How to find the good CD recordings?

jafant, thanks for that info.

tomcy6, Robert Palmer's book (not that Robert Palmer) called Deep Blues has been on my Amazon wish list for a while. 

I have to agree about the quality issue with the older blues. It simply isn't going to be there and, if you go to some blues festivals it is not always about some level of instrumental or vocal virtuosity (although it is often there). It is much more of an emotional and expressive experience.

The festivals are a great place to experience the blues. Many of the local blues greats have children and grandchildren who are in the business now. Cedric Burnside, grandson of R. L. Burnside has a number of albums out (they are technically hill country blues, not delta, but play a lot in the delta). Junior Kimbrough has family members who play as well.

Cedric Burnside is a great live performer.

@rettrussell- Welcome to Audiogon since it appears that was your first post. The recent LZ reissues on vinyl are fine and probably better than trashed old copies found in most used record bins. But, if you compare the reissue to an RL of II (or the UK plum), or to a UK first press of III (or the Canadian TG), you’ll hear a difference. Whether that’s worth the price of admission is another question since the copies I mentioned are expensive if you want to find a clean unmolested player. (the Canadian III isn’t super expensive just not as many of them around with the right deadwax).
I really stop after the first album but listen to the others occasionally. The first album was the toughest for me to find a good sounding copy. The Piros 74 remaster that is the ’fav’ on Hoffman is around and close to great for what it is- market is probably just under $100 for a mint- copy pressed at Monarch. The RL of HOTH is cheap and gettable. The other copies I have are all over the place, some Classic 45s, some Classic 33s, various UK and US pressings from the era when the records were released or remasters done shortly thereafter.
Let me underscore that none of this relates to the CDs- I simply haven’t listened to them. Sorry if that’s a diversion, but to the extent I was contributing to the confusion, that’s my take. The new records are fine, unless you want something better at a price. And, for the most part, you are in collector territory and dealing with condition issues.

@chemman

You have good ears! What Daniel Lanois did on Oh Mercy is absolute magic. I think LZ Deluxe sounds tinny until you crank it! When you crank it you realize it was mastered to be played louder than average. Finally the LZ catalog is highly variable even within the same album - individual songs are great sounding while others on the same album are poor.

For classic rock I recommend a tube preamp to get the most out of it.

Try Nils Lofgren Keith Don’t go live for superb sound. 

Led Zeppelin would sound good on a boom box.

Keith don’t go

https://youtu.be/s6_B1AB9nu8