It's not the recording. It's the speakers.
We both know that speakers are the weakest link in the audio reproduction chain. That's kind of why I left speakers (or electronics, or room, or setup, etc.) out of my question, because I don't want the infinite variety of gear to dominate the conversation. Every piece of hardware, from the moment the sound wave hits the microphone's diaphragm, to the time a new soundwave is created by the speaker, changes the signal to some degree so that what we end up hearing is not quite what was originally produced. Some pieces of gear affect it more, others less so. I think we can all agree on that. This is why I left my question more subjective.
I want to hear if you feel like you have heard a recording, whether on your system or elsewhere, that you felt sounded more real than not. Because, if you have heard something like that, then someone else might, too, even on a different system from yours! It might be the clarity and soundstage of the presentation, it might be the ambience was captured particularly well, it could be that the relative dynamics from each "voice" (whether human or instrument) was as balanced as if heard in person, it could be that you felt that "full body" experience you get when you are at an in-person event. It's up to you! If you've had that experience, I'd love to know what you heard so that I can try it out, too.
Ahh!! The search for the Holy Grail! That's why we are all here!
It could be. I like great sounding music. Sometimes I'm really in the mood to hear something as if live, but not most of the time. Any suggestions for me of something you heard that had a more realistic feeling?
@larry5729, @snilf, @manogolf, and @bdp24 thank you for all those suggestions!