Can you point me to CDs with awesome stage?

My default choice for staging shenenigans is:

"Space Age Bachelor Pad Music" by Esquivel.

Now, be warned that no one will confuse this with Mozart, but the special effects are undeniable.

One other interesting choice is Lindsey Buckingham's "Under The Skin". This is about the polar oppposite of "Bachelor Pad" The songwriting is terrific (as is the playing). The staging is much subtler, but the tracks "Show You How" and "It Was You" feaure multiple vocal parts - each of which is captured with unusual ambience. It's a manufactured effect, and not purist audiophile by any means, but really striking with the right system.

Marty

Thank's for your responce. I've read some of the articles and seen the list you've suggested. There are a few CDs I'm definitely going to give a try. I know there has to be more than Q sound CDs though. How about you traditionalists out there, any more best of the best sound stage CDs, other than the few mentioned? I've heard something about a recording of music in a cave.

Get a copy of Laurie Anderson's "Life On A String." This will give your speakers a workout.

Cliff56,
I think the cave recording you refer to is by bass player extraordinaire, Tony Levin, previously from the band Genesis. The disc is titled "From the Caves of the Iron Mountain", and utilizes a variety of interesting recording tecniques. I have the disc, listened to it a few times, and do not care for it a lot. The effects are supposed to be more pronounced through headphones. Unfortunately, Amazon and Itunes do not have clips to listen to. For more conventionally recorded music with wide, rich, expansive soundstage, for female vocals, I would recommend K.D. Lang's "Ingenue" and Louise Taylor's "Written in Red". I love Bill Frisell's "East West" album, especially the West disc. It has some of the wide left and wide right sound effects reminiscent of Q sound. Frisell is an electronics tinkerer, often doing live loops and playing them back during shows. Perhaps he has done some phase trickery with this recording. A few other titles with VERY discrete placement of the instruments/vocalists in the soundstage, I like Branford Marsalis's "Trio Jeepy", Jesse Syke's "Oh, My Girl" and "Reckless Burning", and another Cowboy Junkies recommendation "Whites Off Earth Now" a series of classic blues numbers played sloooow, and sung beautifully by Margo Timmons.

"God Bless America"-Mormon Tabernacle Choir
"Strange Times" - The Moody Blues
"Blue Moon Swamp" - John Fogerty
"Pyramid" - Alan Parsons Project
"Possibilities" - Herbie Hancock
"Sophie Millman" - Sophie Millman
"Still Life" - Van Der Graaf GEnerator
"Smooth Island Jazz" - Various
"The Planets" - Holst - Dutoit/Montreal Symphony
"Mutual Respect" = Ken Clark
"Gold" - Neil Diamond
"Gold" - Dusty Springfield