Forums - Best sounding song or album

Donnie

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Best sounding song or album
03/13/25 at 02:40:20

I'm trying to find out the consensus of what is the best sounding song or album available.

I know that there are a few albums that must stand out head and shoulders above the rest.

I'm not talking "The best" as in performances or significance, just what sounds the best, personal taste be damned.

My money is that it probably is some jazz or symphonic recording that I will be quite ignorant of, but I'm trying to open my horizons to hear quality recordings.

There is a lot of expensive gear sitting in my listening room that needs a good work out.

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CAJames

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Re: Best sounding song or album
Reply #1 - 03/13/25 at 06:24:52

A lot of people, including me, would say the best sound is the 4th movement of Scheherazade recorded by Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony on RCA Living Stereo. Two songs that I think are very well recorded and have been using as test/demo tracks for a long time are Spanish Harlem by Rebecca Pidgeon and Girl From Ipanema from Getz and Gilberto. YMMV as always.

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Geno Seasoned Member Without music, life would be a mistake. Posts: 2219	Re: Best sounding song or album Reply #2 - 03/13/25 at 16:56:55 Agree with CA on the Scheherazade by Reiner. One of my favorite references for sound quality is, Sonny Rollins - Way Out West.
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SnowMan

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Re: Best sounding song or album
Reply #3 - 03/13/25 at 19:03:47

I doubt the OP will find consensus on "the best" sounding recordings, but Patricia Barber's Companion album is one of the most amazing live recordings I've ever heard. And the performance is excellent. It's a jazz quintet in a nightclub setting, with Barber on piano/organ/vocals doing a mix of radical reinterpretations of classic rock and pop songs (e.g. "The Beat Goes On," "Black Magic Woman") and a selection of her own tunes. Michael Arnopol's acoustic bass is recorded as well as (maybe better than) any bass I've heard on any studio recording.

This is audiophile showroom demo material.

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CAJames Seasoned Member "I've run every red light on memory lane." Posts: 2448	Re: Best sounding song or album Reply #4 - 03/13/25 at 20:04:41 +1 for Way Out West. I have several versions of it, my current favorite is a DSD download from HDTT.
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Doug

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Re: Best sounding song or album
Reply #5 - 03/14/25 at 03:51:10

Man o man.....there are so many great recordings in the generalized classical space. I find Trevor Pinnock's early 80's recording with the English Concert of Handel's Water Music to be spectacular in every way.

My favorite awesome sounding jazz recording is Dick Hyman's From the Age of Swing on Reference Recordings. The red-book CD is phenomenal. If you have a way to play RR's HRx version, and you can obtain a copy of it, it's stunning--almost unbelievable!

My pop music choice would be the Dire Straits song, Money for Nothing. When you want to display your system's muscle and ability to play loud and clean, this recording is the perfect choice. I also love the way the instruments and voices have been placed on the sound stage. It's a fantastic recording!

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Dominick

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Re: Best sounding song or album
Reply #6 - 03/14/25 at 21:05:41

Oh Geez….there are so many that come to mind in all of the genres. I will echo Doug’s recommendation on the Dire Straits Money for nothing. I have this on vinyl, cut from the original analog tapes…and it’s a great in terms of the instrument separation and soundstage. It’s a go to album when I have friends over who have never listened to high end system.

Another favorite is Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” on vinyl that is Pressed at Pallas Records. The detail, clarity, and music separation is very good. I have the Japanese 1st pressing which is even better…but the Pallas pressing runs a close second.

One modern day jazz recording that is just amazing is Kirsten Edkins “Shapes and Sounds” on vinyl from Kevin Gray at Cohearent Records. What makes this extra special is that it was recorded on an all analog/tube system. This system was custom built over the span of 15 years by Kevin himself. There are no transistors or IC’s anywhere in the signal path. Michael Fremer himself rated this album and 8 out of 10 for the music, and an 11 out of 10 for the sound. I would say this is a must have just for the sound.

I’ll add more later on..but this is a nice primer for now

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CAJames

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Re: Best sounding song or album
Reply #7 - 03/14/25 at 23:42:14

JMO/FWIW/YMMV but in terms of pure production values I think Telegraph Road is the best Dire Straits song and the one I use to show off my system. It is also a great song in its own right. I’m a big Dire Straits fan and there is nothing at all wrong with Money for Nothing except I still haven’t recovered from it being played to death in the early days of MTV. I have DS on both Japanese vinyl and SACD and it all sounds great.

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[FOOBAR2000 | Jay's CDT2 MRK3] -> Denafrips Terminator 2 + Gaia
Sumiko Pearwood -> Mapleknoll Athena -> Luxman SUT -> Mapletree Phono 3E
STR-1002 -> Woo WA22 -> 2x UFO25s, balanced monos
Omega SAM , Hifiman Arya, Audeze LCD-XC

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The other Lon Seasoned Member Posts: 112	Re: Best sounding song or album Reply #8 - 03/15/25 at 00:44:40 A few of my favorites currently are Brian Bromberg’s LaFaro, Ron Carter / Foursight Stockholm Volume 1, and Time Ray’s Excursions and Adventures. The first two have some of the best sounding double bass.
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Dominick

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Still like that old
time Rock and Roll!!

Posts: 1422

Re: Best sounding song or album
Reply #9 - 03/15/25 at 00:55:32

Quote:

I’m a big Dire Straits fan and there is nothing at all wrong with Money for Nothing except I still haven’t recovered from it being played to death in the early days of MTV.

Ditto….I couldn’t agree more!! I only use Money for Nothing due to its familiarity. Telegraph Road is amazing, and it really rocks!! Dire Straits was my first CD back in the day that was fully digital and had the DDD symbol on the back of the Jewel case.

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Lon

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Re: Best sounding song or album
Reply #10 - 03/15/25 at 01:36:40

I'm different from many here. I enjoyed Dire Straits' first album when released, but never got into them afterwards to any extent, no matter how good the recordings may be.

I found a really great sounding recording lately, Norma Winstone's "Best Kept Secret." The whole recording is so naturally presented, all instruments vivid and realistic sounding, and her lovely voice well captured.

Another favorite from my first decades of collecting music is Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Stone Flower." The sections and the soloists are given to us in such pleasant form, and I keep hearing little nuances anew or for the first time as I listen to different issues over the years.

A final suggestion: Duke Ellington "Jazz Party" (in stereo in particular). This was recorded in one of the most amazing studios of the last century by amazingly talented engineering, and has the most clarity of a recorded large space I've experienced in the home. And thrilling music, at least for me.

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Donnie Seasoned Member Why does it hurt when I pee? Posts: 2342	Re: Best sounding song or album Reply #11 - 03/15/25 at 03:11:09 This dialog is exactly what I am looking for. I know that everyone has different tastes and I wanted to open up my mind a little. So keep the ideas coming.
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Geno Seasoned Member Without music, life would be a mistake. Posts: 2219	Re: Best sounding song or album Reply #12 - 03/15/25 at 17:50:02 Two other recordings that I love are Los Lobos - Kiko and War - The World is a Ghetto
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Dana

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Posts: 720

Re: Best sounding song or album
Reply #13 - 03/16/25 at 00:40:54

So many but these all sound pretty good

Stevie Ray Vaughan – Couldn't Stand The Weather in Pan Alley
Chris Jones – Roadhouses & Automobiles No Sanctuary Here
Santana – The Ultimate Collection [Disc 1] Europa
Tool – Fear Inoculum Chocolate Chip Trip
Nils Lofgren – Acoustic Live Keith Don't Go (Live)
Anette Askvik – Liberty Liberty
Antonio Forcione – Meet Me In London Take Five
Ray Bonneville – Goin' By Feel Cemetery Road
Eva Cassidy – Live At Blues Alley Fields Of Gold
Jacky Terrasson & Cassandra Wilson – Rendezvous Tennessee Waltz

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Tom Waits:
And the newspapers were fooling,
And the ash-trays have retired
'Cause the piano has been drinking,
The piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking,
Not me, not me, not me, not me, not me

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Gilf

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Re: Best sounding song or album
Reply #14 - 03/16/25 at 06:52:35

I tend to put best sounding into one of two categories- great recordings of live music and those that show off my system. Great recordings of live music may not be ultra audiophile but capture the spirit of the music and present it with an above average recording and mix. Some of my favorites here would be the Sugarshack Sessions (check out Fortunate Youth’s Vol. 5 or 6), the Tiny Desk series (see GoGo Penguin or Mac Miller), and consistently the KEXP performances (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EnmFKS2eDBA&t=3s&pp=2AEDkAIBygURS2V4cCBraW5nIG...
nphcmQ%3D). Also, Lisa Hannigan’s Undertow Other Voices performance.

The recordings that show off my system are typically more studio masterpieces that probably couldn’t be presented as well live. Several have already been listed here. Some others for me are the Postal Service- Such Great Heights, most of the Villagers albums, most of Big Thief’s catalog, and Boogarin’s Bacuri.

Somewhere in the middle of the two, rising towards the top might be the Portico Quartet’s Terrain Live in Studio One or Markus Phillippe’s Sax & Bass album.

The great thing about music is that any of this can change daily or even more often depending on the mood.

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