Which albums contain the best recordings (sonically speaking) ever released?

Which albums contain the best recorded studio sonics you have ever heard? I will go with the following:

Miles Davis "Kind Of Blue"

Toto "IV"

Michael Jackson "Thriller"

Boz Scaggs "Silk Degrees"

Pink Floyd "Dark Side Of The Moon"

Rush "Moving Pictures"

Steely Dan "Aja"

Peter Gabriel "So"

What are some others? We are talking all-time here, any era, any genre!

 

Dark Side of the Moon

Crime of the Century

Ambrosia

 

Beck-Sea Change....especially the DVD-Audio version. Stunning!

 

Wish You Were Here Pink Floyd
& Animals

 

'Dusty in Memphis' sounds pretty nice

 

I have to second the recommendation for Beck's Sea Change. The DVD-A is superb, but for the best stereo sound, get the mfsl vinyl!

The album was recorded to analog tape, but really jacked up in digital mastering. They didn't even playback the tape at the correct speed. The MFSL corrects all these problems!

 

Beach Boys "Pet Sounds"

 

Big Sweet and Blue by Norris Turney (Jazz)

 

Pet Sounds for best sonics?

 

I never thought of that as a particular sonic standout. Haven't played it in a long time either.
It's a very competent 70's pop recording, IMO.

 

Steely Dan "Gaucho"

Supertramp "Crime of the Century"

Pink Floyd "The Final Cut"

Lyle Lovett "Joshua Judges Ruth"

Earth, Wind & Fire "I Am"

Donald Fagen "The Nightfly"

Beck "Sea Change"

Tears for Fears "The Sea of Love"

 

Love the music, but the sound/production leaves a lot te be desired IMHO.

 

The RCA Living Stereo Series, still available as SACDs for silly money.

 

Neil Young's Massey Hall sounds pretty great

 

Michael Stearns-Lost World
Muddy Waters-Folk Singer

 

Casino Royale soundtrack (Herb Alpert, Burt Bacharach, etc...). Holy moly that sounds nice. I can only imagine what the 45 rpm reissue sounds like.

 

Gino Vannelli - Storm At Sunup and Powerful People

 

Yes, Muddy Waters Folk Singer is another one!! Amazing sound and great music!

As for recent releases, the Black Crowes "Croweology" is pretty impressive!

 

I agree. I was really impressed with such sonic upgrade

 

Try Willy Porter - High Wire Live - stunning sound quality. Also, not my taste but Simply Red - Picture Book early edition. Superb sound.

 

Pink Moon
Sir John A Lot of
Rough Mix
Let It Bleed
Paris, Texas
Glory

 

Kind of strange wording, but here are some sonic wonders I appreciate. These are all on Lp for discussion's sake...no particular order...all sound really good from a sonic perspective

David Crosby If I Could Only Remember My Name Atlantic
Enya Watermark Warner
Bernard Herrmann Fantasy World of BH Decca/London Phase 4
Temptations Wish it Would Rain Gordy
Mavis Rivers It's a Good Day Delos
Charles Mingus Mingus Ah Um Columbia (superb on SACD too)
King Crimson Islands Atlantic (sorry to say, the DVD audio loses the aural spaciousness the Lp has)
Yes Fragile Atlantic
Billie Holiday Lady in Satin Columbia
Dionne Warwick Make Way for Dionne Warwick Scepter
Casino Royale Soundtrack Colgems (3s/3s stamper)

enjoy!

 

It is an amazing album both musically and sonically!

 

I can totally see KIND OF BLUE, but you would probably have to include several other jazz releases that sound equally good. TAKE FIVE and MINGUS AH-HUM were recorded around the same time in the same studio, and have similarly tubey sonics. In fact, one could argue that more recent, "audiophile" jazz albums like JAZZ AT THE PAWNSHOP sound even more lifelike, even if the performances are not up to the level of KOB.

I can see THRILLER as well, and AJA. But TOTO IV? I really like the album, but have never found it to be particularly impressive in terms of sonics. In fact, songs on it like "Good for You" I think have below average sonics. Same with SO--it always sounded kind of shrill to my ears (although certain songs, like "Mercy Street", are pretty impressive). Perhaps you might want to describe the sonic criteria you are using in choosing these.

For what it's worth, my nominations in rock would include:

Seal, S/T second album (lush, warm, dynamic, detailed).

Talk Talk, COLOUR OF SPRING and SPIRIT OF EDEN (simply astounding--check out "Happiness is Easy" on COS)

Sarah McLaughlin, FUMBLING TOWARD ECSTASY (much like the Seal album, you could enjoy this for the lush sonics even if you didn't like the music).

Eleanor McEvoy, EARLY HOURS (has a minimalist, but breathtakingly warm and natural sound. I suspect that her other albums may sound similar, but this is the only one I've heard so far).

Dire Straits, LOVE OVER GOLD (an amazingly dynamic audiophile classic).