Best mastered recordings

You have to be more specific as regards DG recordings, such as listing the ones you like. In the 70s and 80s DG produced some of the most irritating recordings on the market - harmonically thin, etched, bass shy, dry, no soundstaging. They changed in the 90s and have actually, I've heard, remastered some performances and completely changed the sound.

On the pop side of things, Columbia did the same thing in the 60s and 70s. Their pop and jazz recordings were awful, especially compared to companies like Atlantic and Warner from same period. I remember reading Rolling Stone articles in 1970 talking about the shameful quality of Columbia's Dylan and Santana releases. In the 70s I would try to find import releases of Columbia's stuff.

For the last 8-10 years Columbia (Sony) has been releasing some excellent sounding remastered albums

"I remember reading Rolling Stone articles in 1970 talking about the shameful quality of Columbia's Dylan and Santana releases. In the 70s I would try to find import releases of Columbia's stuff.

For the last 8-10 years Columbia (Sony) has been releasing some excellent sounding remastered albums "

I have a recent re-release of Santana's Abraxas on Vinyl, and it possibly the worst sounding drek I've ever encountered, far worse than the original crap.

Good thread. As for Rick Rubin, I've only heard his work with Johnny Cash on the American label, which is recorded very well. I'm surprised that he doesn't do a good job on other albums he's produced.
I've never liked any DG recording I've listened to and avoid them like the plague.
Telarc recordings do usually sound very good, but some of their newer CD rereleases of things like TimeWarp sound compressed and truncated compared to the originals. I was dismayed to have spent $18.00 for junk.
It is a shame that one cannot return bad sounding recordings to the manufacturer as the junk they are. All any one cares is if they play. Because of the "you open it, your stuck with it" policy the consumer has no recourse but to be stuck with a growing pile of CDs destined for the "trade in stores" where we recieve pennies on the dollar. The music (and software industry in general) is immune to any feedback on the buyer's displeasure at the recording quality of the product.

WOW! I'm glad I didn't purchase older copies of DG releases. I'm referring to recent releases/remasters...

As for Rick Rubin, I've only heard his work with Johnny Cash on the American label, which is recorded very well. I'm surprised that he doesn't do a good job on other albums he's produced.

He likes clipping nearly everything. Producing Metallica will really suit his heavy handed skills with compressor/limiters!