Well recorded records ... what are your picks?

I haven't listened to Solitude Standing in years! Great mention!!!

Avalon is fantastic; have you heard Siren lately? I think Avalon is better recorded, but I also love every track on Siren. And, the recording seems acceptable.

I listened to Hotel California and Fleetwood Mac's first album tonight. While I love Hotel California, Fleetwood Mac's debut kicked HC's butt in recording quality.

Great picks, all! Thanks!!! This thread is turning out nicely into what I wanted -- an on-line place where we can comment and compare notes on albums we think worthy of mention. It is easy to recommend audiophile albums; you can count on them being very well recorded, but the music is not always so great. I wanted to share my experiences of what I think are well recorded non-audiophile albums, especially ones that may very well be overlooked as quality recordings and enjoyable music.

Cheers!

Ghost Rider, I also second Bruford's One of a Kind. Great album!

A few not mentioned, and if you are tired of the same old same old:

Black Sabbath: Paranoid (I recommend the white label German or British Vertigo label). This LP will bring most stereos to their respective knees. You have to have wide bandwidth, wide dynamic range and impervious/impeccable tracking to play this one right- its a superb recording.

Steve Tibbetts: Safe Journey (ECM import) Safe Journey is Steve's most accessible work. The recording is demonstration quality- I always have this one with me at shows, and people **always** ask what it is. This is how I met albertporter BTW... Steve has a lot of albums- Big Map Idea is another excellent choice.

King Crimson: In the Wake of Poseidon -immaculate recording, if you can find the Pink Island pressing, that's where you really hear it happen. The original Atlantic is quite good though. Also check out Islands- make sure you get the version with the white cover if you get the American pressing (side 1 with 'A Sailor's Tale' is quite a treat- lots of natural, jazzy sounds).

Emerson Lake and Palmer- S/T -the Pink Island press is amazing sound. The Cotillon press is a distant 2nd.

The Wand of Youth, EMI ASD 2356 A demonstration of depth.

The best sounding Pink Floyd ever is actually a bootleg, issued under the name The Pink Screaming Abdabs (an alternate name PF used in the old days), 'The BBC Sessions', recorded before a Decca stereo tree with no overdubs or extra anything. Amazing.

Vangelis: 1492 Soundtrack (LP-rare!). Side 2 contains his best work ever.

Mike Oldfield: Songs of Distant Earth (LP-rare-1994) By far Mike Oldfield's best work.

I recently picked up a mint "regular pressing" Sting: Dream of the Blue Turtles and after owning the CD for 20+ yrs, I was completely blown away. The 30th Anniversary of U2's "Joshua Tree" on 2-180g LP's. WOW!! Led Zep "Mothership" VERY GOOD!!

There's soooo many