Best Recordings

Good points all above,I'd like to add the Dire Straights and anything that Knopfler recorded later!

Many interesting points have been brought to light about how we interpret the best recordings. As audiophiles sometimes we miss the forest, the forest being the music, while looking at the trees, the trees being the sound that is produced. I am as guilty of this as the next person involved in this hobby.

I have found that many of the reissues, the Grateful Dead box set being the best by far, are my favorite recordings of the year. One of the reasons why is because I have loved the music and hated the production. Technology has made it possible to hear what these recordings would sound like if they were introduced today as new. I believe this to be a great step forward. Some purists would disagree with me. My father believes that it all went downhill when stereo recordings were introduced and 78's were replaced by 331/3's.

Many of the best sounding recordings are being put out by Alt/Country, No Depression, artists. Many of these have been mentioned in previous posts. I would add Uncle Tupelo Anadyne, Wilco Summer Teeth, any Son Volt, and the new Jay Farrar album to the list of the best of that genre. In addition, Ben Harper puts out great albums that are hard to categorize but are great to listen to. Start with, "Fight For Your Mind". The best new album of last year, IMHO, is Ryan Adams "Gold".

Happy Listening.

Travis I wasn't being snotty merely trying to coax Jxl.
He really gives no indication of what type of music he likes and of course I did recommended no less than 5 releases from 2001(The Strokes,The White Stripes,Bob Dylan,Rufus Wainwright and Radiohead).
As you point out (as I did) what constitutes a good recording is a very contentious issue,on the subject of Miles Davis in my opinion despite the obvious tape splices I consider Bitches Brew not only an amazing collection of music but fantastically well recorded-you may be more of a purist or more technically atuned to what makes a good recording but neither of us would be wrong in our conclusion.
I also love the recording of Kind Of Blue.
Likewise what's the point of me recommending some electronica,hip-hop,jazz or heavy metal if he doesn't like these types of music?
A simple indication of his tastes would have made his query easier.
Although if you reread my original posting I do give a wide range of music to consider,more than any other reply.
If somebody had posted they had $50000 to spend on a system but they considered most lifestyle systems rubbish then he might have been accused of trolling and you could be sure the replies would ask "valves,vinyl,digital,size of room"?
I love well recorded music and I did agree he had a point about some modern recordings.
In fact even the term "modern recording" is pretty vague-last year,95,91?
Also the recommendation of music itself is very contentious-if you like Pink Floyd,I could recommend OK Computer by Radiohead but you might not like the singers voice...some people will find Eva Cassidy banal but I don't..
I did try to help but was merely pointing out at the end of the day Jxl will need to do some work on his own,listening or researching.
Oh another recommendation Motherland by Natalie Merchant that came out this year......
Ben

I find many of the Jazz labels are conscienceous about recording and mastering. Verve, Blue Note, Concord all have produced excellent product. In folk, Rounder and Flying Fish do very well. Ryko has taken on many lesser known artists and produced phenomenal albums such as Mickey Hart's Planet Drum.

Commercial FM radio is mostly such a poor place to start looking for quality music and production. Public radio can be a great source of discovery.

Detlof is right about Dire Straits. Their recordings are truly remarkable for sonic quality.
One CD I use to "show off" my stuff is Dylan's "Good As I Been To You." I don't know why, but it is an extraordinarily well recorded CD, audiophile quality on a standard CD. It is great musically, too.
It is an acoustic solo recording of Dylan covering some great old songs, like "Frankie and Albert," etc., that also shows Dylan's great talent as a guitar player.
If you want to see how good your system sounds, and hear some great Dylan, get this CD!