Strange as this may sound - cause it's not the season, but the Christmas CDs by Mannheim Steamroller. They all sound just fantistic!

Randy,
That is a great thought... looks like it could be Christmas in the summer for us!
Rob

A few unique recordings that haven't been mentioned come immediately to mind that are both artistically powerful beautifully recorded.


Pirates Ricky Lee Jones - beautiful production, vocal and instrumental articulation

Ole Manos de Plata - Flamenco guitar, amazingly natural and atmospheric recording

Rhapsody in Blue Michael Tilson Thomas - original score small band, incredible sound stage and energy, best clarinet glissando (beginning of Rhapsody) ever recorded!

Huron Street Don Ross - solo guitar and with percussion effects so realistic the first time I played it I thought the kids had knocked over something in my living room

Vavaldi Four Seasons Boston Symphony - Telarc recording - the old war horse still has legs, Silverstein's bow work has a crisp rosiney (is this a word?) texture you can feel

So many more...................

How about
Roger Waters - Amused to Death.
It is recorded in something called QSound and some of the stereo effects sound phenomenal with my new m22's

Ashley Macissac- Sleepy Maggie (slowly increasing volume with stereo switching L and R at the start moving into full mids with mild bass)

Chris Connell- Seasons (from Singles soundtrack; great clarity and guitar)

Enya- Lazy Days (very full mids, nice vocal)

Eric Clapton Unplugged- Signe (any song will do from this cd, beautiful acoustics, guitar, vocals, background noises)

Future Sound of London- Calcium (my fiance's pick, typical dance bass, alternating sounds)

Great Big Sea- General Taylor (PURE vocals including some male high strong mid notes and a favorite canadian band of mine)

Holly Cole Trio- I can see clearly now (beautiful vocal, deep cello bass throughout)

Kings College Choir- O come all ye faithful (Xmas song but has tight high vocals as well as the punishing bass that only a pipe organ can deliver!)

Our Lady Peace- Superman's Dead (loud rock and another Canadian band)

Sarah Mclaughlin- Ice Cream (soft smooth vocals with high tinny cymbols, nice clarity)

Smashing Pumpkins- Drown (from Singles soundtrack, this song has a sharp screaming guitar about the 5 or 6 minute mark that you MUST turn down the volume for lest you be calling customer service for a new tweeter!!)

Sting- Fragile (soft sounds, i like the song)

Suo Gan- Ambrosian Junior Choir (Empire of the Sun soundtrack, beautiful solo vocal, pure and clear)

The Rankin Family- Rise again (one note near the end hits a really high female pitch but should be perfectly smooth)

The Sundays- Summertime (the twangs at the beginning really test the treble levels, i am not sure why it was recorded that way but on any speaker so far i've found that noise piercing)

Watchman- Holiday (their latest release from this Winnipeg band which has some really rigorous mids and lows that truly test the distortion of your drivers)

Whales- Contemplation (being a biologist i pick these things up along the way, nothing better to test subsonic noise up to squealing pitches like whale notes!!)

A quick addendum to my previous choices. I have been listening to a great deal of David Gray lately. His last album "White Ladder" which is only now going into full release in North America is as fine a work as one could hope for. Terrific melodies, sparse arrangements, lyrics that are poetic and meaningful without ever being cloying. If this sounds like a shameless plug, it is. He deserves to be heard. Enjoy.