Your best sounding CD's

Okay, aside from any DCC, MoFi, or any other audiophile quality discs you own, what's the best sounding "normal" CD you own?

I'll have to cast my vote to the Paul Simon compilation "Shining Like a National Guitar." It's only available as an import in the U.S., but I picked up mine in Canada a couple years ago. Very good sound quality... not compressed, noise reduced, or anything else. Keith Blake, the guy who did the mastering, definitely took a purist approach to mastering it.

So, what do y'all have to say for yours?

 

Hmmmmm...something from the Sony/Legacy label...how about the Rock Artifacts series?

 

Hmm.....Live At Leeds Deluxe Edition

 

Seriously, probably Buddy Holly - From The Original Master Tapes

 

The Doves - Lost Souls...standard USA version. I really want to listen to the Japanese versions though.

 

E.L.O. The Night The Light Went On In Long Beach (import only).

Nice live album, but a bit on the short side tho.

 

Too many to choose from-I'll start with Alison Krauss/New Favorite.

 

Lots to choose hmmm... ZZ Top: The Best Of ZZ Top. One of the best flat transfers that I own and no other ZZ top album on CD comes close. Another favourite of mine is Jerry Doucette: Mama Let Him Play, no digital artifacts here.

 

Madonna-Ray Of Light...the ultimate ear candy and burn-in disc

 

The Association...."Songs That Made Them Famous"...on Pair Cds...like listening to the master Tapes, no EQ, no compression.

 

Sarah McLachlan's Surfacing and Fumbling Towards Ecstasy sound pretty good

 

k.d. lang's Ingénue comes to mind.

 

Well I will say something different then a jazz cd, though I will come back to that. My vote goes for Joan Osborne's Relish. A little bright in the vocal range, but great sounding none the less. Impressive for something in this vein of music.

 

Nice choice.

Klaatu's first record (non Bob Norberg version)
Dave Brubeck's Time Out (Mark Wilder remaster)
Marty Stuart- The Pilgrim (absolutely brilliant record!! Great mixes!)
Toy Matinee (original release)
Yes- Fragile (remaster)
Alison Krauss- Forget About It (SACD is less compressed and eq'd)
Jellyfish- Bellybutton

I noticed nobody's said Steely Dan yet.. and neither did I.

 

The Hoffman "Aja" is quite nice as is the Hoffman "Katy Lied".

 

I recently found a used copy of the Cars' "Heartbeat City", the original '80s pressing. But, it was made in Japan. So I played it and could not believe how sonically impressive it was! And I'm not a big fan of that album either.

Best regular CD issue for me would be "Kind Of Blue".

 

Recently snagged an original "made in Japan" CD of Candy-O. Very smooth sounding - better than the later USA version, IMO. I suspect that one of the reasons these early CDs sound so good is that no-one tried (or had the time) to "improve" the master.