Reference CD's from Classic Rock to Current Rock/Pop/Electronic (1 Viewer)

[paulBAW]

Rich, when I mentioned Radio Head, I was referring to stuff like "Everything In it's Right Place" off the Vanilla sky soundtrack. Great track. I remember when I first pickedup my NAD intergrated it was one of the first tracks I put in to compare to my old Yamaha. Some of the Chilli Peppers stuff is over compressed but alot of tunes on Blood sex magik really shine.

I bought the Come With Us cd by Chemical Brothers. The first track really does shine. THANKS! I'm glad I asked for opinions. I love finding a great sounding cd that also happens to be within my musical tastes. A very nice treat.

On a side note, I bought the Rolling Stones Hot Rocks SACD, and I was terribly unimpressed. All of the recordings sound ulta thin. Mick Jaggers Voice seems very compressed on some tracks. It's been awhile since I've heard Hot Rocks on normal CD though, so maybe I'm asking for too much. I was horribly disgused the first time I heard it on my system. One time I took it out to demo some PSB Stratus Minis and Polk Audio LSi9's and while they did a better job taming the tracks, it was still harsh.

 

[ChrisDixon]

Yes, the last two Radiohead albums (Kid A and Amnesiac - both from the same recording sessions) sound much better, and are closer to the Electronica world, even though Kid A won a best Alternative Album grammy. I've noticed that they have an especially wide soundstage. I think OK Computer is their best album, but the recording does leave a lot to be desired.

Chris

 

[Nick L]

The cd's I take with me when I audition are:

Dave Matthews Band - Crash
Jack Johnson - Brushfire Fairytales (Great cd)
Pink Floyd - The Division Bell

 

[Jim_F]

Stevie Wonder's Original Musicquarium is about as well recorded as any popular music I've heard.

 

[Jamey F]

On recommendations in this thread, I purchased Steely Dan (A decade of Steely Dan), Van Halen (Right Here, Right Now live), and Dire Straits (Brothers in Arms). Steely Dan and Dire Straits are very nicely done in my amateur opinion. Of course, Van Halen's live concert isn't going to be great for obvious reasons, but the music sure rocks!!! I've got the first three Van Halen discs on order. I'll be sure to grab some more of the listed titles.

I posted to bump this up hoping for more suggestions.

 

[Robert Tonkin]

Jamey,

Try:

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 Naxos 8.555714
Mahler: Symphony No. 3 (Leinsdorf) BMG 07026-63469
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini RCA 09026-62710

Oh yeah, and Yellow Shark Frank Zappa Ryko This one will really put a set of loudspeakers through the paces.

Ohhh, you said "Classic ROCK" never mind.....


Cheers,

RT

 

[james e m]

Jimmy Eat World- Static Prevails
One of their earlier albums, but an amazing recording none the less.

Cold Play- A Rush Of Blood To The Head


James

 

[John Garcia]

Dave Matthews Band - Crash

I agree with this one. This is a very well recorded disc. I use it often when auditioning speakers.

Electronic:
BT - (Any album, they are all good) He is a god of trance. Far more complex and well constructed than you would expect for techno/trance.
Orbital - In Sides A must have for electronic music fans
ATB - Movin' Melodies
Depeche Mode - Violator (someone mentioned this one, great choice).
Delerium - (any)
Everything but the Girl - Walking Wounded, Back to Mine

Rock:
Soundgarden - Superunknown Not the greatest recording, but good, and a ton of good tracks.
Eric Clapton - Unplugged - great 2ch.
(many more that I don't have time for at the moment...)

I picked up the Sigur Ros "blank" album (no name) by recommendation, and I was not entirely impressed by it. I only liked ~2 songs.

 

[James Sutula]

Pop-Rock:

Sister Hazel - Somewhere More Familiar is one of the best sounding CDs in my collection, and it is great music as well, not one bad song.

 

[ShaunLB]

Some of my list:

LP:
Pink Floyd- Momentary Lapse of Reason

DVD:
Blue Man Group- Audio (nothing short of sonic perfection!)

Eagles- Hell Freezes Over

CD:
Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon / Division Bell

ZZ Top- Recycler

Cheap Trick- Live at Budokan (VERY bright, but a great concert nonetheless)

A few discs I've found that have the London Symphony Orchestra performing Classic British and American rock.

A remarkable recording by an Egyptian orchestra performing Led Zepplin material.

 

[Brian L]

A lot of posters mentioned some of my favorite music (Van Halen, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin for example), but they are far from demo quality.

For that, you need go no further than Steely Dan. The last two albums (Two Against Nature and Everything Must Go) are, IMHO state of the art in terms of sound quality.

Putting those aside, a few rock titles that have always sounded fantastic to my ears:

Thomas Dolby - The Aliens Ate My Buick
Queensryke - Empire
Extreme - Pretty much anything they have done

The three mentioned are not necessarily my favorite music, but the sound quality is pretty hard to fault.

YMMV.

BGL

 

[Robert Lovejoy]

Mark Knopfler - Sailing To Philadelphia

Speedway at Nazareth in particular is astonishing.

 

[JohnRice]

The best sounding recording probably nobody here has.....


Peter Gabriel's OVO.


You have to buy it as a British import. I got mine from Amazon US, but they don't seem to have it anymore. Maybe you can get it from the UK. It was never released in the US. Unusual, varied album with vocals from Gabriel as well as a host of others. Problem is, it may be a limited edition and no longer available.


Not sure you're interested in metal, but I think Metallica's Load is an exceptional recording. I suppose Reload would be just as good, but I like the music on Load better.

 

[Angelo.M]

Rock/pop:
Mark Knopfler's Sailing to Philadelphia
James Taylor's Hourglass and October Road
Beth Orton's Central Reservation

Electronic:
Massive Attack/Tracey Thorn's "Protection," from Protection (also found on Everything But the Girl's compilation, Like the Desert Needs the Rain)
Everything But the Girl, Walking Wounded

 

[CurtisC]

Steely Dan AJA(must have),Cry of Love-Brother,one of the best quality recordings I have ever heard,Cat Stevens-Tea for the Tiller man,not greatest hits,Joe Satriani-all studio recordings,Grateful Dead-In the Dark,Rush 2112,Blues Traveler all,Jackyl 1st-hey its a perfect recording and most of the others mentioned here.Quite a list eh..Whenever I think I need to upgrade I just put on Steely Dan and realize the source was all I needed to upgrade.

 

[Lewis Besze]

The best sounding recording probably nobody here has.....Peter Gabriel's OVO.

I have it and agree it's a very good sounding album.

 

[JohnRice]

I have it and agree it's a very good sounding album.

Yeah. I figured if I said that, someone who had it would come forward.