[adydula]

Challenge:

While I am waiting on new material to arrive and comment on I thought I would ask you all to try to identify the "1" cd that you have or have heard that is the "BEST".

Jim asked for a list of your top "10" cds and this led me to post my top 15 or so.

So now pick out the one that  is the best to you..

The areas that should be looked at to help you decide are:

1. Imaging
2. Clarity
3. Dynamic Range
4. Overall Performance

This cd when played should make you immediately smile, move your feet and or other body parts...and you play it often because its that good.

Well name your poison!!

All the best
Alex
 aa

[JerryM]

Challenge:

While I am waiting on new material to arrive and comment on I thought I would ask you all to try to identify the "1" cd that you have or have heard that is the "BEST".

Jim asked for a list of your top "10" cds and this led me to post my top 15 or so.

So now pick out the one that  is the best to you..

The areas that should be looked at to help you decide are:

1. Imaging
2. Clarity
3. Dynamic Range
4. Overall Performance

This cd when played should make you immediately smile, move your feet and or other body parts...and you play it often because its that good.

Well name your poison!!

All the best
Alex
 aa

Leaning on the areas you've named that should be looked at, and totally knee-jerk-&-off-the-top-of-my-head, I'll say Nils Lofgren Acoustic Live. Every song isn't 'that' song, but the one's that are raise the average to 'outstanding'. An incredible CD of a guy playing some incredible acoustic guitar, that has been incredibly recorded and mastered.

JMHO,
Jerry

[rahimlee54]

Something that surprised me last night was streaming a little No Doubt "Tragic Kingdom".  I ripped it from my wife's collection and just threw it on expecting it to sound pretty mediocre.  I was totally wrong, you could hear every intsturment clearly, everything was defined, and it sounded like the singer was in the room.  My wife didnt get it but I was freaking out a little.  This CD isnt the first thing I would go to just to enjoy, but that was so good I had to admit it.

I'll be going on an amazon spree early next month, I try to limit myself to one order per month, so I will be trying stuff from everyones top ten so keep em coming.

Thanks
Jared

[BobM]

I was listening to Nora Jones "Not Too Late" last night and was very impressed with the quality of the sound. But I guess that's not surprising since each of her releases has had good sound. Unfortunately the music isn't as memorable as her first album - just more of the same. She needs to shake it up a bit, for sure.

[greenhouseman]

Challenge:

While I am waiting on new material to arrive and comment on I thought I would ask you all to try to identify the "1" cd that you have or have heard that is the "BEST".

Jim asked for a list of your top "10" cds and this led me to post my top 15 or so.

So now pick out the one that  is the best to you..

The areas that should be looked at to help you decide are:

1. Imaging
2. Clarity
3. Dynamic Range
4. Overall Performance

This cd when played should make you immediately smile, move your feet and or other body parts...and you play it often because its that good.

Well name your poison!!

All the best
Alex
 aa

For me, Steely Dan  AJA- Mobile Fidelity,

[TJC712]

For those of you into jazz check out Easy Walker by the Larry Fuller Trio (Ray Brown & Jeff Hamilton). These guys can swing. Hamilton's drums sound real sweet... cymbals/high hats really seem to accentuate the quality of the Ribbons. I noticed (as on other recordings) that the only discernable distortion appears on some piano notes. Anyone else ever notice this? I've heard other recordings that sound great except for some of the piano notes.

Also, getting away from jazz for a second and moving into the "blast from the past" category, has anyone heard a good recording of Bowie's Ziggy Stardust?

[mritschdorff]

Greetings All,
I'm a newbie to AC. I've enjoyed reading all the informative and entertaining posts. I would like to throw my two cents for outstanding CD:
Ronny Jordan - A Brighter Day. Specifically the track "Mystic Voyager." The track has deep musical bass and phenomenal vibe work by Roy Ayers. The production and engineering is top notch. Each track is unique and layered with tasteful instrumental detail. The CD reminds me of Ray Charles - Genius Loves Company. I'll be using both these CD's to test my new pair of Salk Veracity HT2TL's which I will be receiving shortly.

[greenhouseman]

Also, getting away from jazz for a second and moving into the "blast from the past" category, has anyone heard a good recording of Bowie's Ziggy Stardust?

I think that the SACD version is quite good but as the jacket indicates the louder the better---i concur

[OgOgilby]

For something very different, track down Frank Zappa's "The Yellow Shark". It's an extremely well recorded chamber-orchestra arrangement of a collection of Zappa complex compositions performed by Germany's Ensemble Modern. The intricacies of this recording will test out your system and speakers - it's full of audio surprises. Sounds great on our HT2 TL's 

Here is a Stereophile review: http://www.stereophile.com/recordingofthemonth/918/

[jazzcat1]

Greetings All,
I'm a newbie to AC. I've enjoyed reading all the informative and entertaining posts. I would like to throw my two cents for outstanding CD:
Ronny Jordan - A Brighter Day. Specifically the track "Mystic Voyager." The track has deep musical bass and phenomenal vibe work by Roy Ayers. The production and engineering is top notch. Each track is unique and layered with tasteful instrumental detail. The CD reminds me of Ray Charles - Genius Loves Company. I'll be using both these CD's to test my new pair of Salk Veracity HT2TL's which I will be receiving shortly.

Welcome to AC and congrats on your soon to be acquisition! My HT2-TL's are still a few weeks off. Will be ordering this CD. Previews sound pretty good.

[ctouhey]

Well, we still need to decide on the veneer, but hoping to have HT3s and HTC up and running before Christmas.

I've always liked to use Friday Night Live in San Francisco as one of my listening CDs when evaluating speakers.  I did not see it mentioned here.

I think it's an excellent live CD featuring guitarists John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola and Paco DeLucia.

Chris

[adydula]

Ctouhey,

Thanks for the recommendation. I think I actually have the SACD version of this recording , I will check to see and let you know how it sounds to me. Nice to meet you!

Jazzcat1,

I will look into Ronny Jordan, I must confess this is the first time I have heard of him...thanks!


I just got back from a few days vacation and have a pile of cd's to work through based on the last 15 or so posts!!

Get back to you all soon!


Keep posting!!

All the best
Alex
 aa

[adydula]

JP78,

Just listened to Radiohead's OK Computer...

What to say...

To be fair its not my cup of tea..at least at first listen. I did think of Pink Floyd and Coldplay several times as I listened.

To be fair I did write down some comments as first impressions:

First was compression...vocals while ok sound muddy and not really clear to discern the words...you struggle at times to hear what he is singing. Seems like on the openings or song intros the instruments are nice, not 100% clear, but good....then the voice rolls in and I kept saying, great vocal sound but not clear in the overall presentation...I played really soft, and really loud made no difference.

I found this album out of the norm, and very what I would call 'moody'depending on your mood this may not be a demo record for the intent of really grabbing ones attention etc...

Please dont read me wrong I am not ANTI Radiohead....

Track 3 was nice to me overall and some of the best vocals as part of being clear and understandable...

Track4 Nice to me best voice clarity.

Track 5 Nice but hard to understand words..too much blending in of everything.

Track 6 Reminded me of Coldplay.

Track 7 To me was totally worthless..sorry.

Track 10 Nice opening, muted vocals compared to instruments.

Track 11 Strange Intro..

Overall I would not recommend this as a demo recording over the many others I could choose from...

But please dont misread this...this type of music may be your cup of tea but...its not mainstream enough for me (good or bad).

I would rate this about a strong 8 out of 10 compared to other material as far as clarity, imaging, dynamic range etc...

I wonder if any other Radiohead recordings are any different as far as vocals and mixing.

Ok let er rip.

All the best
Alex

[ted_b]

OK Computer is not demo material under any circumstances.....but a classic beyond belief IMO.  It is also one of the most often requested titles when the subject of "what cd would you like to hear in 5.1", or "in Hirez 2 channel", or just "remastered".  The 45 rpm vinyl is very good.

Hail To The Thief won a Grammy for Best Engineered Album, and for good reason.  Much better sonics. 

[Art_Chicago]

Alex,
I think 8 out of 10 is fair, providing their style, background,  etc. I am sort of confused why you are comparing  them to Coldplay- a pop-rock group (IMO) that I believe was formed in 1998,  in 2 years after the realize of OK computer.  Coldplay was influenced by Radiohead big time.
 Disagree about Pink Floyd, either, although I like PF a lot. It is just  a very different style, mentality, etc. I am sure Yorke listened to PF a lot, but almost  everyone does.  The only thing that these three groups have in common is British 
I agree that some muddiness is present but it seems to be intentional as it is not present on every track, as you stated.

OK Computer is not demo material under any circumstances.....but a classic beyond belief IMO.  It is also one of the most often requested titles when the subject of "what cd would you like to hear in 5.1", or "in Hirez 2 channel", or just "remastered".  The 45 rpm vinyl is very good.

Hail To The Thief won a Grammy for Best Engineered Album, and for good reason.  Much better sonics. 

+1, though Hail to the Thief is not up to the level musically, imo.

[K Shep]

Alanis Morrisettte - Jagged Little Pill Acoustic
http://www.amazon.com/Jagged-Little-Acoustic-Alanis-Morissette/dp/B0009WFF0Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1248395439&sr=1-2

Alex,

I am listening to this now.  Give it a shot if you like Alanis even just a little, superb recording!

Kirk

[adydula]

Hello Art,

Been consumed by work this week...off today have to go to Chemo lab with my wife and have a few minutes this am.

I think I made the Coldplay association by the 'sound' of the male vocal...just by that occaisionally.

When I was listening I said "hmmm this part sounds a little like Coldplay..." 

Anyway I will re-listen in time and maybe come to appreciate the "words/meanings/ etc...

K Shep,

I have NO Alanis Morrisette at all in my collection, but I will look into this recommendation.
(Update...on order!  )

I have the following to review:

Anne McCue - Roll
Jenna Mammina - Under the Influence
Madeline Peyroux - Bare Bones
The Very Best of Sheryl Crow

Hope to get to these this week!

Thanks for all the posts and recommendations!!

All the Best
Alex
 aa

[BobM]

I also love Jenna Mammina's "Meant to Be" CD. Truly a unique voice and definitely audiophile quality. I especially like her song "A Love that Lasts" on that CD. I've turned on a few people to that one and subsequently have heard it played at Audio shows in demo rooms.

[oneinthepipe]

If you like female singer/songwriters, you might enjoy Rachel Yamagata, Feist, Priscilla Ahn, Rachel Loshak, Erin Bode, and the brilliant Martha Wainwright.  The recordings aren't necessarily the best, however.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Has Donald Fagen "Morph the Cat" been mentioned yet?

Bob