Is Recording quality the real culprit?

As your system evolves everything is improved, even bad recordings. It can be no other way. As others have said you just need to embrace the "suck" and look for the aspects of these bad recordings that you like better in the improved system. Far worse to put together a system that makes everything sound the same. I think this is the reason so many embrace vintage equipment. 

Yeah those terrible mastering technicians. Like they had the final say in how the performance was recorded. Its called appealing to the greatest number of folks and mixing for the most common playback devices. Always has to be someone to blame I guess. I tend to blame the artists more than the technicians. Yeah just do whatever you want just give me my cocaine. 

"Give me more cowbell"...Sorry couldn’t resist.

I think as has been stated most of the pop recordings today are made to appeal to the earbud generation. That is, compressed and constrained. Sad...

ozzy

And in the 70s it was radio. 

@mapman Science and technology provides the tools used to both create and playback recordings.    That part is not an art.   There are right ways and wrong ways to do it.

Is that why designing equipment is called State of the art?

I mainly listen to orchestral and jazzey stuff. I'm 71, so old guy. When I look at some of the vinyl that I have from the 60's and some of the new remastered or otherwise remade from original tape recordings from DG you see that the engineers and mastering are noted with pride. Some of the jackets even list the microphnes used to record the sound. It is after all, science. Steely Dan as an expample usually credited the technical side. It is so easy to record now to an OK degree we are loosing the appreciation for the science. Who wants OK? Not me.