Bad recordings and high end audio

@daydream816:

"My initial thoughts are to pair a tube preamp with a SS amp. So many variables it is overwhelming , however I figure I need to start somewhere lol. "

I don't know what your budget is but if you do not have unlimited funds, something you might want to consider is a Wells integrated. Jeff Wells designed his integrateds with the "SS amp + tube pre-amp" sound in mind. 

He sent me a demo unit (Magestic) to try out at home and he might be willing to do the same for you. 

http://www.wellsaudio.com/

As far as buying direct (or buying from sellers who offer trial periods with a return policy) and sending stuff back, I always do extensive  research before buying anything and have kept most of what I've bought, including my Wells integrated, Simaudio transport and Aqua DAC. 

Be aware that some sellers will penalize you if you return items in the form of restocking fees on subsequent purchases. Yes-- I'm talking about you, Music Direct! 

 There are quite a few options for buying cables direct and there is also The Cable Company. The latter will send you already burned-in cables to try out (whatever brand/model you're interested in). 

It is not hard, unless you make it hard. Experts here lined up to help! Audio has improved so much in 25 years you can throw a rock and hit something better. Even the Maggies. But then we get into the making it hard part. If you buy speakers that are highly sensitive and easy to drive this is such a huge advantage you cannot believe. This opens the door to very affordable yet incredibly high quality sound like a Raven Blackhawk. If you want a speaker that sounds every bit as good as a Maggie, and then some, AND is super easy to drive, listen to this guy. https://youtu.be/7RxRTFx6Cd0?t=342 Bear in mind he loves Maggies.

There are lots of trustworthy Maggie dealers. The one I frequent carries 20 ish brands of speakers in 8 large showrooms. Ditto for electronics. Dominant in his large local market, a true music lover with > 20 k records and blessed with good musical sense - he has access to any brand. Is he my only dealer relationship? No. Like most things, a mix of dealer, used and direct is the right answer.

The maggies require a strong well designed amplifier, suggest you get good advice on that.

Without a general budget the conversation is limitless.

Best to you on your renewed musical journey.

Jim

If you have the money go for Pass I currently run my 3.7i with a 250.8 the sound is outstanding. I picked up a gently used one and have had no problem only pleasure and enjoyment from the great combo. I saw the combo 3.7i and Pass won best of show a few years back which pointed me in that direction.

@daydream816- you have identified one of the challenges in this hobby- finding good copies of LPs of music that you like, rather than listening to "audiophile" recordings of music with good sonics that has no appeal to you.
Some of this is generational too-- there are audiophiles that listen almost exclusively to classical music, but that is literally a dying breed (and most classical records, with some exceptions) are not considered very desirable in the market today.
Leave aside running tape, which is a pretty expensive proposition for a lot of folks, not just in the hardware, but in the cost of the source material; this is a subject that @mikelavigne could probably address better than me, based on his own journey.
There is a decent sized segment of the audio community that is always trading tips on the sound of different pressings, Zep included. In fact, I probably have more copies of "challenged" records than I do of good sounding records.
Among those challenged records, there are differences--sometimes there are copies that sound dramatically better than others (e.g. the "RL" cut of LZII that you mentioned is one- preference is given not just to the cut, but the plant that pressed it-- Monarch being considered the most bombastic sounding). This takes you into the morass of seeking out more desirable pressings and using the RL/Monarch cut as an example, you will pay for the privilege, given inflation in the used record market. For some, this becomes a hobby unto itself.
I have a pretty good main system, and listen to a lot of different music--including a lot of the heavy hard rock/post psych/so-called proto-metal (which is what LZ tends to be grouped in today): Leaf Hound’s Growers of Mushroom has long been a 4 figure record as a UK first pressing, Lucifer’s Friend-self-titled on German Philips is of the same ilk and there are probably hundreds of bands from the period with a similar sound.
This opens up the possibility of exploring more, different music within the same genre--and yet another pursuit- for more obscure releases. (I would not put Leaf Hound in the obscure category only because it is a known "grail" due in part to price). Many people are savvy to the original UK Swirls of the first four Sabbath albums-- that label had some amazing (and weird) releases that command money today, but there is some cool stuff that is worth seeking out: e.g., Patto, May Blitz, and a few other bands in the "heavy" rock category, along with a pretty big roster of "deep" prog rock, e.g. Cressida, Affinity, and jazz rock, like Ian Carr, Nucleus, etc.
The better your system, the more differences you will hear among various pressings. Most of the original Vertigos are good sounding.
There is no easy answer to the question you pose- there are millions of records out there to be heard. Part of the journey for me has been one of exploration, not only of LPs from bands I know, but mining the vast catalogs of music that were unknown to me.
For the last several years, I’ve been listening to soul jazz and so-called spiritual jazz- post-bop, small combo jazz played by deeply accomplished sidemen who, in the ’70s, turned inward and composed and released music on smaller labels that drew on the black experience in America. Some of it is now super collectible but there’s a huge amount of material to be explored.
I can recommend generally the Tone Poet reissues---more offbeat older jazz albums that have been reissued with some care and are relatively cheap and for the most part still in print or easy to get.
I think this becomes a long, convoluted journey of self-exploration. I now listen to music that I would have considered cacophonous not too long ago. But it interests me and it’s not just good sonics, but a sort of fascinating time capsule of early funk and jazz, mixed with spoken word.
The learning curve is in some respects endless, but this is part of the pursuit for me, having less to do with finding gear, or records that sound good just to show off the system.
Treat it as an adventure!
Bill Hart