What's the Best LP You Bought in 2008

Ryan Adams "Cardinology"...on vinyl (own the CD and LP...the LP has much better sonics). His writing is phenomenal. Stay sober, RDA!

I have bought so much great vinyl this year, among my favorites are the Alfred Brendel Beethoven Sonata set from the 70's, the Dutch Philips pressings, the Bernstein/Marilyn Horne Carmen from DGG, several great Ella Fitzgerald Verve records, the London ffrr Solti Ring cycle, to name a few.

11-21-08: Tvad
Strictly answering the question posed, the best LP I purchased in 2008 was unquestionably Pat Metheny's "80/81". Wow. What a great performance and recording.

I have a couple of those. One I rescued in n/m condition from a dollar bin.

It's hard to beat the '70s ECM LPs for artistic, musical, and sound quality. I have ECMs of Metheny, Gary Burton, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Ralph Towner, Eberhard Weber, and John Abercrombie.

The Concord jazz albums of the '70s and '80s are stunning in every way too--The LA Four, Great Guitars, Laurinda Almeida & Charlie Byrd, Ross Tomkins, Cal Collins, Woody Herman.

Besides that Diana Krall Christmas album, my other favorite find in 2008 was Count Basie and the Kansas City Six on Pablo, with Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass and Louie Bellson on drums, plus Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Joe Pass, and Willie Cook.

Great music, great sonics, and kick-ass acoustic bass.

"The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus", Spirit.

The sonics on this LP blew away the SACD version. This band was way ahead of the curve for that era (late 60's, early 70's). You should hear what these guys did with old fashioned analogue recording and overdubbing. The seperation and the dynamics on this LP simply blew me away. Sounded a lot better than on my old pioneer/KLH set up of yesteryear.