Hey, folks.

I'm trying to come up with a list of CDs to pick up over the next while. I wonder what people think are the best recordings they've heard or own? While I may someday splurge on an HDCD, SACD or DVD-A player, I'm pretty much only listening in 2-channel these days, so nothing fancy, please.

Any input? Genre of music isn't that important, since we listen to just about everything except rap and dance/electronica.

there was another post like this before, but we can all respond again!

jazz blues:

Patricia Barber- Modern Cool
Patricia Barber - Cafe Blue
Miles Davis - Kinda Blue
anything by Diana Krall
Si Sé, it's latino acid jazz, just 1 cd is out and it's self titled

Nine Inch Nails recordings are excellent, STILL is not electronic or heavy, mostly piano and strings.

i'm drawing blanks... other people will respond!

This was the recent post on this topic:

HOLOGRAM
(stranger)
04/11/02 03:11 AM
Subject: Just for the fun of it

Thanks for the previous thread!

Ravel-complete orchestral works(Abbado) Deutsche Grammophon DGG 469 354.

Smetana-Ma Vlast(Berglund)Seraphim SPH 73736.

Canteloube-Songs of the Auvergne(Moffo) RCA RCA 7831.

Rachmaninoff- Isle of the Dead, Symphonic Dances(Ashkenazy) London LON 433 733.

Brahms-Hungarian Dances(Bogar) Naxos NXS 8.550110.

Jazz - Chick Corea New Trio, Past Present and Future.
Sounds incredible on M3's. Alot of brush work on the snare that is incredibly detailed and some of the cleanest sounding upright bass. This is a recent recording (last 6 months) with 3 incredible musicians.

Electronic - Garmarna, Vengence.
Traditional swedish music with a very contemporary sound (think Garbage). Sung in swedish with english lyrics printed in the CD Book.
Really clean recording with both electronic and acoutic instruments and beautiful powerful vocals (even if you can't understand a word).

Hi,
Telarc Jazz--
"Celebrating 25 Years: The Jazz Collection" (Telarc 2CD-8356). This two-disc (for the price of one) is a good deal. Telarc's recording standards are (mostly) at a high level, and this 2-disc set mixes a variety of artists so you don't get bored.

The album has some of the best-recorded piano, acoustic and electric bass sound I've ever heard, as well as excellent percussion.

Check out the bass and percussion on Disc two, cut 6 (Jacques Loussier Trio) and the amazing close-miked piano of Benny Green who has, to understate matters, a firm touch. It sounds amazing on the M80ti's!

Ahmad Jamal (cut 2) is excellent, as are some of the vocals from Kevin Mahogany and John Pizzarelli. One cut is disappointing: the brass sounds on Mel Torme's vocal of "I'm gonna go fishin'" are quite harsh and edgy. Makes me wonder what went wrong--were the mikes too close to the instruments? That's what it sounds like.

From an audio standpoint, you can pick out the great recordings from the just average because the 25 tracks are drawn from a variety of different recordings.

Regards,

fhw

Good/fun question!
As you see, if you don't tie down the types of music you enjoy, then you will get recommendations of ALL types - and perhaps thats what you really want!

For me (an old rock and roller) I have been a fan of the Alan Parsons Project - since (well let's not go back TOO far) a long time. You probably have heard a few songs from him (like Eye in The Sky - or Games People Play) But I will tell you this: Almost any album from him (if you like his kind of music) will be terriffic when it comes to recording, engineering, and sonic purity. As a grammy winner for engineering/producing Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, he really knows his stuff. He doesn't write or sing all that much, but he knows great sound!

My personal all time favorite is "Pyramid" followed closely by "I Robot" and "Tales of Mystery and Imagination - Edgar Allen Poe" Granted these were recorded a long time ago, but they still stand up well today.

And hey - that Pink Floyd album (OK.. CD) sounds pretty Dang good too!

(You know - an "album" is just a collection of songs. A "record" or "record album" is a collection on vinyl. OK I got that off my chest! - it's a pet peeve! - sorry)

Randyman

Pete Escovedo - Flying South. Nice blend of latin jazz sounds including Guajira, Samba, Bolero and Fussion ,this done with an almost big band focusing in percussion(timbales, congas, bongos, drums, bata drums). Sheila E. (daughter of Pete) give an excellent share of her talent at conga drums. Also are featured great solos by Andy Narrell, Ray Oviedo and Najee. The recording is well mixed so it sounds balanced all the way. Also as a whole, the Recording has a beginning, development and a grand finale, not just one piece after another...

I second Ravi's recommendations on Patricia Barber. She has a new one coming out in the next month or two as well.
I would recommend also an instrumental jazz recording from Al DiMeola called 'Rite of Strings'. It all acoustic with Stanley Clark on bass and Jean-Luc Ponty on violin. Superb audio quality with very layered stereo imaging and depth. The music is tight and melodic. I have to listen to it at least once a week to get my fix

Oh, I forgot to mention...
Ravi, have you heard the live Patricia Barber called 'Companion'? Highly recommend that too; sounds absolutely real like they were playing there in your living room. Bass that makes your woofers move further than you could imagine too!

Thanks Ravi and Marc for the tip on Patricia Barber. I just bought the live CD "Companions" and it is great! I'll be getting more from her collection soon.

For something a bit different from the other recommendations, you might try Devin Townsend, either Ocean Machine or Terria. Also, Scenes From A Memory by Dream Theater (or any of their other albums, but that's their best), Lateralus by Tool, V - The New Mythology Suite by Symphony X.

And to prove I'm not just a head-banger, how about the new Telarc recording of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture (maybe not the best performance ever, but they sure went all-out and it will give your sound system a serious workout).

I second that about Dream Theater. Scarred from Awake is my personal favorite of theirs for demo material. Intersound's 1812 Overture by the Slovak Philharmonic is fantastic. Topsy (track 4) on Stereophile's Test CD 3 is one of the most open recordings I've heard. A great soundstage and imaging test for any system. Rhapsody in Blue and Carnival of Animals on Fantasia 2000 are also worth cranking.