I’m experiencing an Aha Moment that I’ve been searching for new music all wrong.
First recordings are not just lies but damn lies (statistically speaking).  My favorite albums really only exist as recordings and never could be reproduced as live performances. That “sound” I’m looking for with depth, dynamics and realism are actually just snippets stitched together by a master craftsman.  Imaging is an illusion convincing but the not actually based on the position of the artist when the recording was made.

When did this aha moment occur you ask…?  I’m constantly looking for that musical experience.  You know the one where the all the components come together and you’re transported into another state of existence.  On one of the many audio forums I read they asked what songs do you play to show off your stereo components?  As a stereo salesman in a life long ago this posting intrigued me and since I’m always looking for more music that helps me justify my stereo habit I clicked the link.  One of the repeated suggestions was a selection on the Shelby Lynn album Just a little Lovin’.  Thanks to technology I was able to listen to album and they are correct it sounded great but why that one?  With a little research I found out it was engineered by Al Schmitt.  I also learned that every year the Grammys have a category for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (thanks Wikipedia).  Since 1962 Al Schmitt has had 29 submissions including some of my out of body experiences Steely Dan Aja and FM (No Static at All).  Also Al Schmitt has engineered the albums of Natalie Cole, Diana Krall, Toto, Dr. John, Melody Gardot and Ray Charles which were all nominated for best engineered albums.

Another example is Danny Kopelson who wasn’t nominated but was the engineer for Casandra Wilson, The Be Good Tanyas , Holly Cole, Liz Wright, Bill Evans and Art Pepper.

So now I’m using the Discogs search function and selecting technical contributions.  Going to Discogs and searching for Al Schmitt there are 702 technical entries.  So what I’ve discovered is that there are hidden gems of information that could help point me to toward the next great find.  With so much great music available finding next “it album” could be as simple as looking who engineered the special album you hold so dear and finding out what else they created.

For me my first example was the Natalie Cole Stardust album.  Wow
     

Yeah, not a lot of new Miles Davis albums coming out but you should try

Fred Plaut  https://www.discogs.com/artist/384857-Fred-Plaut?filter_anv=0&subtype=Technical&...

268 technical entries.  I suspect you own most of them but they're new to me and it helps build my a playlist.

Hey Dana, I hadn't heard of Fred Plaut but am familiar with his work apparently.  I have pretty much every Jazz Recording he was involved with...Mingus, Ellington, Monk, Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, JJ Johnson...they are all good if you haven't heard them yet.  Lon and I are into the 50's and 60's Jazz pretty heavy.  I'm sure I have a lot of the Classical albums too but haven't listened to them in years.

I seem to be narrowing my listening to Musicians known to me and haven't been doing much buying lately.  I do buy any One Oclock or Two o'clock lab band CDs or LPs that come up on ebay at reasonable prices...love their Big Band offerings.

I do try to add new...or should I say new to me artists in my Spotify library so when I'm streaming with the computer, I can explore.  I haven't done this in a while though.  I have been adding some of your posted artists and of course some of Lon's too.  If you are able to stream the Blue Note Jazz from the 50's and 60's, that'd be a great adventure. Those albums were usually directly recorded to two tracks...very simple...most by Rudy Van Gelder.  I could spend the rest of my life just listening to those.

Anyway, search and listen any way that floats your boat.  I've spent countless hours just wandering from track to track on youtube...I call them my Musical Adventures.  I never know where they'll take me.  Mark

Guys, Are you familiar with the recordings that sound engineer Roy Dunann made with Contemporary Records? He came to Contemporary from Capitol and made some of the best sounding recordings ever. Only a short period from the late 50’s to the early 60’s. He recorded the likes of Shelly Manne, Art Pepper, etc. The best and most natural recording I’ve ever heard was his recording of Sonny Rollins - Way Out West. When I first put this record on, I was gobsmacked!  

Geno wrote on 03/19/19 at 12:29:26:

I'm familiar with Contemporary and have most of the label. I'm not quite as enamored of all of Dunann's work as others seem to be but it's solid.

For me it's more about music than engineering . . . I'll listen to crappy recordings to hear excellent music.

I like Joni a lot. I don't find myself listening to her that much these days. Listened to her a lot when I was a young lonely man.

Now playing
"Helen Sings, Teddy Swings" Helen Merrill with Teddy Wilson, Coalition LP

I use both those sites.  I'm listening to spotify and youtube today listening to new things.  I finally got around to listening to Jose James...this one now.  Really like his voice but some tracks on other albums where he goes a bit hip hop or rap...aren't my cup o tea

https://www.stereophile.com/content/clowns-left-me-jokers-right

Recent article Stereophile magazine

"Unless you're sitting in, say, one of the first five rows at a classical concert, there's no such thing as 'soundstaging.' At concerts, regardless of the hall or numbers of musicians playing,

Looking back over this thread, listening to a great recording on a good open baffle set up, I think, places you as close as possible to that perfect listener position. After all, it is not just what’s coming out of your speakers. It is just as much how the room reacts to that sound. An open baffle setup reacts with a room much less than a ‘box’ type speaker. This morning I’ve listened to a few of the classical ‘Mercury Living Presence’ recordings on vinyl (mentioned above by Lon). Very impressive. Hard for me to imagine that it could sound much better. This out of Randy’s original Betsy’s (Alnico) with two 12” driver bass baffles.