These I Could Live Without

The music on these albums has never meant much to me, a fact that is very unlikely to change.

However, if any of these albums are favorites of yours, you can be sure that the pressings we offer will be far and away the best sounding versions you have ever heard — or your money back!

Miles Davis – Filles de Kilimanjaro

More of the Music of Miles Davis

  • With KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades on both sides, this copy is certainly as good as we have ever heard
  • A tough shootout, as no other copy earned a 3+ grade on either side, which simply means that when you find a top copy, it sets such a high standard that everything else ends up getting marked down
  • This Columbia 360 Label LP boasts rich, full-bodied, clear sound with the space and three-dimensionality that was difficult to find on the later pressings we played
  • Marks in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these early pressings – there simply is no way around them if the superior sound of vintage analog is important to you
  • 4 1/2 stars: “… this middle ground between the adventurous bop of the mid-60s and the fusion of the late-60s is rewarding in its own right, since it’s possible to hear great musicians find the foundation of a new form. For that alone, Filles de Kilimanjaro is necessary listening.”

This is one of the all-time classic progressive jazz albums, and a copy like this allows you to appreciate the contributions of Miles and his top-notch band (Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams and the great Ron Carter on most of the songs). This one’s not as “out there” as Bitches Brew, but it gives you a taste of the various directions these guys would take in the years to come.

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Genesis – Invisible Touch

More Rock and Pop

  • You’ll find outstanding Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them throughout this vintage UK pressing
  • We shot out a number of other imports and this one had the midrange presence, bass, and dynamics that were missing from most other copies we played (particularly on side two)
  • The sound is lively, punchy, and powerful (also particularly on side two) – with all due respect, it should murder whatever copies you may have
  • “Invisible Touch is, without a doubt, Genesis’ poppiest album, a sleek, streamlined affair…”

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Black Sabbath – Vol. 4

More of the Music of Black Sabbath

  • With KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades on both sides of this vintage Green Label pressing, we guarantee you’ve never heard Vol. 4 sound this good
  • A tough shootout, as no other copy earned a 3+ grade on either side, which simply means that when you find a top copy, it sets such a high standard that everything else ends up getting marked down
  • Both sides here are really rockin’ — big and full-bodied with an abundance of bass and the kind of performance energy that gets sucked right out of the music on the reissues, not to mention the no-doubt-worse modern pressings
  • We agree with Henry Rollins, who said, “Sabbath could be my favorite band… There’s something about their music that’s so painful and yet so powerful.”
  • This is a lot of money for a somewhat noisy copy, but the sound is so awesome and quiet pressings of the album so hard to come by that we hope someone will take a chance on it and get the thrill we did from hearing it sound right for once
  • 5 stars: “… it does find Sabbath at their most musically varied, pushing to experiment amidst the drug-addled murk… Die-hard fans sick of the standards come here next, and some end up counting this as their favorite Sabbath record for its eccentricities and for its embodiment of the band’s excesses.”

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Genesis – Wind and Wuthering

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Genesis Available Now

  • A Wind and Wuthering like you’ve never heard, with solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER on both sides of this vintage import pressing – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • This copy has real depth to the soundfield, full-bodied, present vocals, and lovely analog warmth
  • Their Masterpiece is still A Trick of the Tail, the album that came out before this one, but Wind and Wuthering certainly has much to offer in the same vein
  • 4 stars: “Wind & Wuthering followed quickly on the heels of A Trick of the Tail and they’re very much cut from the same cloth, working the same English eccentric ground that was the group’s stock in trade since Trespass.”

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The Brothers Johnson – Right on Time

More Soul, Blues, and R&B

  • Boasting two STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sides, this vintage A&M pressing could not be beat
  • A tough shootout, as no other copy earned a 3+ grade on either side, which simply means that when you find a top copy, it sets such a high standard that everything else ends up getting marked down
  • The sound is huge – big, wide, deep, and open, with a punchy bottom end and rhythmic energy to spare, as well as cleaner, smoother, sweeter upper mids and a more extended top
  • Analog at its Tubey Magical finest – you’ll never play a CD (or any other digitally sourced material) that sounds as good as this record as long as you live
  • 4 1/2 stars: “An enjoyable and even infectious collection that, in its sophistication, certainly avoids being just some sort of dry run for [Quincy] Jones … producing Michael Jackson’s wildly successful Off the Wall and Thriller albums…”

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Eric Clapton – Journeyman

More of the Music of Eric Clapton

  • A Journeyman like you’ve never heard, with INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades on both sides of this vintage import pressing – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Forget the commonly dry-sounding domestic copies – the pressings mastered in Germany and the UK are the only ones good enough for us to put in a shootout
  • Rich, lively, spacious – the right pressings are surprisingly good-sounding for a recording from 1989
  • The big hit was “Pretending,” but “Bad Love” (both went to Number One) won the Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal
  • 4 1/2 stars: “… a laid-back and thoroughly engaging display of Clapton’s virtuosity. On the whole, it’s the best studio album he’s released since Slowhand.”

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Commodores – Natural High

More of the Music of Commodores

  • This vintage Motown pressing boasts outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound from start to finish – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Spacious, full-bodied and Tubey Magical with a solid bottom end and driving rhythmic energy, this is the right sound for this music
  • “… even if ‘Three Times a Lady’ isn’t your cup of tea, Natural High still has a lot to offer R&B fans. ‘X-Rated Movie,’ ‘Such a Woman,’ and ‘I Like What You Do’ are exhilarating examples of hardcore funk, and those who appreciate artists like Heatwave and the Brothers Johnson will find a lot to admire about ‘Fire Girl’ and ‘Flying High’ (both of which are sleek examples of the sophisticated funk style).”

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Frank Sinatra – Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back

More of the Music of Frank Sinatra

  • Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back debuts on the site with a KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side one mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side two
  • On a copy this good, Frank will appear as living, breathing (albeit disembodied) person right in your very own listening room – we call that “the breath of life,” and this record has it in spades
  • “Frank Sinatra returned from his brief retirement in 1973 with the appropriately titled Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back. Released amidst a whirlwind of publicity, the album was a commercial success, earning gold status and nearly climbing its way into the Top Ten…. ‘Send in the Clowns’ and the moving ‘There Used to Be a Ballpark,’ both featuring sublime, subtle arrangements from Gordon Jenkins and outstanding singing by Sinatra.”

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Fleetwood Mac – Heroes Are Hard To Find

More of the Music of Fleetwood Mac

  • A vintage copy of the band’s 1974 release, here with with stunning Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) grades from start to finish, just shy of our Shootout Winner – remarkably quiet vinyl too
  • This is the sound you want on Heroes Are Hard To Find – not midrangy, but rich and full-bodied, with an extended top end for sweeter, silkier vocals
  • Forget whatever dead-as-a-doornail Heavy Vinyl record they’re making these days – if you want to hear the Tubey Magic, size and energy of this wonderful album, a vintage pressing like this one is the way to go
  • “… the album is one of their most cohesive yet diverse… Heroes is a minor gem that retains its effortless pop charms and contains some buried jewels in the extensive Fleetwood Mac catalog.”

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Michael Jackson – Bad

More of the Music of Michael Jackson

  • This vintage copy was giving us the big and bold sound we were looking for, earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades on both sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • The sound is huge, full-bodied, punchy and relatively smooth throughout, with real space and ambience around the vocals and instruments
  • Includes some of Jackson’s biggest 80s hits: “Man in the Mirror,” “Dirty Diana,” “Smooth Criminal,” and of course, the title track
  • 4 1/2 stars: “… essentially taking each portion of Thriller to an extreme, while increasing the quotient of immaculate studiocraft. He wound up with a sleeker, slicker Thriller, which isn’t a bad thing…”

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