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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
chemman
15 posts
 
@shadorne 

A really nice thread here.  I can't say that I really like the Zep stuff on Tidal. A great example would be something like the MQA of Led Zeppelin's "Down by the Seaside" A great song, with endless possibilities if it would have been recorded like Dylan's 1989 release of "the Man in the long black coat."   The Dylan song is full, rich and presents a wide and detailed separation of the instruments and is on their normal hifi quality. The Zeppelin track is right at you and tinny. IMO no amount of money spent on fancy equipment or so called hi-res tracks can change the original recording. You can put perfume on a pig but it's still a pig.  And as has already been said here, I am referring to the actual process that took place in the studio by the engineers, and producer and later the mixer and mastering.

I have pretty much given up on trying to make my beloved classic rock sound better. That's mainly why I was in the midst of a system overhaul, and now, because of some tweaking and all the new recordings I have discovered in different genres, I am really enjoying instrumental music or acoustic and live stuff.
n80 OP
2,117 posts
 
I do find that the Pink Floyd stuff is very well produced, at least from DSOTM onward. Rush also. I got rid of my Yes cassettes and albums years ago. I need to look for some of their CDs.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Ah, only for the last 50 years. 😛
chemman
15 posts
 
@n80
 In order to get Tidal, you need 20 bucks a month and a streamer of some sort.  You can get one for as cheap as Google Chromecast and a couple add ons and it will work from your phone to control Tidal.  There are lots of tutorials how to do it if you don't want to spend the cash, or run it right out of your computer or phone plugged into a $25 cable in the back of your amp. The DACs on the phones and computer are not the worst things out there.  

Or you could spend $500 on Amazon and in half an hour you could be listening to quality tunes on Tidal if you buy the Bluesound Node2.  I got one this weekend and love it.  Plug it into your router and then to your amp and you are done.  It comes with all the cables as well. Download their app, get signed up for three months of free Tidal and voila.  And, the sound quality is at least as good as my CD player, and you have thousands of them to choose from instead of the 250 I have. You also get internet radio for kicks as well.  You can even have the app open on lots of devices in the same house and play rotating Dj.  Great fun. Now my wife is finally into a bit of hifi.
tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
2,597 posts
 
n80,  One way to learn about blues recordings is by reading.  Much has been written about the blues and which are the best examples of different subgenres such as delta blues, Piedmont blues, Chicago blues, Texas blues, etc. 

The thing is, many blues lovers don't care about sound quality.  Performance is considered much more important by many writers.  But there is enough writing around, both on the net and in print, that you should be able to find the cds you want to add to your collection.

Here is just one place to start for country blues:

https://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/pre-war-country-blues-ma0000011871/albums
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