Best 5 engineered rock albums?

I assume you mean audiophile quality recordings:
Chris Isaak - Baja Sessions
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms
Eagles - Hell Freezes Over (also truly outstanding on DVD)
Fleetwood Mac - the Dance (also excellent on DVD)
Roy Orbison - Black and White Night (also excellent on DVD)

Actually, I was looking for original releases rather than re-mastered, but this is interesting as well.

Mine are all original releases.... although not necessarily the first time this artist has recorded these songs.

I don't think I can stretch to 10 without repetition of many previous excellent suggestions so here are a few not previously mentioned.

Crowded House : Woodface
Robert Cray : I was warned
Dire Straits : Communique
Rickie Lee Jones : Rickie Lee Jones
Queen : News of the World (not all tracks, but side B is excellent)
Lenny Kravitz : Are you going to go my way

This last one may not be to all tastes, but I like the raw qualities ... the amp hum, the hiss of the wah-wah peddle, and the mike thump of the vocals ... kind of like a gig. Strangely the title track is an exception ... very poorly engineered.

seantaylor99:

really? Lenny Kravitz album well done... and also a good album music wise? The reason why I ask this, is cause it is clear that Mr. Kravitz is trying to "conjure" a retro, guitar-based, and raw sounding psychedelic kind of sound, but I never trusted him to be more than the usual MTV all-image-no-meat corporate rock product. (quick quiz: what album and song begins with the intoned phrase "corporate rock").

My fave 5, not duplicating any of my shared faves already listed by the good audiosouls posts above:
(all vinyl btw, is there any other way to listen to rock??)

Jimi Hendrix "Electric Ladyland" (side one has the BEST live rocj recording ever, imo)
Genesis "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway"
Heart "Dreamboat Annie"
Fleetwood Mac "Rumours"
Steely Dan "Aja"

PS: I define "rock" as having come to an end with the era of the Sex Pistols, the Clash, etc., and the rise of MTV. Everything after that is no longer rock; it is new wave, punk, post punk, industrial, techno, electronica, alternative, hip hop, etc etc. "Rock" is what you could have likely heard on any decent urban-area FM radio station in the 70's. Entire sides of albums, excellent "pop" stuff of the likes of Springsteen or Fleetwood Mac, etc. I'm sure my view is controversial and weird.

pcanis