How to find the good CD recordings?

Some CDs have skyrocketed in price, to the heights of rare LPs. An average Gold DCC jazz or rock CD typically is listed for $150 to $250. Some of my rare Pearl and Biddulph CDs are in the same range. Classic CDs $400 to $600 each.
I have most of the Classic CDs, dozens of gold DCCs and a smattering of the high value Pearl and Biddulphs. I paid less than $15 for any of them. The remastering engineers such as Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman for the DCCs should have kept a box of each of their CDs (let alone their LPs) which would have brought them a fortune today. They didn’t for space considerations.

As you can tell, I’m not into streaming yet (or ever). I have had multiple CDs from the same pressing facility sound different which is an unfortunate situation as we all can attest to from LP stamper/pressing differences.

I didn’t start collecting CDs until the early 1990s because they did not sound good relative to LPs. The vast improvement in CD players made them currently equal to my LP playback equipment (both high end now). So, now I have 25,000 LPs, 7,000 CDs and 7,000 78s (dynamic and room filling mono sound, lacking in frequency extremes and for orchestral recordings, missing many subtle sounds). If it weren’t for CDs, great remastering engineers such as Ward Marston wouldn’t have produced such exquisite sounding early vocal and piano recordings at very affordable prices (Many recordings are priceless with CDs filled with 25 78s for only $18/disc). These are not recordings available on Tidal or any other streaming service.

I prefer owning the media because of the accompanying booklet/back side/information. I really appreciate large collections well remastered by Sony/RCA/Columbia, DGG/London/Mercury and Warner for classical, but they rarely have adequate booklets as do the individual CD release booklets.

Off topic, but my late uncle, a neurologist in New Orleans, was a classical music aficionado first and probably an audiophile second. I remember his Klipsch speakers from the 1970s and that his components were McIntosh.

For a long time one whole wall of the listening room in his house in the Quarter was shelves of LPs from floor to ceiling.

He went entirely to CDs when they came out. I do not know what happened to his LP collection. The last few times I went to see him that same wall was completely replaced with CDs. He had some sort of connection with Sony and Sony would send him CDs to preview before they were released. I think my aunt, his sister, donated the CDs when he died or they were sold in the estate sale. I have a handful of them, maybe 10. I like mainstream symphonic works but have only a basic knowledge of classical music. My cousin has the speakers but does not use them. I think they are in a self storage unit.

I was recently looking for a cut that I knew I had on at least 3 CDs. They sounded completely different from each other. One was a US issue and the others on later Brit collections.

I have been saying that CD releases of the same album sound different and most people disagree. First of all, you must have a system that is revealing enough to hear these differences.
I own US, German 1st and late pressings, and Japanese CDs. I am talking about original flat masters, the first generation from the 1980’s.
When comparing SQ, there is no steadfast rule as to which will sound the best. Very often a German pressing will sound best, sometimes the US will stand out.

My experience (and several of my friends in the mastering business) hear the differences of CDs pressed in the SAME pressing facility using the SAME mastertapes.  I consider this an unfortunate occurrence and really unknown to most CD owners.  As far as different pressing plants (German, Japanese, U.S.) of the same master, there's is even more room for sonic differences in pressings.

n80 I know quite of few people (men and women) who sold off or tossed their LP collections for CDs, for reasons of convenience.  Elderly people had the most need for convenience (I'm talking 75+ ages) and even Frank/Oregonpapa has infirmities which make it more difficult to spend long hours getting up and down to change record sides every 20+ minutes.  I am lucky to be young enough to still play 78s and lift crates of records let alone get up and down to change LPs and volume levels.

@goose , I second your observations. It sound like we are into a lot of the same treasures.
For older blues recordings Verve and EMI rarely, if ever, put out anything that was not excellent. On EMI. I especially like Long John Baldry. Also, Ricky Lee Jones, Cowboy Junkies, and Joni Mitchell always seem to deliver superior recordings. Some of Mitchell, Mark Knopfler and Patty Griffin CDs have an HDCD layer that is not hinted at on the packaging. Hidden treasure if your player can take advantage of this almost forgotten format.