Diana Krall

Please! The etiquette protocols of an online forum are NOT the same as being invited into one’s home. If I was a guest in the OP's home and he was playing DK I would listen politely and grin and bare it.

As far as keeping to the original OP’s intent of his post, FREQUENTLY an OP will raise a subject that then morphs into to a more deep and interesting topic but still related to the original post. Happens all the time and nothing wrong with that. That has happened here. And I don’t see anyone being disrespectful of the OP’s original message. Great, he likes DK.

The broader subject that this thread has morphed into beyond DK is about mediocracy in music and whether “audiophiles” should have the ability to recognize it and tell the difference between it and truly exceptional artists. And if you can then why would one choose the former and not the latter?

I keep reading posters that seem to believe that there really is no difference or that the difference doesn't matter because it is all about taste and anyone who attempts to recognize the difference is a snob. I like to drink low cost red wine, rarely buying a Cabernet above $12 a bottle. When someone tells me I don't have refined tastes in wine I tell them they are right but I don't deny that there is a difference between a $50 bottle of Cabernet and a $9 bottle. I just say I can't appreciate it.

1extreme ...

If you like inexpensive wine, try the "California Roots" brand being sold at Target stores. The "Red Blend" is amazing at only 5 bucks a bottle.

There are singers who outclass DK in every respect, no doubt. But, she can be quite enjoyable to listen to in her own right. She has her own style that brings out the best of what she has.

One thing I’ve learned over the years ... there is no right or wrong when it comes to music. Human taste differs dramatically.

I subscribe to both Stereophile and TAS and read the music reviews each month. I always check the recommended recordings out on Spotify. More often than not, I’m left wondering how in the world reviewers review equipment listening to crap that is drenched in artificial digital reverb.

Even a lot of music that is recommended in this forum is truly crap ... more digital reverb. I’ll tell you ... the master tapes don’t sound like that. The recordings are either drenched in artificial reverb in an attempt to cover up a untalented "artist," or in an effort to get the tape hiss off of digitally remastered analog recordings, they’ve erased the highs as well. Then, there are the screamers who try to pass themselves off as singers and their fans who turn their noses up at anything musically sophisticated.

Guess how many Bruce Springsteen albums I have? None.

Guess how many DK albums I have? A lot. :-)

Frank

We have to be careful not to conflate "music" with "recording quality".  I'm sure we all have various examples of fine music in less than satisfying sound...albums we would never be without.🧐

^^^  Correcto Mundo (as they say in So. Cal).

I have a collection of Charlie Parker albums that have pretty awful sound ... but Parker's ideas are preserved for our enjoyment. 

I don't collect 78 rpm records, but I have some friends that do. They are really into the performances. 

Frank

I don't think anyone is trying to prove that DK is a better vocalist than the jazz legends like Sarah Vaugh, Nina Simone, etc. But the level of disrespect on display here (comparing her to someone's toenail, a lowly bar singer, cheap wine) is rather unbecoming. It's one thing to argue that Nina Simone is a better singer (she is), but to denigrate another popular singer like DK to make a crude point is more a reflection on those making the comments rather than DK or her fans. Jeez, get over yourselves fellas!

No one is an idiot and we can all read between the lines... basically, what they are saying is that anyone who likes DK doesn't know how to appreciate 'real' music. That is exactly what's rubbing folks the wrong way.