How can you tell the quality of the recording?

Wow, so much to respond to: I've been an audiophile since 19...I'm 52. My degree is in Broadcast Journalism, I was mixing in clubs @ 21, later when I calmed down, I was doing some church stuff, later yet was able to to some band recordings, handling the mix. Today I write and produce the television and radio for the company that I work for as well as still do occasional live recordings and work in churches, usually 4 to 10 pc bands, plus 4 people to full choirs... All of that is to say no more than I've experience and I've learned. Its never one thing... Mics matter, mic placement matters, If using more than 2 mics, you'll be mixing through a board. The quality of that equipment matters, just like an amp or cables to us. Where do you use an eq an how much matters. Mastering straight to 24 or 32 bit digital matters.
When I listen today, I listen very differntly than I did when I was 20 or even 30. Today, its top to bottom. Tight, clean bass, vocals accurate, no eq on vocals, mixed properly with the instuments, smooth, detailed high end. I've found that you can take what should be a great recording and just put the wrong person behind the board and you've got a mess.
So its great musicians, great vocals, great microphones, a great recording engineer, done on great equipment makes a great recording. Thats the condensed version.

Sorry, but I need to add and you can tell its a great recording because it sounds good....
Clean, detailed, tight, accurate.

Mapman, I've got to disagree with you on the quality of CD's over the past 30 years. Most CD's sold are Pop recordings. 30 years ago, many of the original pop CD's were rushed to market on early generation equipment by engineers still learning how maximize the new medium. The recent gain riding, dynamics squashing pop recordings have been just plain terrible. Overall I think only a paltry percentage of recordings sold are up to their full potential.

Does all this mean, you can like a bad recording and not like a great recording? If so, I don't get the question either. Beethoven's 9th-furtwangler - 1942, comes to mind.

Unsound,

I said 10-20 years, not 30. I agree more early CD recordings were of relatively poor quality. But I think they have improved over time as a whole. There there will always be some % that are inferior to others. That's usually the way things work.

Of course, that's by my assessment of quality. Other's assessments will differ, and few will be the same. Unless there is some objective way of measuring overall quality, good luck determining any absolute truth. Dynamics is just one aspect of a good recording. Others may have an inverse relationship with dynamics, but a tradeoff does not necessarily reduce overall quality.