Favorite Recordings (best fidelity)

[sgrexa]

I am getting back into listening to CDs on my hifi setups. I actually have a tube based system and a solid state, and go back and forth between each as they both have qualities that I like for different aspects. Over the years, I have kept a couple of CDs that I use as "reference" CDs to evaluate a new set of speakers or other piece of kit that I might have my eye on. These recordings surprisingly have not changed much in the last 20 or so years, but I am interested in hearing from others a list of your top 3 or 4 "reference" recordings that you enjoy for the sound and fidelity. Here are mine:

1) Steely Dan - Aja

Hard to pick just one Steely Dan recording as they are all excellent but the title cut from this one is hard to beat for cleanliness, blackness, and just an all out example of recording excellence. Donald Fagan's Kamikiriad also gets a noticeable mention and is a close second.

2) Bruce Hornsby- Harbor Lights

I don't really like this whole record, but the recording is extraordinary and offers many dynamics that I use to evaluate different timbres and textures.

3) Joni Mitchell - Hejira

My favorite Joni album, it shows her at the height of her multifaceted career IMO and is just a splendid album.

4) Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins - Neck and Neck

Absolutely crisp and refined, two artists that magically came together to make one of my favorite albums of all time. My only complaint is that they never got together for a follow up, but it would have been hard to top this one.

Cheers!

Sean

[JeffD]

My reference is anything with a french horn in it. French horn seems, for some on reason, the hardest to reproduce in speakers, to my satisfaction. I sat one seat away from french horn in high school, so I have an internal reference.

Anything that reproduces a recorded french horn well is darn good.

[sgrexa]

Jeff, do you have any recommended recordings?

[Jack Roberts]

The sound track to the film "Casino Royale". On vinyl though; the CD does sound the same.
Dusty Springfield sings "The Look of Love".

Good luck!

[JeffD]

I remember testing a bunch of speakers with a Mozart Horn Concertos, the Deutsche Grammophon CD, carried from store to store. I think it was Barry Tuckwell and the English Chamber Orchestra, but I could be wrong.

[Sterling]

Mahler's symphony no 3 with Chicago Symphony, Georg Solti conducting. London FFRR recording is my go to for a CD. For an LP it would be Holst's The Planets with Steinburg and Boston Symphony, Deutsche Grammophone recording.

[Marty Jacobson]

Neck and Neck is a great recording.

Grisman's hi-fi Acoustic Disc recordings are great, too. Especially in lossless format through nice speakers...

[darylcrisp]

discovered it here in the past 6 months and its wonderful, guitar/mandolin/weissenborn laid up over each other-i think a little electric guitar on one or two tracks.

Ardent Spirit, Mark Beale
absolutely wonderful and the instruments are played pure and clean all by Mark
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/markbeale

i think Mark built the acoustic guitar under a luthier friends guidance for this CD as well.

d

[dcoventry]

Well, this may sound strange, but:

1. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
2. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magick
3. Blow by Blow - Jeff Beck

[rfloyd]

Boz Scaggs, Come On Home, released in about 1998. Several blues, R&B standards, a few originals. So well recorded, engineered. Fred Tackett on guitar along with Boz. Lots of nuanced, tasteful playing. Horns, Hammond B-3, and of course, great vocals. Don't think it was released on vinyl, but the CD is so good. Check it out if this style of music appeals to you at all. Listen to the samples on itunes to get an idea.

[pit lenz]

Steps Ahead: Magnetic Love
Donald Fagen: Kamakiriad
George Duke: Face the music
Hagen Quartett: Haydn Sonnenquartette
Joe Jackson: Big World, Body and Soul

[Don Grieser]

Jerry Douglas and Peter Rowan's "Yonder" album has a very distinct sound to it. A couple old Neumann tube mics color the tones beautifully. Love to listen to it through some great headphones.

[Atlanta Mando Mike]

John Mayer - Continuum
Alison K and Union Station - New Favorite
Mark Knofler - Sailing to Philadelphia
Paul Simon - you're the one
Alison Brown - Fair Weather
Grisman/Garcia

[mandobassman]

Wow. High end audio. One of my favorite topics. I also had a Harmon Kardon tube system that I used with a pair of Magnepan speakers. I still use Magnepans but really miss the tube amp.

Sean, Steely Dan were masters in the studio and produced wonderful sound from their recordings. My personal favorite is "Gaucho". Absolutely flawless recording.

Sterling, how wonderful to see Mahler's name mentioned on a mandolin forum. My favorite Classical composer. For sound quality and incredible music, my go to recording is Mahler Symphony No. 1, Leonard Slatkin, St Louis Symphony-Telarc.

However, my all-time favorite for testing a sound systems is Thelma Houston-I've Got The Music In Me, Sheffield Labs Direct Disc. There is a song on there called "Don't Misunderstand". Her vocal performance combined with some of the best instrumental dynamics I have ever heard recorded sends shivers down my spine every time I hear it. Not to mention that the entire album was recorded live in the studio with no breaks and no overdubs. It is a masterpiece of playing and recording.

[mandobassman]

Donald Fagan's Kamikiriad also gets a noticeable mention and is a close second

I love Donald Fagen's recordings as well. The Nightfly is such a good album and Kamikiriad is excellent also.

[Marcus CA]

Unlike instruments, I haven't even looked at audio equipment in at least ten years. However, I always used Sting's "Englishman from New York" from his Nothing but the Sun album to compare things. It has Sting's bass on the low end, Branford Marsalis's soprano sax on the high end, with bass, drums (quick solo in the middle), and keyboard.

A longtime buddy of mine is a serious audiophile. His turntable alone (excluding cartridge and stylus) probably cost more than my entire system, but he begrudgingly listens to cd's when necessary. For his birthday, I sent him Nickel Creek's Why Should the Fire Die? on vinyl, and he said that the production is outstanding. I always thought that it sounded great on cd, but it was great to have him confirm that.

[Rex Hart]

One of the best sounding recordings I had was Pirates by Rickie Lee Jones.
On the bluegrass side, Sweet Sunny South Volume 2 by the Bluegrass Album Band. Bobby Hicks' fiddle is panned to the right and is so crisp, bright and clean. I mixed our band's last project the same way and the female singer said the fiddle was too loud. I told her to listen to Bobby Hicks on that recording. 'Nuff said.

[jaycat]

Charlie Poole.

[FLATROCK HILL]

Somewhat embarrassed to admit it at this stage but Cat Stevens... Teaser and the Firecat.

[sgrexa]

Somewhat embarrassed to admit it at this stage but Cat Stevens... Teaser and the Firecat.

Why would you be embarrassed? Mona Bone Jackon is one of my favorite albums of all time, fantastic sound too!

Sean

[FLATROCK HILL]

I guess 'embarrassed' was a poor word choice. I really liked, and continue to like a lot of his older work, and was blown away by the sound quality of those recordings.
I will say though that more recently, his work and my tastes have gone their seperate ways.

[TonyP]

My favs for what I think are amazing recordings:

Psychograss, the first album, should have been called Psychedelicgrass, Joe Craven, Mike Marshall, Darol Anger, Tony Trishka, Todd Phillips.

Camptown, Joe Craven. nuf said.

And to see what your system will really do, Emerson, Lake and Palmer album the vinyl version of Lucky Man( the cd version doesn't have the 20hz synth at the end!!, I've only heard two systems that can even reproduce it, otherwise you don't know it's there).

[Marcus CA]

One of the best sounding recordings I had was Pirates by Rickie Lee Jones.

I had forgotten about that one. It was one of the first digitally recorded albums, I think. I remember "We Belong Together" absolutely shimmering!

[Ivan Kelsall]

I haven't heard any,but many years back,i bought several of the first recordings on LP by the music group ''Mannheim Steamroller''. They were classed as ''Audiophile'' recordings & were incredibly good. Those recordings are now available on CD & i would expect them to be of the highest audio quality :- http://www3.mannheimsteamroller.com/,
Ivan

[Michael Wolf]

My top four recordings that come to mind, because of the music, but also because of the special vinyl, might be:

1. Jethro Tull - "Thick as a Brick" from "Original Master Recordings", pressed in Japan and made from the original master tapes.

2. Larry McNeely with Geoff Levin and Jack Skinner - "Confederation", direct to disc recording from Sheffield Lab. The record was made in one single session, totally great musicianship and sound.

3. Laboratorium - "Quasimodo", Polish Jazz vol.58 from "Polskie Nagrania"

4. Shaktie with John McLaughlin - "Natural Elements"