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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
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shadorne
7,467 posts
 
Keith don’t go

https://youtu.be/s6_B1AB9nu8


n80 OP
2,116 posts
 
This is way off topic, but have you Zep fans seen Greta Van Fleet? To me they almost seem like a LZ parody but I think there is some talent in there. I think they need to take a year off, listen to zero LZ and only listen to the blues then come back and write some songs.
n80 OP
2,116 posts
 
Off topic again, but I'm listening to Led Zeppelin I on vinyl right now. I got it about 1980. It does not look too good and there are some clicks and pops here and there but it sounds pretty good on an old and only middling turn table and a $50 phono pre-amp. Maybe as good as the CD I have. I'm impressed.
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tomcy6
2,580 posts
 
George, As far as a guide to cds goes, I don’t think Deep Blues will help much.

I see that All Music is still doing a print version Guide to the Blues (as recently as 2003 anyway):
https://www.amazon.com/All-Music-Guide-Blues-Definitive/dp/0879307366/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1533003716&sr=1-1&keywords=all+music+guide+to+blues&dpID=51rwbkoUEPL&preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

I don’t think that they will get into the sound quality of different releases much, but it will probably help you identify albums to research sound quality for. As others have said, the Steve Hoffman Music Forums are probably the place most devoted to sound quality. It could take some work to find blues discussions there, but there are some. You can sometimes get sound quality info from Amazon reviews too.

A quick recommendation: Robert Johnson The Complete Recordings (The Centennial Collection)
The one with the brown booklet and j card, not the black one.

n80 OP
2,116 posts
 
No, Deep Blues is more of a guide to who's who and what their history is. Not a buying guide. 

I had a Robert Johnson collection on vinyl years ago. Will look into the CD you mentioned above. I do not have a collection of blues music. Mostly just scattered singles from iTunes or southern music CD compilations (Oxford American some of which are quite good). I need to put together a collection of the basics.

Next time I'm in Clarksdale, possibly this fall, but definitely in April for the blues festival, I will spend some time and money at Cat Head music. The owner Roger Stolle (nice guy) who runs the festival teams up with Jeff Konkel who runs Broke and Hungry Records to do some documentaries on delta and hill country blues as well as a video series called Moonshine and Mojo hands (worth a watch). Broke and Hungry Records records a lot of the local musicians in an economically as possible way. I'll let Roger spend my money in his shop.
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