Best Sounding Albums on CD

Maybe it's just the age that I grew up in, but I do think that CD is the end-all be-all of physical media. Vinyl certainly has its charm, and the ritual of flipping the record and putting the needle on makes for more mindful listening, but CDs just have the best fidelity.

Nils Lofgren - Acoustic Live Also the SACD of Brothers In Arms (Dire Straits), Bluray Audio of Black and White Night (Roy Orbison)

Have Random Access Memories on vinyl. Fantastic sounding played on vinyl with tube amp and preamp. Astounding for sure.

Great review. I have the first three CD's on your list and agree that they sound fabulous.

You are so right about cds that are compressed or 'bricked' and sound terrible. You can use audacity to analyze. I find that SHM Japanese cds are generally better sounding.

Ok, I am a huge collector since cd day 1 in 1982... and I sell too. I have sold lots of Eva Cassidy never knowing who she was. Never played a cd ( she's not on a major label so I thought she was a nobody). OK, so thanks to YOU I played her time after time album, was blown away and read her Wiki page. This hobby never fails to surprise. Thanks for opening my eyes to this talent!

Love these suggestions. Some I haven't heard and need to check out. A couple I think of as the best sounding in my collection include the original release of Faith by George Michael. In particular "Hard Day" is a great stress test for almost any system. Same thing for his "Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1" follow-up, particularly "Cowboys And Angels" where the bass is playing octaves. I also really like the sound of The Cure's Disintegration. This despite looking at the files in an audio editor suggests noisy analog tapes... it doesn't sound that way coming out of my speakers. ...Speaking of audio, you might check your recording setup. Your mic audio was only coming out of my right channel. Probably an easy fix although not knowing your setup I don't know where the fix needs to be applied. I'd prefer you in the center of my speakers. 🙂

Just come across your channel Matt. This is brilliant stuff. I have this kind of chat with three of my real life friends (we work in record shop in the UK), and we’re endlessly debating SQ vs format vs pressing vs mastering and all points in between. Re: Abbey Road 1987, yes it’s brilliant. We were very fortunate to come across a Black Triangle Toshiba Japan Abbey Road in store, and I can testify to its magnificence, too. A notch or two above the 1987, but it had to be moved on for sale as it’s a big ticket item. Keep up this great channel. Hope I get to watch many more. Regards, Gregor.

Thank you for the Eva Cassidy review. Her "Fields of Barley" gave me chills. WoW

Any album by Sade.

Hi 👋 I had the joy of seeing Miles Davis in concert back in the 1980s here in New Zealand. It was around the time of his Tutu album release. His back up band were very funky. I like Norah Jones. Nina Simone was one of the greatest entertainers of all time, i love her music.

Why is your voice only on the right channel?

Agree with Abbey Road and Dark Side of the Moon. Even the ongoing masters that keep coming out of those two sound great. Very well recorded which is where it all starts. Would add Dire Straits Brothers in Arms. One of the first “full digital recordings “ as the sticker on the jewel box said when I got it back in ‘87. The dynamics are amazing including the crescendo to start Money For Nothing. A great way to test your sound system. Thanks for the video. Hopefully more like this to come.

Is it just me, or is this video one channel? Is that huge speaker affecting your mic?! Anyways, I've got all of them bar the Eva and Nina albums, though I will look into those two - I never got the love for Ms Cassidy, though I will try that one based on it being included in a rather good list, though I've gone off the Dre album of late. Personally, whilst having 70s vinyl, and those early CDs of the Floyd & Beatles albums, I rather prefer the recently 'rebuilt' Abbey Road, and the Immersion DSotM (and the Quad mix in the box set).

Good man... good thinking ..

Saludos y BENDICIONES desde Puerto Rico

Can I add Seeds of Love by Tears For Fears, the original 1989 CD release, sounds amazing.

Nice B&W DMs in the background there - 330s? I have a pair of 110i speakers - they’re lovely things!

Trevor Horn has produced some masterpieces like the Grace Jones Slave To The Rythmn CD and Seal's CD as well.

Supertramp Breakfast in America is a superbly mastered album imo, Tears for fears are well mastered too. A superb jazz album which was quite hard to find is Lionel Hampton presents Buddy Rich which is superb