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What are the treasures in your vinyl library?

They don't have to be the collector's items, necessarily. I'm just asking, what is your short list of LPs in your personal library that you prize the most (maximum 5)?

I'll start:

Diana Krall: "From This Moment On" from Classic Records, mastered on a tube cutter

Buddy Rich: "Class of '78", Direct-to-disk recording of my favorite drummer leading the best incarnation of his band

Muddy Waters: "Folk Singer", not MFSL or German pressing or original pressing or anything fancy, just a Chess/MCA 1987 reissue LP that puts you in the room with Muddy

I also have a 35mm Everest recording of Mozart woodwind sonatas that I picked up at St. Vincent DePaul for $1. It's old and a little ragged, but that 35mm mag tape really puts the players right there in the living room.
johnnyb53
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa
4,867 posts
 
Here's a couple:

1. "Little Band, Big Jazz" by The Conti Candoli All Stars. Crown Records. The red vinyl sounds better than the black. Its also available on CD. This is West Coast jazz at its very best. Recorded in 1962, this record will have you shaking your head in wonder over both the performance and sound quality.

2. Jazz In The U.S.A. by Dave Brubeck's quartet. Yeppers, Its mono ... but when you hear Paul Desmond's sax on this album, you'll be asking yourself; "who needs stereo?"
mario_b
147 posts
 
Harry James - "Comin' From a Good Place" - Sheffield '77
Dorati - "Rhapsody" - DSO - Mercury - Ken Wilkinson '77
Tim Buckey - "Greetings from L.A." - Warner Bros. '72
David Bromberg - "How Late Ya Play Till?" - Fantasy '77
Getz,Gilberto,Jobim - Verve '64
Bo-Diddley - "Go Bo-Diddley" Chess '59
Solti - Verdi's Requiem - London '68
stevecham
3,340 posts
 
Beatles - Abbey Road (Original EMI import pressing from ca 1971)
Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother (EMI SQ import from 1973)
Pink Floyd - Meddle (EMI import from 1973)

All of the above purchased at the Harvard Coop, Harvard Sq, MA in the early 70s back when they had a tremendous import section. I was a high school kid with limited budget but knew these were important pressings. These records all rock out with some of the best dynamics of any recordings released by Classic, Acoustic Sounds or others.
johnnyb53 OP
3,510 posts
 
Hear, hear, when it comes to import pressings.

I have a German pressing of Joni Mitchell's "Blue" and a Japanese pressing of Bowie's "Let's Dance." I remember paying about a buck extra for the Bowie album and it was well worth it. That thing slams!

So does "Blue," for that matter. The dynamics and "in-the-room" sensation are very strong.

OTOH, I just picked up a used Beatles' White album. The store had two: a UK pressing from 1986 and a USA one from 10-15 yrs earlier. It had an embossed title rather than printed, but no serial number on the cover. Anyway, the US pressing I bought really stomped *that* particular UK pressing, which sounded thin and threadbare.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,992 posts
 
Voyage 34 original (not the reissue!) by Porcupine Tree
'Ear' album by Global Communications
S/T Emerson Lake & Palmer, pink Island original
Vaughan Williams, Symphony #6 w/The Lark Ascending, 'half dog' EMI
Furtwangler, 4 Last Songs w/Kirsten Flagstad (78 rpm transcription) all other versions *SUCK* despite having better sound...
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