I'm sitting on a dark leather sofa, legs crossed, lips pursed, brow furrowed.

Glenn Gould playing Bach's Goldberg Variations can be faintly heard through a tape recorder in another room. To be more specific, a Realistic CTR-68 Model 14-808B.

"Jana, you're such a strong woman. I don't understand why you so desperately rely on Elton John for emotional support and inspiration."

Billy Drummond is a world-class jazz musician who listens to music on what he describes as "high-performance playback equipment." Drummond has not one, but three, working systems in his cozy New Jersey home, each one lovingly tweaked, carefully positioned and closely maintained to reach optimal playback efficiency.

Checkpoint, the new CD from David Krakauer's latest band, Krakauer's Ancestral Groove, a jazz quartet occasionally expanded into a septet, digs deep in the rock-jazz-klezmer-hip-hop sediment.

They’re arguably the best recordings Elvis ever made.

It would only be fair to expect that in the new historic box set, Decca Sound 55 Great Vocal Recitals, there would be a fair number of clunkers amongst the gold. But that is anything but the case. For just a bit more than $2 per CD, you will end up with so many superb performances, recorded by singers in their prime, that unless you already possess almost everything in the box—I do—or you require English translations for most of its contents, purchase is a no-brainer.