Your Not-So-Obvious Best Fidelity LPs
I’ve spent over three years building up to the system I have now. I’m really happy with it and my wife and I love sitting in our listening room spinning various vinyl most evenings. Rather than researching and testing gear, I want to spend this year adding great recordings to our collection.
So what are the albums you have that every time you play it you're continually amazed at its fidelity? You might have spent $80 on it or just $1 or maybe it was a hand-me-down decades ago. Any genre really.
And if we can please avoid the most obvious choices (which are truly wonderful) such as Pink Floyd, The Eagles, Diana Krall, etc. I’m looking for albums, (vinyl only please) that probably fly under the radar for most folks.
I'll start….
James Taylor - Dad Loves His Work - this was just given to me by a friend a couple of weeks ago as he had an extra copy. I have plenty of JT albums but I didn’t have this one yet. As soon as I put it on I could tell it was special.
Edie Brickell - Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars - My wife requested this one so I found a NM copy on Discogs for a reasonable price. This kind of blew my socks off. Sounds really wonderful and present and the music still holds up.
Counting Crows - August and Everything After - I surprised my wife with this one as it’s one of her favorite albums. They really nailed the recording and pressing on this one. It’s quite impressive.
Ben Folds - What Matters Most - He’s one of our favorite songwriters but trying to find a copy of anything of his or Ben Folds Five for under $80 is nearly impossible. This album was released just last year and they obviously paid special attention to the recording quality. Sounds just phenomenal.
Steely Dan - Northeast Corridor - Obviously everyone knows how amazing their studio recordings are but this album might be unknown to some as it came out just a few years ago. I bought it on a whim knowing nothing about it. It’s amazing. As if they would release an album with less than stellar fidelity. If you’re a Dan fan, this album is a no-brainer.
REM - Automatic for the People - Completely hypnotic. Stunning recording.
OK, that’s enough from me.
Out of so many, just a very few of my favorites: Any of the Sheffield Labs, Direct-to-Disc recordings of 3-4 decades ago. (they're all over the internet at ridiculously low prices) Linda Ronstadt - "What's New" (with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra) Jennifer Warnes - "Famous Blue Raincoat" (or anything else she's done) Tower of power - "Live and in Living Color" Stephan Grappelli / Barney Kessel - "I Remember Django" Oscar Peterson - "We Get Requests" |
Deep Purple--Made in Japan Supertramp--Crime of the Century Michael Franks--Passion Fruit Loggins & Messina--Full Sail Emerson, Lake & Palmer Eva Cassidy--Live At Blues Alley Rickie Lee Jones Rickie Lee Jones--Girl At Her Volcano Poco--Legend Janis Ian--Breaking Silence Tanika Tikaram--Sweet Keeper Nylons--One Size Fits All Chris Isaak--San Francisco Days Neil Young--Live At Massey Hall Elton John--Tumbleweed Connection Chris Jones--Roadhouses & Automobiles Basia--Time & Tide Heart--Dreamboat Annie Eagles--Hotel California
Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays--Wichita Falls Marcus Miller--Free Marcus Miller--Silver Rain Stanley Clarke--East River Drive Stanly Clarke Gregory Porter--Be Good George Benson--Bad Benson Michael Hedges--Beyond Boundaries Kenny G--New Standards Herbie Hancock--River Anne Bisson--Blue Mind Josefine Cronholm--Wild Garden Ozone Percussion Group--La Bamba Manhattan Transfer--Extensions Christian McBride--Gettin’ To It Michael Franks--Time Together Rob McConnell & the Boss Brass--Big Band Jazz GRP Fusion Weather Report--Heavy Weather
Alison Krauss--Forget About It Sandi Patti--More Than Wonderful Dianne Reeves--Never Too Far Dianne Reeves--Quiet After the Storm Vanessa Fernandez--Use Me Sade--Promise Mannheim Steamroller--Fresh Air (all albums) Stevie Ray Vaughn--Double Trouble Lyle Lovett--Joshua Judges Ruth The Wallin’ Jennys--40 Days Luther Vandross--Dance With My Father
Again, all albums good music in addition to the great sound. Bob
|
itsjim, We agree on Sheffield D-to-D recordings, although I find some of the music to be so-so. The same goes with other D-to-D recording companies, such as M & K Realtime. I like the other non- D-to-D records you recommend, particularly the "What's New" suggestion. I have a few more suggestions of records with both good sound and music: Kate and Anna McGarrigle (self titled) Hubert Sumlin: "Blues Party" Cowboy Junkies: "Black-Eyed Man" |
@dorkwad now that's a list! Totally agree on the ones I own as well. I was just listening to side B of Dreamboat Annie last night. I have a repress of Tumbleweed but it sounds fantastic. Looks like I may have some more items in the shopping cart soon. |
