Your Not-So-Obvious Best Fidelity LPs

@simonmoon

Thanks for remindng us about the Nonesuch label. Although not sonically consistent throughout its catalog, when those guys got it right, they produced recordings that still stand up to many of today's best. And the fact that the NS catalog included so much new music -- many  pieces by modern composers that were never recorded in any form elsewhere -- is icing.  Lots of unique material available used online at modest prices.

And for something completely different, how about a thread *warning* people about "not-so-obvious LOWEST fidelity LPs"?

To start the ball rolling, I nominate the Sony Legacy reissue of "Jimi Hendrix Experience Smash Hits," remastered from original 2-channel "master tape" by Bernie Grundman and pressed at QRP.  It's horribly brittle, actually unlistenable on a system that leans (much less older Class D amplification). I have numerous Hendrix original pressings & reissues that include many of the same tracks, and the difference is painfully obvious. Caveat this one.

Great stories @tylermunns to go along with the great recommendations!  Thanks for those.  It almost seems like we're beating the system when we can find amazingly recorded LPs for $5 or less.  Pretty much no money for a treasure trove of audio bliss. 

When it comes to reissues, it is sometimes quite hard to say whether the reissue is better or worse than the original--opinions may vary greatly.  When Classic Records reissued some Led Zeppelin albums, I bought them and a friend and I compared them to the original albums.  To me, the reissues sounded richer and nicer than the originals, but, my friend thought they were stripped of the rough, raw sound that made the albums great.  i could see his point, but, I still liked the reissues.  He got rid of his reissue albums.  I should have bought them because some of these albums go for crazy money these days.  

The mention of Nonesuch vinyl makes me think of how good my vinyl copy of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot sounds. I’m pretty sure it’s a reissue but it sounds brilliant.

The original YHF had a beautiful, textured paper jacket.  I liked the recording quality of that album too.  This is good reminder for me to pull it out and give it a spin.  Thanks for the reminder.

Another good sounding album issued during the age of the CD is Lou Reed's "Magic and Loss."  I bought the CD when it first came out and took it with me when I went to the Consumer Electric Show in Las Vegas.  When I asked one exhibitor if he could play it on his system, he pointed his nose in the air and declared that the LP version was MUCH better than the CD, but that there were only five copies of the LP in the USA and he owned two of them.  When I got back from the show, I asked my local used record dealer to keep an eye out for it.  Of course, in time, copies became available in this country.  A few years later, my dealer found a sealed copy; because he knew I wanted it badly, he just gave it to me, free of charge.