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

n8007-29-2018 6:43pm

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lowrider57 Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 5,403 posts 08-02-2018 at 09:57am Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Right on @shadorne .
lostnamerica Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 61 posts 08-03-2018 at 04:52am Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Greetings George! I used to feel your pain in finding music that "sounded" right or good also. As mentioned in other posts, the Dynamic Range Database is the place to go for CDs, SACDs, or LPs information. I did not read every post completely but and could have missed it but didn't see the address for you to find this valuable info. I don't buy anything now until I have at least checked it here first... So, here you go...and Enjoy the Music! dr.loudness-war.info Cheers
shadorne Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 7,467 posts 08-03-2018 at 09:42am Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete @gosta +1 your comments on music. Check out Hey Negrita or Curse of Lono - not necessarily for the recording quality but for the music!
paul77e Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 32 posts 08-03-2018 at 06:44pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete SACD's sound pretty good on my Mac system
phillyb Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 395 posts 08-04-2018 at 02:33pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete CD recordings matured like any medium. Take records recorded in the 30's and compare them to recordings in the late 40's and then the 50's. CD technology improved as did analog recordings. This CD bashing is way off and done for marketing to boomers on a dying hobby and a hobby which is driven by boomers. Young folks have their own way of enjoying music and that is free streaming from many sources where there is no need to buy a whole recording but a song of 2 they like. The only thing you have to stay away from is the current trend of highly compression both in Vinyl or CD or Streaming the format does not matter. Look for good mastering labels and if you like current produced music then expect not stellar sound. My experience anything from the late 90's through today sounds good as long as the mastering was done correctly. It gets down to the artist you buy and the recording was produced more than the format. I've collected music for 45 years so I have the experience in both formats and believe I sold many LP's at recorded collector shows that sounded god awful so the myth about vinyl being superior is a myth, it all gets back to the production of the recording, garbage in equals garage out.