Best POP audiophile recording/album...

Ditto on the XTC... also "Oranges and Lemons"
Joe Jackson "Night and Day"
Joan Baez "Diamonds and Rust"
CSNY "Deja Vu"
Bruce Cockburn "Stealing Fire"
Supertramp "Crisis What Crisis"
Santana "Welcome"

Jennie Warnes, "Famous Blue Raincoat" is tough to beat. These listed below are great sonically (on my system) and are excellent music.

Eels, "Electro Shock Blues"
Eels, "Beautiful Freak"
Janis Ian, "Breaking Silence"
Stevie Ray Vaughn, "Couldn't Stand The Weather"
Kate Bush, "Aerial"
Daniel Lanois, "For Beauty of Winona"
The Doors, "An American Prayer"
GoldFrapp, "Felt Mountain"
Tori Amos, "Boys for Pele"
Bjork, "Post"
Cassandra Wilson, "New Moon Daughter"
Rickie Lee Jones "Pop Pop"
Rickie Lee Jones "Traffic from Paradise"
Dead Can Dance, "Serpents Egg"
Roger Waters, "Amused to Death"
Yello, "Flag"

Evaluated from my LP's, I don't have any of these on CD.

I forgot about Janis Ian - Breakin the silence. Now that's a super album! I get lost in its sonic tapestry!

DV

Dido "Life for Rent" is a very good "pop" CD, both music and recording wise.

I like The Cowboy Junkies "Trinity Sessions" because it not only sounds great but the music is pretty good. Most of these sonic spectaculars have unfortunately bad or boring, or both music. I tend to stay away from Audiophile stuff, but with digital mastering continuing to improve there are better and better versions of great albums coming out all the time now, especially in jazz.