Best CD

I've long enjoyed most of the releases from Reference Recordings, both on Vinyl and on CD. My favorites have been everything conducted by Eiji Oue. A real standout for me has been Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances on HDCD.

I also agree with those who like Sheffield. I have everything they ever produced on vinyl and CD, the Track Record kicks ass for sure but so do Lawrence Leighton Smith and Dmitri Kitayenko on the wonderful "Moscow Sessions".

A great question but way too many possibilities to narrow it down to less than a few hundred. It really depends on the mood, the wine, the time of day and most importantly for whom you are playing the system.

REL2

Give the Chandos recording of Carl Neilsen's "Alladin" a try,make sure it's the full version. It's got to be one of the greatest dynamic orchestral recordings ever made. On a big system it is a mind blower. Every time I listen, I don't know whether I should run or not it's so powerful.

Let me add Eva Cassidy's live at Blues Alley. Although not all the tracks are recorded at the same level,most are pure bliss.

High Endition Society produces and distributes some phenomenal sounding CD's, my favorite manufacturer. They're rare and expensive, but soundstaging, nuances and musical content is superb. My favorite is Volume 9-Life Stories.

You can read more about this German audiophile group and their CD offerings here: http://www.highendsociety.de/english/society/ueberuns.php

Note- I am in no way affiliated with these folks.

'easy living genre'? YIKES