Classic rock: best remasters

"If only Zappa were alive..." Actually, a lot of fans were upset with some of the stuff FZ did with his old recordings. He recut bass and drums on "We're Only In It For the Money" and it's my understanding he eventually went back to the original parts. Anyway, even when the work is done by the originator it's not always necessarily better to everyone's ear.

"01-27-15: Phasecorrect
I find it oddly amusing there is a resurgence back to first generation CD releases...anybody remember the audiophile community response...in short...not good. Now granted, some of these are youngsters who grew up on MP3, never heard vinyl, and ate being sold on something "uncompressed."However, as others have stated, compression is only one small part of the spectrum."

I don't think you're comparing the same thing. The first all digital recordings back in the 80's (DDD), were the ones that usually sound bad. CD's from the 80's that were analog recordings (AAD), sound pretty good. I remember the industry pushing DDD. There used to be comparisons and disclosures actually printed in the artwork/covers.

Zd, you have a point. I always use Jeff Beck as an example of good SQ in the CD era. During the 80s and 90s, he recorded in AAD or ADD. Then in the 2000s, his digital releases were as loud and compressed as the rest of the industry. It may have been out of his control by then.

True...DDD were horrid...but even early AAD releases tend to have a rather "washed out" grainy sound with noticeable tape hiss...even so called audiophile releases...Just my thoughts in a highly subjective medium...no right or wrong answers...

I agree, most of those early CDs (up until say 1989) are drink coasters.