The record danager called the best he's ever heard, Sinatra-Basie, was recorded in 1962. A truly fine record, to be sure.
Those of us who spin vinyl know just how unbelievably good some of the early recordings can be. I think what surprises people is they know that back then hardly anyone had good home reproduction. Even the very best in the world back then, a lot of us today take much better than that for granted. So most people wind up just naturally assuming that since today's playback gear is so much better today's recordings must be as well. They are shocked to hear the reverse is true.
The OP can chime in and set the record straight about why he said, "incredible." But I think in a lot of cases this explains why people would react this way.
Those of us who spin vinyl know just how unbelievably good some of the early recordings can be. I think what surprises people is they know that back then hardly anyone had good home reproduction. Even the very best in the world back then, a lot of us today take much better than that for granted. So most people wind up just naturally assuming that since today's playback gear is so much better today's recordings must be as well. They are shocked to hear the reverse is true.
The OP can chime in and set the record straight about why he said, "incredible." But I think in a lot of cases this explains why people would react this way.