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How to find the good CD recordings?

I'm new to high end audio but have a decent system. One of the things I've noticed with this new (old) system, is that some of my CDs which I used to think sounded fine just don't sound all that good anymore while some of them sound great. A lot of these CDs are 30 years old and came from CD clubs (remember those?) and typical record stores.

I've noticed in particular that some of my Led Zep CDs just sound a little flat and a little shallow while some of the Pink Floyd and Rush CDs sound quite good. 

Is this just a matter of Floyd and Rush having higher production quality from the beginning? 

Would later "remastered" Zep CDs sound better? Is "remastered" always an indication of better or superior quality? Is it just marketing hype sometimes?

Anyway, with this new system I am inclined to buy the best quality recordings of any newer music I buy and possible replace some of my old favorites.

So is there a place on the internet where one can go to get reviews of the actual recording quality and not just the music itself. I don't see iTunes or Amazon as particularly useful here. At this point I am not interested in pursuing vinyl or high end audio files. I'm still just getting my feet wet and CDs seem like a cheap way to do that.

Any assistance much appreciated,

George
n80
shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,491 posts
 
@n80

Get a subscription or a trial to Tidal. Tidal have the recent Led Zeppelin “Deluxe” remasters from 2014. This is the best on digital. The drums are much cleaner than anything else. Really exceptional sounding compared to anything else.

I love the delta blues. There is plenty of great stuff out there. Again Tidal is quite good.

Check out Omar and the howlers - Big Delta CD and if you like Led Zep then check The Small Faces and Stan Webb Chickenshack as well as Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac.

Early Rush is heavily influenced by Led Zep. Unfortunately I have never found anything exceptional sounding by Rush except Power Windows. They are of course a great band.

Check this out (the original drummer could really groove and plays ahead of the beat unlike Peart who is an exceptional technician and time keeper and plays on the beat) Stylistically this drum style serves the song better....

https://youtu.be/ndjCXG_c9kk







lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
The 2014 LZ remasters are quite good,  The drums are clean with good separation. What they don't reveal that a good original CD does is the decay of Bonzo's large drums and the ambience of the studio. The best pressings reveal "air" around his kit.

And Barry Diamond mastered every CD except IV (Joe Sidore, uncredited).
n80 OP
2,134 posts
 
shadorne, it is my understanding that for Tidal to be meaningful from a quality standpoint would require me to buy more equipment (DAC) etc and I'm not ready to go that route yet. It all sounds complicated and expensive. But I will check out the 2014  LZ masters.

lowrider, I did notice that IV had no credit for mastering.
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n80 OP
2,134 posts
 
I have found that on eBay and Amazon it can be hard to get specific info about any given disc. I'm assuming I can take the i.d. number of the disc and look it up on some of the sites you guys have recommended.
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