Is Recording quality the real culprit?

I have argued this point many times.  Sure a better system makes good recordings sound their best, but as the saying goes, Your Can't Polish A Turd.  You can only reproduce what's on the recording.  No amount of money spent is going to change that.  IMHO.

We spend the money on the system because we already know how to find top quality recordings.

If only recordings were rated for SQ, like movie ratings are for content (G, PG13, R).  The music reviews in Absolute Sound have separate stars for performance and sound quality, though I have not found these to be close to reliable.

You need good equipment in order to be able to properly assess the quality or nature of specific recordings.

The trap to avoid is thinking that a better system will magically transform all recordings into something you want them to be rather than merely what they are or are not .  

The ability to enjoy details of all recordings and appreciate each for what it is or is not is a big part of the joy of hifi for me.

Maybe this speaks to the continued desire to improve the system you have in hopes things might get better and after all it probably is due to Recording Quality not being where it needs to be.

That’s why so many people divorce and remerry all the time. And in the end there’s not much you can really do to fix the problem.