And the biggest influence on sound quality is...

@mark200mph

“My ears. Have fun with it all and the experience”

I would agree most people would leave this out of the discussion. And yes if your hearing is deficient, you may not know it without a hearing test and you can do something about it by getting hearing aids. Also it was mentioned that the recording is something you don’t have control over. I would disagree since many individual albums have different pressings and some have been remastered. Therefore one may able to get a better recording. As far as CD or streaming, yes there are versions that are better recordings than others and many are better resolution as well.

I generally agree with the OP .My mood is tied with the recording quality.

The quality of the recording itself.

Then the room, the setup, the speakers, and lastly the  front end.

Try playing your speakers outside and see if you reevaluate the importance of the room. ;-)

+1 @knotscott 

I took your question to mean building a system, so I would answer absolutely

the speakers and the speakers........

With the room a close second.

Regards,

barts