*Discoveries, Various

Records we’ve “discovered” with exceptional sound.

Hugo Winterhalter / Goes Latin – Our Shootout Winner from 2014

More Living Stereo Recordings

200+ Reviews of Living Stereo Records

Yet Another Record We’ve Discovered with (Potentially) Excellent Sound…

and One We Will Probably Never Shootout Again

Some records never justified the time and money required to find Hot Stamper pressings of them in order to make it worth our while to give them a second go around. This is one such album, and the link above will take you to many more.

1959 Tubey Magical Living Stereo sound like you will not believe! Both sides are nearly White Hot, with shocking amounts of space and depth. This is RCA’s approach to Exotica, with the added benefit of Living Stereo strings. Gorgeous harmonically rich percussion – the tambourine is to die for

This record lives and dies by its Tubey Magical Stereoscopic presentation and the heavily percussive arrangements. In all of these areas and more this copy excels.

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Edmundo Ros / Latin Hits I Missed

More Exotica

More Imported Pressings on Decca and London

Another Record We’ve Discovered with (Potentially) Excellent Sound…

and a Record We Will Probably Never Shootout Again

It’s unfortunate that Edmundo Ros and his orchestra command so little respect these days from the general record buying public. As for audiophiles, it’s doubtful that many even know who he or they is/are. We at Better Records are doing our best to change all that, continuing with this, the second Ros title we’ve managed to find with amazing sound and music since the first one went up in 2013.

It’s one of the liveliest, best sounding Phase 4 titles we have heard in quite a while. Stampers simply do not get much hotter than these.  

From the perspective of a level playing field, I cannot think of too many rock records that sound as BIG and DYNAMIC as this very pressing, nor many that are as spacious and clear. As good as the best German pressings of Dark Side of the Moon may be, the White Hot eight hundred dollar killer copies we have from time to time, this recording is every bit as exciting and in most ways more lifelike, with uncannily accurate instrumental timbres. (more…)

Today’s Cool Record Find from 1966 – Luiz Bonfa’s Softly…

More Recordings with Exceptionally Tubey Magical Guitar Reproduction

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  • This original Epic pressing has superb Shootout Winning sound, earning a Triple Plus (A+++) grade on side two and close to it on side one
  • If you’re looking to demonstrate just how good 1966 All Tube Analog sound can be, this copy is just the record that can do it
  • The soundstage, depth and height of this spacious recording are as huge and three-dimensional as any you’ve heard
  • “One of the better early bossa albums by Bonfa, and one that doesn’t have the sleepy quality that you find on some of his other records. Luiz’ guitar is backed by a nice little combo, and the tracks have a lively rhythm, with occasional vocals, and some nice flute solos from time to time.”

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This is a simply wonderful Brazilian jazz guitar record, as well as what appears to be a mostly undiscovered gem. As an exceptional recording of excellent Brazilian guitar music from 1966, it is being offered to you by the music loving audiophiles at Better Records, folks who like to think they know a good sounding record when they hear one. (more…)

The Sons of The Pioneers – Down Memory Trail with The Sons of The Pioneers

More of The Sons of The Pioneers

More Country and Country Rock

  • Down Memory Trail finally arrives on the site with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from start to finish
  • These sides have a richness and sweetness that’s disappeared entirely from modern recordings yet they’re still incredibly clean, clear and spacious
  • If you want to know why people love Living Stereo records, playing either side of this record should be more than sufficient
  • “Another nostalgic journey through the west”

This vintage RCA Victor pressing has the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern records can barely BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn’t showing signs of coming back. If you love hearing INTO a recording, actually being able to “see” the performers, and feeling as if you are sitting in the studio with the band, this is the record for you. It’s what vintage all analog recordings are known for — this sound. (more…)

Les Paul and Mary Ford / Lover’s Luau

More Records with Exceptionally Tubey Magical Sound

More Vintage Columbia Pressings

  • Lover’s Luau makes its Hot Stamper debut on this original Columbia 6 Eye Stereo pressing with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound on both sides -exceptionally quiet vinyl too considering this record came out in 1959
  • This recording is the very definition of Tubey Magic, and should serve as a Demo Disc / Reminder – use it to demonstrate to friends and family just how far we have fallen in terms of recorded sound
  • “The sound of Les Paul and Mary Ford is so unique, it has never been duplicated. The genius of Les Paul from his pioneering of multi track recording to the absolute mastery of the guitar, is without question the best.”

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Holiday For Strings / Fiedler / Boston Pops

More Music Conducted by Arthur Fiedler

More Living Stereo Recordings

  • Holiday For Strings finally arrives on the site with stunning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound throughout
  • This is a true Demo Disc quality recording, with lovely Living Stereo strings – close your eyes and the three-dimensional soundstaging will make your speakers disappear
  • This is a sweetheart of a recording – big, clear, rich, dynamic, transparent and energetic, and will surely put to shame most of the Living Stereo pressings you own (unless you bought them from us)
  • “Nowhere in the world is there a surer guarantee of more richly varied musical delights than that promised by this conductor’s precise baton, his infallible ear and memory, the prodigious range of his taste, his interpretative verve.”
  • Yet Another Record We’ve Discovered with (Potentially) Excellent Sound

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The Norman Luboff Choir – Reverie with Demo Disc Quality Sound

More Pop and Jazz Vocal Albums

More Top Shelf Pressings

  • Reverie arrives on the site with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from start to finish – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • This pressing brings the big-as-life Norman Luboff Choir right into your listening room – Demo Disc Quality Sound barely begins to do it justice
  • If you have never heard one of these phenomenally Tubey Magical Columbia choir recordings, you may just have your mind blown by how much more natural and real the voices sound compared to anything released on vinyl in the last fifty years
  • Sure, some might call it corny White Bread music, but the sound is so enchanting you may actually find yourself back in 1959, lost in the glorious sound and music of another world

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Son Seals – The Son Seals Blues Band

More Son Seals

  • An excellent Electric Blues record with exceptionally big, clear, lively sound that earned Double Plus (A++) grades on both sides
  • This copy will shame most Blues albums for sound and music – it’s quite a bit better than any other Son Seals album we have played as well
  • 4 stars: “The Chicago mainstay’s debut album was a rough, gruff, no-nonsense affair typified by the decidedly unsentimental track ‘Your Love Is like a Cancer.’ Seals wasn’t all that far removed from his southern roots at this point, and his slashing guitar work sports a strikingly raw feel on his originals ‘Look Now, Baby,’ ‘Cotton Picking Blues,’ and ‘Hot Sauce’ (the latter a blistering instrumental that sounds a bit like the theme from Batman played sideways).

Son Seals’ 1973 debut album has the kind of Live-in-the-Studio sound that most Blues albums (and every other kind of album) strive for but rarely if ever achieve. If you turn this one up good and loud, the Son Seals Band will be right there in the room with you. If there’s any overdubbing on this record, you sure can’t hear it.

If you’ve been suffering with one bad sounding Stevie Ray Vaughan album after another, this record should come as a godsend. This album will show you just how dynamic and energetic Electric Blues recordings can be.

You can’t see this guy live anymore, he’s dead, RIP, but you can still hear him perform live in your listening room if you have a killer system and a Hot Stamper copy of this album — and you can hear him as often as you want to, too. Play this one for all your friends who love Stevie Ray. Son Seals has the chops to go head to head with him, with recording quality that’s night and day better than Stevie’s non-posthumous albums in every way. Your friends’ minds will surely be blown (and if they aren’t, turn up the volume a click or two and try again. Live music is loud). (more…)

Terry Snyder / Persuasive Percussion – A Knockout Percussion Extravaganza from Command

More Exotica and Easy Listening

More Amazing Percussion Recordings We’ve Reviewed

  • Persuasive Percussion makes its Hot Stamper debut with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from start to finish
  • Explosive energy, but surprisingly the sound is both relaxed and sweet at the same time, never squawky
  • Exceptional extension up high and down low — this is the copy that showed us just how good the album could sound
  • Simply amazing space, ambience and depth – if you have never heard one of these kinds of records, you are really in for a treat with this one
  • “This album was one of the early examples of “hi-fi” back in the late 50’s and early 60’s. How vivid is my memory of the bongos first playing from the left speaker…and then from the right one. And that wonderful sound! I could close my eyes now and relive a moment in time”

We’ve just created a new section. In it you will find records with exceptional sound and music that we’ve discovered over the years, records that are probably not well known to most audiophiles. You might consider it our version of 1001 Records to Hear Before You Die, except that there are only 120 titles or so, and the common theme is that the right pressings of these titles have truly audiophile sound. Please to enjoy.

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Smoky Babe – Hottest Brand Goin’

  • Smoky Babe makes his Hot Stamper debut here on this superb pressing, with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it throughout
  • The mono sound is gloriously ANALOG, so smooth and full-bodied – no other copy in our shootout had this kind of exceptionally realistically relaxed sound
  • 4 stars: “Smoky Babe, aka Robert Brown, laid down a good set of down-home country blues on this 1961 session, with occasional assistance from harmonica players Clyde Causey and Henry Thomas… it’s sung with conviction, and the guitar playing is emphatic and chunkily rhythmic.”

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