Well recorded records ... what are your picks?


I just finished listening to some records. No surprises, just some usuals. But, I was thinking the whole time about how well some of these records were engineered and recorded. I thought I would write about them and ask for your favorites.

I finished with Thomas Dolby -- Aliens Ate My Buick. It is so well recorded! I am drawn in and must listen to the whole album. I lose myself in this one! Rickie Lee Jones -- Pop Pop. Spin her version of "Up From the Skies" and you will know what I am talking about. Pure recorded bliss. It is magical. I had to listen to the rest of the album and was not disappointed! Dire Straits -- Love Over Gold. Title track -- unbelievable. This album is so well recorded; no wonder I have known more than a few audiophiles who have recommended it. I listened to the whole damned wonderful album! Rickie Lee Jones -- Rickie Lee Jones. How can you miss with this one. If you need to test your set-up, go with this one. It is perfect. Oh, also, I listened to "Sunday in the Park with George" tonight. It is so well recorded with depth and width. I also enjoy the music. I also spun Dire Straits -- Communique. It is not as well recorded as Love Over Gold, but that is only by a "smidgen." It is truly a gem. I love the music, and it is very well recorded.

These are my picks for tonight. More to come, of course. I am wondering what are your favorites and why? This could be a nice exchange of information on well engineered and recorded records for all of us. And, we could all discover albums and their characteristics through each other's information.

Cheers!
bicycle_man
I am assuming this is primarily a list of LPs, and most popular music (a little bit of jazz and blues). This is a pretty good list of good well recorded music that is strong on both sound and music content (No "Jazz at the Pawnshop"). The following are my additions, in no particular order:

Kraftwerk: "Electric Cafe" (almost any Kraftwerk album
would qualify)
Pink Floyd: "The Wall"
Kate & Anna McGarigle: Self Titled (GREAT album)
Warren Zevon: Self Titled (GREAT album)
Van Morrison: "Alstral Weeks" (recent audiophile reissue)
Bright Eyes: "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning"
Zappa: "Apostrophe"
Grateful Dead: "American Beauty" (Rhino reissue)
Ricki Lee Jones: "Girl at Her Volcano"
Doors (limited edition box set, particularly "Strange Days" and "The Doors")
Michael Hurley: "Have Moicy!" (incredible, off-beat folk/blue grass)
David Peabody: "Americana"
Claudia Gomez: "Salamandra"

Ella Fitzgerald/Marty Paich Ochestra: "Whisper Not"
Ella Fitzgerald: "Clap Hands Here Comes Charlie"
Armstrong/Ellington: "The Complete Louis Armstrong and Ellington Sessions"
Bill Berry All Stars: "For Duke"
Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard: "Alternate Blues"
The Great Jazz Trio: "Direct from LA"
Yamamoto Trio: "Midnight Sugar"
Lester Bowie: "The Great Pretender"
Many thanks to all who have posted their picks in this thread!!!

With some clip and paste, one can make quite the listening list, or a list of records to look out for at swaps, used record shops, ebay, yard sales, and, of course, Audiogon! I have purchased some records from Audiogon, all with great success.

The mention of Heart, Dreamboat Annie, on the Mushroom label is a great pick, by the way. I have it, love it, and listen to it regularly.

Cheers!
Luka Bloom- the title is "Riverside". Incredibly well-recorded singer-songwriter! And the music is really good as well as the recording quality. It's on the Reprise label.--Mrmitch
Thomas Dolby -- The Flat Earth. Listen to "I Scare Myself" -- delicious!

One thing I wanted to glean from this question posted was information on "sleeper" records. Records that are not normally thought of as high fidelity, yet turn out to be very well recorded and engineered -- records right under our noses that are actually of great quality. Also, records that are normally known for their music, but not for their sound quality, yet turn out to be sublime in that respect.

Great stuff posted so far!

Cheers.
2 that unexpectedly blew me away with quality and music....

XTC - Apple Venus Volume 1
Elvis Costello - All this Useless Beauty

Great thread.