Poll: 5 best sounding CDs that you own

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #40 on:** 21 May 2007, 09:46 pm »

Quote from: 1000a on 21 May 2007, 09:41 pm

i will check out that DVD, Kodo is a lot of fun,

Here's where and why I got my recommendation:
http://www.hawthorneaudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=908

Daygloworange · « **Reply #41 on:** 21 May 2007, 11:26 pm »

Man, it's tough to pick just 5, so here's 10 of my faves. I love the sounds, and production value on these. I consider these as benchmark pop recordings. It's tough to find anything in pop much better IMO.

Seal: Best:1991-2004
KD Lang: Ingenue
Steve Winwood: Refugees of the Heart
Lara Fabian: It's a Wonderful Life
Delerium: The Best of Delerium
Enigma: Love Sensuality Devotion
Supertramp: Crime of the Century
Eric Johnson: Ah Via Musicom
Jeff Beck: Guitar Shop
Michael Buble: Michael Buble

Cheers

martyo · « **Reply #42 on:** 25 May 2007, 12:24 pm »

Great idea. I've been wanting to get a Coltrane but have been hesitating not knowing the quality of the sound. Now I have one. Thanks. Anyone familiar with the CD titled just "Coltrane"?

DVD:In stereo mode:
Alison Krause and Union Station: Live
Suede: live at Scullers
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones: Live at the Quick
Joss Stone: Mind Body and Soul (Video editing is terrible!)
String Cheese Incident: Live at the Fillmore

Marty

Bill A · « **Reply #43 on:** 25 May 2007, 07:23 pm »

I looked through the list and gathered the CDs here that have been previously noted. These are all good sonically and musically, with maybe the exception of Time Out where the sonics suffer because of the age of the recordings.

Alison Krause and Union Station - Live
Lyle Lovett - Joshua Judges Ruth
Sting- Brand New Day
Keb' Mo' - “Keb’ Mo' "
Steely Dan – Aja
Donald Fagan - The Nightfly
Joni Mitchell - Court and the Spark
Dave Brubeck - Time Out
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms
Supertramp - Crime of the Century

Here is a list of my picks (not exhaustive) in addition to those already listed above by others.

Sheryl Crow – The Globe Sessions
I would not shake hands with her, but I do like this album. Sonics are very good with plenty of low frequency content.

Lyle Lovett – Step Inside This House
I like all of Lyle’s stuff, and if you get a chance to see him in concert, you will not be disappointed. This is a double CD and is well recorded. Viktor Krauss is one of the best bass players I have ever heard. Very clean execution without the extraneous noises of the fingers moving along the strings or of string slap on the fingerboard.

Steely Dan – Countdown to Ecstasy
I like Skunk Baxter.

Alison Krause & Union Station – So Long So Wrong
Does not have “to die for” sonics, but very good tunes in the AKUS tradition.

Dave Grusin – The Gershwin Connection
My first introduction to Dave Grusin and my most favorite so far. Very good musically and sonically. I love the dynamics of this CD. If you like big band type stuff, you will like this CD.

Dave Grusin – Dave Grusin Presents GRP All-Star Big Band: Live!
Great performers and well recorded.

Patricia Barber – Cafe’ Blue
I don’t care for many songs on this album, (she takes her “voice as an instrument” too far), but the few I like I really like. Another well recorded CD.

Supertramp – Breakfast in America
A little compressed which hurts the dynamics some, but over all a very good CD sonically.

Sounds of Wood and Steel – Volume 2
There are three volumes; I like #2 the best. All acoustic instruments of mostly Taylor guitars. Again, very well recorded with the overtones of the instruments well represented.

Harpestry – A Contemporary Collection
If there are items in your listening room or on you speaker that resonate at some frequency, this album will point it out. This is also acoustic with great instrument overtones present and is very well recorded. If you liked stringed instruments, you will love this CD.

Eva Cassidy – Eva by Heart
Very dynamic vocals that are spot on. If your system is not up to the task, it will show.

Bill

rajacat · « **Reply #44 on:** 25 May 2007, 08:37 pm »

Why wouldn't you shake hands with Sheryl Crow.

Raj

oracle309 · « **Reply #45 on:** 25 May 2007, 08:54 pm »

er not all cds...

Johnny Cash. live at San Quentin (original vinyl)...taking on the bulls every chance he got
Bueno Vista Social Club--Ry Cooder et all paying respects to forgotten Cuban musicians
The Lone Rider (Ry Cooder) simple, simple, music
Antarctica (Vangelis)--it can really take you there...
Lyle Lovett-Road to Encinada

ok, and a bunch more for another time

Bill A · « **Reply #46 on:** 25 May 2007, 09:54 pm »

Quote from: rajacat on 25 May 2007, 08:37 pm

Why wouldn't you shake hands with Sheryl Crow.

Raj

Just a little joke. She is a proponent of "one sheet of paper per setting" when using the bathroom. I would have to question her hygiene.

Bill

Captain Humble · « **Reply #47 on:** 25 May 2007, 10:05 pm »

Quote from: Bill A on 25 May 2007, 09:54 pm

Quote from: rajacat on 25 May 2007, 08:37 pm
Why wouldn't you shake hands with Sheryl Crow.

Raj

Just a little joke. She is a proponent of "one sheet of paper per setting" when using the bathroom. I would have to question her hygiene.

Bill

OK, I can't resist.
That joke STINKS.

rajacat · « **Reply #48 on:** 25 May 2007, 10:08 pm »

Quote from: Bill A on 25 May 2007, 09:54 pm

Quote from: rajacat on 25 May 2007, 08:37 pm
Why wouldn't you shake hands with Sheryl Crow.

Raj

Just a little joke. She is a proponent of "one sheet of paper per setting" when using the bathroom. I would have to question her hygiene.

Bill

Oh, I see.

Maybe, like the great Zen masters in the East, she has a perfect macrobiotic diet so that her feces is like little rabbit turds with minimum extraneous matter and smells like a rose.

Nice list. I'll second the Lyle Lovett album. He is an exceptional musician and most of his albums have great audio quality.

Raj

gitarretyp · « **Reply #49 on:** 25 May 2007, 11:25 pm »

I really hope people aren't still taking the sheryl crow thing seriously. If you read the source of the comment, it's very clear it was meant to be a joke/environmentalism publicity move. As usual, the media took the quote completely out of context.

Bill A · « **Reply #50 on:** 26 May 2007, 02:26 pm »

Thanks for the link, gitarretyp. I'm surprised the comment made it out of the blog at all. Anyway, I hope the Sheryl Crow detour hasn't stop the thread.

I have another CD to add: Linda Ronstadt - Round Midnight with Nelson Riddle and his Orchestra.

This CD is just great. Ronstadt's voice is so smooth and with such dynamic range that you feel she is in the room. The Nelson Riddle Orchestra is great, too. This is the only time I have listened to Nelson Riddle outside of TV (Route 66) and I see I have been missing a lot. Riddle did a couple of ablums with Ronstadt prior to this one as well, which should also be outstanding.

This CD is well recorded and has great dynamic range.

Bill

Wayner · « **Reply #51 on:** 26 May 2007, 03:14 pm »

Here is my 5.

Camel, A Nod and a Wink.
Andreas Vollenwieder, Dancing with the Lion.
Aaron Copland, The Music of America, Erich Kunzel conducting the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Telarc.
Bryan Ferry, Frantic. (Remastered).
Depeche Mode, Playing the Angel.

alphinmike · « **Reply #52 on:** 28 May 2007, 10:32 pm »

Hi - The definitive 5 is tough but here are five favourites:-
Celebrating The Music of Weather Report - On Telarc
Marcus Miller - The Sun Don't Lie
Jimi Hendrix - Band of Gypsis
Ry Cooder - Boomers Story
Van Morrison - Moondance

awe-d-o-file · « **Reply #53 on:** 8 Jun 2007, 03:56 pm »

Here's my five. You probably haven't heard of most of them but DO NOT pass them up if you see them!

Mino Cinelu-S/T on Blue Thumb- stunning!
Zap Mama-A Ma Zone
Yo Miles-Sky Garden-SACD and Redbook-hybrid
All the Crystal Clear Direct to Discs redone on CD(Laserlight label) They were made from the master laquer not a tape! No noise floor like the Sheffields etc. Many titles like Cal Tjader,Charloe Byrd-hard to find-OOP
Robert Miles-Organik Remixes- B- on fidelity but A+ on production and image. Too much compression and synthetic drums (yucky HF at times) but still something you should have to give your system a workout!

Enjoy-ET

carusoracer · « **Reply #54 on:** 11 Jun 2007, 01:30 pm »

Do you have a link for the Crystal Clear recordings?

awe-d-o-file · « **Reply #55 on:** 11 Jun 2007, 07:12 pm »

Sorry but they are out of print. They show up time to time on ebay and other such places.

Here's one on Ebay now: http://cgi.ebay.com/Huracan-Cal-Tjader-CD-1991_W0QQitemZ300101965064QQihZ020QQcategoryZ307QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

and a Charlie Byrd:http://cgi.ebay.com/BYRD-CHARLIE-CHARLIE-BYRD-CD-NEW_W0QQitemZ110127432769QQihZ001QQcategoryZ307QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Note that the last four tracks on the Charlie Byrd are "bonus" not on the LP and therefore from a tape. It's quite noticable as they are not upto the audio quality of the other tracks. Nice to have them though.

ET

goldlizsts · « **Reply #56 on:** 11 Jun 2007, 07:22 pm »

Quote from: Bill A on 25 May 2007, 07:23 pm

I looked through the list and gathered the CDs here that have been previously noted. These are all good sonically and musically, with maybe the exception of Time Out...........

Bill

I thought the remastered 20-bit version is pretty decent.

weirdo · « **Reply #57 on:** 11 Jun 2007, 07:25 pm »

Greenhouse - yellow jackets
Twisted - Lambert Hendrix &Ross ( Rhino comp.)
North of Niagra - Dana&Clement
Watermark - Enya
Diana Krall - Girl in the other room ( and others by her)

SwedeSound · « **Reply #58 on:** 9 Jul 2007, 02:47 am »

Tough to pick just five, it's but interesting how many of the same artists come up time and time again (attributable to the artist's appreciation for a good recording or the dynamics of their music and style?).

At this moment, I'd go for:

"Aja" - Steely Dan

"Live in Paris" - Diana Krall

"Take Five" - Dave Brubeck (nevermind it's nearly 50 years old - I feel like I'm in the studio with them every time I hear it!)

"Buena Vista Social Club" - ditto

"Poses" -Rufus Wainwright

1000a · « **Reply #59 on:** 9 Jul 2007, 05:30 am »

Buena Vista Social Club

(this as of late sonically is just my fav- sound stage deep and wide city- can walk around in that one love it. stellar

Kodo, Best of Kodo II- Japanese drums some the size of small trucks, dynamics and tone to die for, stage outrageous

Jorma Kokonen, Blue Country Heart

Copland, rodeo, app. spring ect- Atlanta Sympony- lane conducts- telarc

Peter Wolf, Sleepless

just noticed this is an old thread so some of mine may be repeats, but worth repeating