Best sounding LP's

If sound quality is paramount for you, in classical LP's I have generally found Phillips to have excellent quality and some good recording artists as well. DG is touch and go. EMI, London, Decca also have excellent recording practices and the surfaces of all of these were usually quite good (when new). Angel & RCA have some good music but a lot had pressing problems. RCA Living Stereo however could be just outstanding, as could Mercury Living Presence. You can also find great LP's by Telarc. For CD's you usually get good sound from London/Decca, EMI, Chandos, Telarc, BIS, Hyperion, Harmunia Mundi, Delos, Dorian, Denon, but watch out on DG these have similar problems to a lot of their LP's. CBS (Sony) and RCA as well. On the major labels the music recorded in the last 10 years usually sounds very respectible. Enjoy.......

That is the burning question. Unfortunately, many "audiophile" recordings that can make your LP system shine, are mediocre performances of questionable works. You can't go wrong getting your hands on some of the Mercury Living Presence recordings done by Bob Fine and Wilma Cozart. There is a reissue of Respighi's "Ancient Airs and Dances" on Mercury that is very good. There is a very complete catalog of 180g vinyl available from Acoustic Sounds http://www.acousticsounds.com as well as Music Direct http://www.amusicdirect.com These folks get you the best of both worlds: recordings you know and like, reissued in high quality heavy vinyl. I just purchased Crosby, Stills, and Nash's 1st album from them pressed on 180g vinyl and it sounds very good indeed.

Great suggestions! What makes 180g vinyl better? I have noticed some LP's I've picked up are heavier/more sturdy, are these 180g? They're not as flimsy, doesn't seem like you could bend them like a normal record.

I would suggest the Music Corner part of Steve Hoffman's website for discussions of the merits of various LP pressings -- I have learned more about various LP pressings here than anywhere else! See: http://www.stevehoffman.tv/

For a dealer that actually listens to LP's, visit Tom Port's Better Records website. Tom is very opinionated, but I seldom disagree with his assessment of LP reissues. See http://www.dccblowout.com/

Good luck with your vinyl acquisitions!

I've been collecting LPs for about 40 years and definitely find differences among them. It's not ALWAYS related to label, but in general I've found European labels to have a higher quiality. I'm particulary fond of Philips. On the other hand, two of my all-time favorite LPs are from an American company with a tiny catgalog - Reference Recordings. They make some of the best recordings on Earth.

http://www.referencerecordings.com/

TJ