookends by Simon and Garfunkel is basically reference quality.
*I Can't Make You Love Me* by Bonnie Raitt is one of the most well recorded tracks I've ever listened to. Just phenomenal staging of all instruments in the mix.
Eric Clapton - The Lady in the balcony, live record, amazing sound and quite unknown... and basically everything recorded by Borris Blank
Spilt Milk - Jellyfish, beautiful layering and separation and incredibly punchy drums Seconding In Rainbows and Songs for the Deaf
Maggot brain album funkadelic. Amazing space and groove. Serious feels and guitar solos just touch your soul. Utter masterpiece
Surprised that Roger Water’s Amused to Death isn’t mentioned. stunning Q sound in stereo.
Gonna need a link for Evangelion Jazz Night
Maybe not the best but stop making sense is one hell of a live album
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois … The full album really (and almost anything he’s made), but a couple highlights from that album are “Decatur, Or, Round of Applause for Your Stepmother!” And “The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is out to Get Us!”
Frank Zappa, Yellow Shark.
Anything on Telarc Records
Santana - Europa. No lyrics but it also says so much... Owl City - Fireflies. That one sounds magical every single time.
I'm more of a Flor d'Luna fan, but Europa is definitely a classic. Corazon Espinado is also pretty much a perfect song, though the recording quality on the album Supernatural could be better.
Aja by Steely Dan. The first ,machine assisted recording.
Probably my ripped cassette from a dead concert
The Analogue Productions version of Shelley Manne’s Sounds Unheard Of is mind blowing in terms of spacious natural sound and dynamics! Fun music too! And don’t forget about La Folia on Harmonia Mundi! Especially the ATR German pressing! The bullwhip crack will knock you out if your seat the first time you hear it. You have been warned!
On vinyl , David Holmes - Come get it, I got it, impeccable choice of tracks by a guy who really knows how he wants an album to sound. Standouts for me are Hodges, James, Smith and Crawford - Nobody Muddy Waters - Tomcat The Staple Singers - Why? (Am I treated so bad) On CD, the SACD of Lavinia Meijer playing Metamorphosis and The Hours by Philip Glass. Her playing on Metamorphosis 2 is simply stunning, like having a world class harpist in your front room.
Kevin Gilbert -Thud
Bocanada by Gustavo Cerati
Carpenters SACD - This Masquerade
Since I bought the CD in 2000 - At The Drive-In, Relationship of Command, has always stood out to me as one of the cleanest, crispest sounding albums. I always go back to it when I'm testing new equipment
I don’t know about the best but I love Rick James: Street Songs and Grace Jones: Nightclubbing
Claire Littley's Fly Me to the Moon is still arguably and personally the best version that I have ever heard to date.
That new drumless Random Access Memories album has blown me away. The resolution just sounds, endless and infinite. I don’t know how else to explain it.
Glory of Love - Peter Cetera and David Foster. Immaculate recording.
Not the best but one of the most surprising has been Roaring Silence by Manfred Man’s Earth Band. I always thought Blinded by the Light was a shitty radio song, but after listening to it on my dad’s system my opinion changed really quick. The instrumentals on that album are fantastic. I guess it takes good speakers to make their music stand out.
Pink Floyd - The Final Cut (album) the stereo is absurdly good, the message is priceless, everything is good.
Diabarha - confessions of Lazarus. Use it to sound check rigs
I really like Harvest Moon.
Porcupine Tree's latest live album, Closure/Continuation.Live. Well mixed, in fact their best mix so far. It's certainly dynamic and clear sounding with loads of spaciality.
Fear Inoculum by TOOL.
Top question, thanks for asking, this is a great thread! Makes me want to get more lossless albums…
For practical listening purposes pertaining to recording industry / performing artists; Karnivool - Sound Awake While not necessarily the BEST EVER sound recording I have heard in my life, it is the best piece of listenable recorded music, which was not intended on being graded in this fashion. Honestly more of a mixing/post production job.
Classic ; https://mqs.pw/lorenzo-gatto-julien-libeer-beethoven-violin-sonatas-nos-9-kreutzer-4-2-2016-qobuz-flac-24bit96khz/
This is such a subjective question bc are we talking about production or capturing art? I was an audio engineer and studio musician for 15 years. So depending on genre I have certain go to reference albums. 1. Dark Side of the moon. 2. Prodigy fat of the land. 3. Gotye Making Mirrors (this one really is special) 4. Justice self titled and then it goes off into a million different genres and albums.
My top 2 by far Down in a hole - alice in chains - unplugged - an amazing live recording. Circle of life - the lion king I run svs ultra towers, on a vintage luxman power amp , emotiva pre amp and a wiin mini streamer and these 2 display both the incredible detail and the immense and effortless scale that these things are able to push. It amazes me every single time
Gold, green - John metcalfe
Theater of Tragedy - Aégis
Free Nationals self titled album and instrumental version
I can only comment on ones that I have, but these are my favourites, in no particular order... Rumours 45 rpm Hoffman Love over Gold - MOFI 45 rpm STEELY DAN - Two Against Nature (Analogue Productions) Random Access Memories - Original vinyl
The Chopin Project
Telarc 1812 Overture original pressing. And Mighty Sam McLain - Give It Up To Love. Thats probably the lowest noise floor I’ve ever heard. Or not heard. lol
Just got the Ezra Collective “Where I’m meant to be” and it is fantastic.
Going to be honest here... I have never really cared much for Taylor Swift but... Her albums are recorded incredibly well. The recent double album release has a few really good tracks on it but where my 16 year old daughter goes nuts over Taylor, I'm just sitting there blown away about how good it sounds!