you want amazing sound and you don't do vinyl?

Jazz:
Miles Davis, Kind of Blue

Smooth Jazz:
3rd Force, Force Field
Paul Taylor, Hypnotic

Blues:
Boz Scaggs, Come On Home
Bugs Henderson, Have Blues...Must Rock

New Age:
Terry Oldfield, A Time For Peace (this one will really expose weakness in the highend)

Classical:
Motzart, Eine kleine Nachtmusik - Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields - Neville Marriner,

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you want amazing sound and you don't do vinyl?

Can we stay on topic? I too would like to expand my collection. Your comment does not help.

Bob Katz's Honor Roll is a good start for nicely mastered pop CDs: Clicky

The below have great music, great performances, and at the very least very good sounding recordings.

Muddy Waters-"Folk Singer"
Paul McCartney-"Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)"
Dire Straits-"Dire Straits"
Bill Evans-"Waltz for Debby"
Cowboy Junkies-"Trinity Sessions"
Natalie Merchant-"Tigerlilly"
Jeff Buckley-"Grace"
Lucinda Williams-"World Without Tears"
Lyle Lovette-"The Road To Ensenada"
Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane-"Rough Mix"
Tori Amos-"Under the Pink"

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Lyle Lovette-"The Road To Ensenada"

Great album. I also like "Lyle Lovett and His Large Band"

I'll be looking for the others you mention.

Yes, good list.

What to add...trying to pick ones people may be less likely to have...

I like...

Wynton Marsalis' "Marsalis Standard Time, Vol. 1"

The Duke Ellington Band, "For Duke"

Ben Webster's "Gentle Ben"

Grace Jones' "Night Clubbing"

Bernie Leadon and Michael Georgiades' "Natural Progression." Cut one has a killer intro.

Pic...

"John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman" always gets listeners to sit up and ask, "What's that?" It has sonics that aren't quite totally Hi Fi but the vocals are right there in killer-quality-Hi-Fi-land.

Pic...

In general, Johnny Hartman is tragically overlooked.

The new Neil Young issue of "Live at Massey Hall" is surprisingly clean and lovely.

I'm gonna get chided for this, but the first Sade album (check out "Your Love is King") and Love Deluxe sound pretty good, sonically. Plus, my wife digs them.

Richmond Fontaine's "Winemucca" has some good and some mixed sonics, but is sparse and open on many cuts.

OK, that's enough for now.

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I'm gonna get chided for this, but the first Sade album (check out "Your Love is King") and Love Deluxe sound pretty good, sonically. Plus, my wife digs them.

Whatever, Buddha. No need to front by bringing your wife into the equation. I know you put all of Sade's songs/albums on infinite shuffle/repeat & listen while you make s'mores over the fireplace.

my comment was a joke, take a chill pill dude. that's what that little smiley thing means.

I also thought Tom's comment was rather harmless & didn't detract from the thread. Let's loosen up a bit... we can stay on point, and also let in a bit of levity.

As for recordings, I enjoyed the new Stereolab LP, "Chemical Chords," great pop/electro with big-ass Motown drums. Black Keys' "Attack & Release" sounds fabulous... SM blogged about this a while back. It was recorded with some analog recorder that the sound engineer built with his dad back in the 70's or something... I've heard both on LP and they sound great, and I'm sure they sound good on CDs, too.

I've the new Joy Division remasters, the Rhino Collector's Editions. Love them.

As for jazz, Michael Brecker's Pilgrimage (sadly, his last CD ever) sounds fabulous. I also recommend History/Mystery by Bill Frisell among newer releases.

I know you have a great classical catalogue, but I thought I'd mention 2 standouts: Mahler's 2nd by Ivan Fischer on hybrid SACD & Barber's songs sung by Gerald Finley. Would love to see Finley as Oppenheimer in the Met's 'Dr. Atomic' - the role he pwns.

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Black Keys' "Attack & Release" sounds fabulous... SM blogged about this a while back.

Definitely one of my favorites from this year. My more formal review of the album is in our November issue.

As reference material (and just for fun), I like to use any album from Iron & Wine (Our Endless Numbered Days, The Shepherd's Dog, and the Calexico collaboration, In The Reins are my favorites); Joanna Newsom's albums sound great (I prefer The Milk-Eyed Mender a bit over Ys, but both are stunning); Smog's A River Ain't Too Much To Love simply kills with up-front vocals and sweet percussion (perhaps a bit too much tape hiss, though); Syclops' techno-jazz-fusion-y (in an awesome way) I've Got My Eye On You is a ton of fun.

And has anyone heard the latest Ratatat album, LP3? It's the kind of album that J. Gordon Holt would HATE; it mixes synths with acoustic instruments and combines prog with baroque, punk with disco, dark metal with total cheese, and it sounds incredible. I mean, I don't know if any of the instruments sound the way they're supposed to (real), but it all sounds really fricking good. It's like a sonic thrill ride. Made for hi-fi. Ratatat's LP3 should be played in every hi-fi demo.

I'll have to pick up that Stereolab album, SD. Thanks.

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And has anyone heard the latest Ratatat album, LP3? It's the kind of album that J. Gordon Holt would HATE; it mixes synths with acoustic instruments and combines prog with baroque, punk with disco, dark metal with total cheese, and it sounds incredible. I mean, I don't know if any of the instruments sound the way they're supposed to (real), but it all sounds really fricking good. It's like a sonic thrill ride. Made for hi-fi. Ratatat's LP3 should be played in every hi-fi demo.

Plus one here for Ratatat. Good call, SM. My buddy Ryan plays shows, usu. in Brooklyn, with one of the dudes from Ratatat, just banging on a lot of shit. I'll ask him about their next show & post here.

Nice link Elk! I even have some of them.

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I'm gonna get chided for this, but the first Sade album (check out "Your Love is King") and Love Deluxe sound pretty good, sonically. Plus, my wife digs them.

Whatever, Buddha. No need to front by bringing your wife into the equation. I know you put all of Sade's songs/albums on infinite shuffle/repeat & listen while you make s'mores over the fireplace.

sd, Great to see you back in full swing again!

...a related to Buddha's Guilty Pleasure is Rick Braun's (former trumpet for Sade) Beat Street. I know it's the dreaded smooth jazz, but it is sonically as pure as any cd I have and has great dynamics and piano production. Better than any of his other too smooth titles, IMO.

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my comment was a joke, take a chill pill dude. that's what that little smiley thing means.

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I also thought Tom's comment was rather harmless & didn't detract from the thread. Let's loosen up a bit... we can stay on point, and also let in a bit of levity.

You're right....Gulp.

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as far as Iron and Wine, I was a fan of the first album, that whole "sittin on your porch with a portastudio " vibe.. but I dunno.. maybe the DIY sound of the first one set the bar for me, and I was dissapointed by the more produced later stuff. Sam Beam is a very cool guy.

I was actually taken aback at first with the newest album (Shepherd's Dog), as I was expecting more of the same guy on the porch with a portastudio and guitar thing. After hearing it live, and giving the album a few spins, I've grown to enjoy it even more than his previous albums. It is generally creative without being gimmicky. Also, at it's heart, it still has the same vibe as his previous work. The new style with the broader range of instruments also makes it a little better of a reference (although still a "fun" reference, as Stephen said).

I'm totally smitten by just about any release from MA Recordings. Their recording philosophy is simple: two-microphone technique, no mix, non-studio recording location. Some call it "real stereo", and their releases are both sonic and musical delights. I've bought several, and for starters I recommend "Further Attempts" by Todd Garfinkle, the label's founder. He's likely well known to many of you.

MA's site is here: MA Recordings

On the jazz front, one interesting audiophile-type CD is M'boom by Max Roach. This is all drums and percussion. It's one of those "system buster" types of discs that can bring a system having poor dynamics to its knees. I had thought of bringing this to RMAF as a practical joke, but I ended up not going this year.

Thanks for those links. More shopping adventures! Check out:

Water Lily Acoustics and Mapleshade Records, two labels promoting minimalist recording techniques. Widely varying genres, but music is a big tent.

as mentioned Opus 3 and Water Lily Acoustics have some nice recordings. My favorite Opus 3 recording is

Tiny Island ~ Tiny Island (SACD - hybrid)

Water Lily Acoustics

Bhatt-Douglas-Meyer ~ Bourbon & Rosewater

A sampler: Steely Dan's Alive in America on CD. Gaucho in DVD-Audio is sublime. Donald Fagen's The Nightfly, Kamakiriad and Morph the Cat in DVD-A are superb. Two Against Nature and Everything Must Go in DVD-A (All Dan and Fagen equally great on CD). Elvis Costello's Armed Forces on CD. Beck and Talking Heads on DVD-A. Capt. Beefheart's Clear Spot on vinyl (snuck one in!). Al Di Meola's Elegant Gypsy on Japanese SACD. Aime Mann's Lost in Space on CD. The Band's Music from Big Pink on DVD-A. Billy Cobham's Spectrum on DVD-A. The Pixies' Doolittle and Surfer Rosa on 2-channel SACD, Led Zep's How The West Was Won on DVD-A, Yes' Fragile on DVD-A, Cannonball Adderley's Somethin' Else on 2 channel DAD 24/96, R.E.M.'s Reveal on DVD-A, Ramsey Lewis and Nancy Wilson's Meant To Be on CD, Sinatra At The Sands on DVD-A, Buena Vista Social Club on 4.1 channel DVD-A, Buddy Guy's Blues Singer, Corrine Bailey Rae eponymous and Shelby Lynne's Just A Little Lovin' on CD. All Brubeck and Keith Jarrett on CD. Floyd's DSOTM on SACD. Lots of classical too on SACD, but you probably have everything I own and are much more knowledgeable. AIX has an outstanding Hi-Rez catalog. The list just goes on and on!

Here are a few CDs that I think fit what you're looking for and are more and less off the beaten path:

Taj Mahal & Toumani Diabate - Kulanjan
Taj meets great Malian musicians. Wonderful range of voices and instrumental timbres with dobro, kora and other traditional African instruments.

Anne-Lise Berntsen & Nils Henrik Asheim - Engleskyts
Recorded in a baroque church in Weissenau, Germany. Based on Norwegian folk psalms for voice and improvisation on pipe organ.

Fritz Hauser - Solodrumming
Solodrumming was recorded in the Berlin Martin-Gropius-Bau in 1985 as part of a series of concerts and exhibits exploring the relationship between architecture and music. Hauser is literally playing with space.

Anthony Braxton, Milford Graves & William Parker - Beyond Quantum
A new recording on John Zorn's Tzadik label featuring a monster ensemble and a plug for Milford Graves who doesn't record much so this is a special treat for fans. Recorded and mixed by Bill Laswell.

Don Cherry - Art Deco
A more mild-mannered Don Cherry with James Clay on tenor sax, Charlie Haden on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. Great recording.

Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings and Plays from the film "Let's Get Lost"
You can hear everything on this recording including Chet's dental issues. Some find this hard to take but I think its wonderfully touching if tragic.

Michael,thanks for the detailed suggestions! If any forumites are interested in further exploring "real stereo" recordings, I see that Naim has a sampler: Naim's True Stereo Sampler. Obtaining it in North America is likely difficult. I'm wondering who is supplying tape for their Nagra these days?

I've been only buying vinyl these days, but I might throw down some cash for a couple of retrospective box sets. The Sondheim retrospective:

http://www.masterworksbroadway.com/sondheim/

and Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton:

http://www.mosaicrecords.com/prodinfo.asp?number=242-MD-CD

That Braxton box set looks mighty tasty.

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That Braxton box set looks mighty tasty.

Toni Braxton!!?? Unbreak My Heart!

LOL... she looks really coked out in that pic.

Here are some which I like for the music and the sound,

Graham Nash - Song for Survivors
Buddy Guy & Junior Wells - Alone and Acoustic
Chris Rea - Auberge, Road to Hell (Not the Road to Hell part2)
Ray Lamontagne - Trouble
Spirituals - The Best of Spain

I'm surprised no one has mentioned it yet - Patricia Barber's "Caf

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I'm surprised no one has mentioned it yet - Patricia Barber's "Caf

I have a mint condition:

Nat King Cole At The Sands: Nat's magnificient on-stage recording!

Capitol
MAS 2434

High fidelity recording. This is what is printed on the bottom rear of the cover.

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"The monophonic microgroove recording is playable on monophonic and stereo phonographs. It cannot become obsolete. It will continue to be a source of outstanding sound reproduction, providing the finest monophonic performance from any phonograph."

This recording is also available in stereo but the mono version is the most realistic since this was performed live during a special late-late show for the Vegas elite on January 14, 1960.

Some good ones have been mentioned but I'll throw in a few personal Rock favs:

Pink Floyd - "Dark Side Of The Moon" - SACD
John Lennon - "Plastic Ono Band (MoFi Reissue)
Ben Kweller - "On My Way"
Elbow - "The Seldom Seen Kid"

Bill

http:www/hifirotation.com has some great stuff

I've had sales people comment when I brought in Mighty Sam MClain "Give it Up To Love"

I'm particularly sensitive to over-compression and hot recordings that
exacerbate siblance and ruin ambiance and note decay. I tend to favor the
recordings that can capture the atmosphere of the venue, even if it's the
recording studio.

Pop/Rock
1. Steve Winwood, About Time
2. ZZ Top, Antenna
3. Dire Straits, Love Over Gold
4. Dire Straits, On Every Street
5. Supertramp, Brother Where You Bound
6. Supertramp, Some Things Never Change
7. Donald Fagan, Kamakiriad
8. Donald Fagan, The Nightfly
9. Steely Dan, Two Against Nature
0. Jackson Browne,
1. The Neville Bros, Yellow Moon
2. K.D. Lang, All You Can Eat
3. K.D. Lang, Ingenue
4. Jimmy Buffett, Banana Wind
5. Chris Rea, On The Beach

I limited this to Pop/Rock because there are so very few well recorded albums
given the recording industries determination to ruin the sonics to achieve
loudness. Most of these artists have enough clout to keep the labels from
destroying their music and more consistently deliver above average sonics
because they know what it's supposed to sound like. Even at that, a few of my
choices above are bordering on too much compression, but they get more right
than wrong.

A few country recs would include:
1. Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler, Neck and Neck
2. Willie Nelson and Ray Price, San Antonio Rose
3. Joe Ely, Letter to Laredo * This could be reference material

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I'm totally smitten by just about any release from MA Recordings. Their recording philosophy is simple: two-microphone technique, no mix, non-studio recording location. Some call it "real stereo", and their releases are both sonic and musical delights. I've bought several, and for starters I recommend "Further Attempts" by Todd Garfinkle, the label's founder. He's likely well known to many of you.

MA's site is here: MA Recordings

thanks for the link
and goodbye $50

The mention of Dire Straits made me realize that I had forgotten to list one of my all time favorite major label release (both for sound quality and performance):

Dire Straits-"Dire Straits"

Victor Krause has two albums out that are really good IMO. They have guest appearances by Lovett, and Allyson Krause, (his sister). If you like Jazz/Funk imstrumental you might try Down to the Bones latest album Supercharged. Stevie Wonders Innervision is great on vinyl, probably good on disc also. I recently bought a disc by Jerry Douglas called Glide. He is a Dobro player from Canada. It is pretty good also.

I don't often hear people mention Jean Luc Ponty:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=1723375#post1723375

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I don't often hear people mention Jean Luc Ponty:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=1723375#post1723375

Well yes, the recordings are mostly excellent but to my ears his music is way too pretentious. 99% of recordings made of pop, R & R etc are atrocious these days. One area of music that's escaped this sickness is classical music and boy of boy and I glad most of my listening is to classical. If I was buying much of anything else I'd be in a screaming rage with the recording companies who appear to me to have a strong urge to shoot themselves in the foot. Me can't blame MP 3 either as this compression disease started well before that particular sickness raised it's ugly head.

Pretentious? Rather critical of you. Actually, I'd call your comment offensive given Ponty's background:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Luc_Ponty

Not going to comment further.

How about this one

Javier Girotto's Aries Tango the samples you can find here

About anything on HDCD...