How much is about the recording


For myself, I'm comfortable in knowing I have arrived. At my own personal audio joy through years of empirical data and some engineering knowledge and application. I just wonder how many like minded individuals find as much joy in finding the best recordings vs the perceived next best gear. Peace.
pwayland

I would buy your list. But I would add a class A+ for my audiophile favorites like: The Holly Cole Trio, Mapleshade Art of the Ballad, Mindy Smith, and Famous Blue Raincoat.

@russ69 I hear what you're saying. I've thought of adding an A+ list of the recordings that are truly incredible.

That list is a good barometer to compare quality for sure.  I'm lucky that my system can finally portray the venue's ambiance or lack of.   It quickly sorts out bad recordings from great ones, but at the same time recordings that were almost un-listenable in past systems are enjoyable again.   I can appreciate "rough" recordings for what they are and great recordings sound pretty awesome. 

Chicken and the Egg 

Which is more important?

A. Tweaking your system, room, music collection to achieve audio nirvana.

B. The pursuit of new music