*Records that Sound Best This Way

These titles have lighter gray text at the bottom of the listing to help the reader decode the pressings that have the potential for the best sound, based on our Hot Stamper shootouts.

For example, “Early=Best” simply means that the right early pressings usually sound the best on this title.

In addition to early pressings, here are the records that we’ve identified using the remaining five attributes:

Imported vinyl (Import=Best); domestic vinyl (Domestic=Best); in mono (Mono=Best); in stereo (Stereo=Best), and lastly, on the right reissue (Reissue=Best)

Keep in mind that any given pressing with the “wrong” attributes, e.g., import, reissue, etc., can be better sounding than one with the “right” attributes, e.g., domestic, early, etc. There are far too many factors that go into the making of a record for any of this information to be useful without a large sample of LPs.

In other words, these attributes are best seen as a rough guide to help point the reader in the right direction.

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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Free – Self-Titled

More Rock Classics

  • Free’s sophomore release, here with solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER throughout this British Pink Rim reissue Island pressing
  • The sound is big, rich, and spacious, with an abundance of hard rockin’ energy and a solid bottom end
  • A record we have been trying to get going for five years – copies in clean condition take us years to find!
  • Only the right UK pressings had the Tubey Magical British Blues Rock sound we were looking for – the domestic pressings are made from dubs, something that A&M did most of the time for the British bands they distributed
  • 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 the master tape, a vintage UK pressing like this one is the only way to go
  • 4 1/2 stars: “… an album that stands alongside its predecessor as a benchmark of British blues at the turn of the 1960s.”

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Roxy Music – Viva! Roxy Music

More of the Music of Roxy Music

  • Both sides of this original UK Island pressing (the first copy to ever hit the site) were doing everything right, earning INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades from top to bottom – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • This is an album I have been playing regularly lately and it has really grown on me over the last couple of years – a truly fine album that rewards repeated plays, as should any classic release from this incredible band
  • 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 falling short of the standard and must be marked down accordingly
  • Guaranteed to be a huge improvement over anything you’ve heard, this Brit is big, punchy, and full-bodied – Bryan Ferry’s leads really soar
  • A killer pressing with energy and presence that positively JUMPS out of the speakers, two of the qualities that we prize most highly in our Hot Stampers, and two of things among many that Heavy Vinyl does so poorly
  • “…Viva! is a tough, powerful document of Roxy at the peak of their live powers, featuring a fine cross-section of their best work.”

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Aretha Franklin – Spirit In The Dark


  • You’ll find outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER throughout this vintage Atlantic pressing
  • It’s lively, open, present and natural; the soundfield is big and spacious and the bottom end is killer; Aretha fans, you won’t want to miss out on this one
  • We’ve done a ton of Aretha shootouts over the years and I’d put this one right up there with any of her titles for top quality sound
  • Our last shootout was 2020 — we simply cannot find copies of albums like these with audiophile quality surfaces, and the future does not appear to be any brighter in that respect than the present
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Spirit in the Dark was one of Aretha Franklin’s more overlooked albums from her Atlantic prime, despite the inclusion of a couple hit singles (the title track and “Don’t Play That Song”)… it’s an exuberant and remarkably consistent effort.”

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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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Red Garland Trio – Groovy

More Jazz Recordings Featuring the Piano

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  • Boasting solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them, this vintage Prestige recording pressed on fairly quiet OJC vinyl was giving us the sound we were looking for on Red’s Jazz Masterpiece
  • The MONO sound is clear, spacious, relaxed, and full-bodied, with Tubey Magical richness and analog smoothness that only the better vintage pressings can offer (particularly on side one)
  • Another top jazz recording from Rudy Van Gelder – big, bold and lively (also particularly on side one), just the right sound for this music
  • 4 1/2 stars: “With bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Taylor, Garland has all the support he needs to wing it in a variety of directions. Recorded in that most legendary year of jazz, 1957, Garland is coming into his own in a more confident way, buoyed by his association at the time with Miles Davis.”

What makes this vintage piano trio album in mono so special? Allow me to quote a review from a few years back for a pair of recordings that Red Garland made with Miles Davis back in the mid-50s: Workin’ And Steamin’.

To the Jazz Fans of the World, we here present one of the best sounding jazz recordings we have ever had the privilege to place on a turntable. I cannot ever recall hearing a better sounding Rudy Van Gelder recording, and I have a theory as to why this tape is as good as it is: it’s MONO. It also sounds like it’s recorded completely live in the studio, direct to one track you might say. As good a recording as Kind of Blue is, I think the best parts of this album are more immediate and more real than anything on KOB.

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Gerry Rafferty – Night Owl

More British Folk Rock

  • The Hot Stamper debut of Rafferty’s 1979 release, here with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them on both sides of this early British pressing
  • You won’t believe how rich, Tubey Magical, big, undistorted and present this copy is (until you play it anyway)
  • If all you know are the domestic pressings, you should be prepared for a mind-blowing experience with this UK copy
  • In fact, the original domestic pressings, the ones cut by Wally Traugott, had completely unacceptable sound — sound that was so bad you have to wonder how the label and the artists involved approved it
  • Marks and problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs – there simply is no way around them if the superior sound of vintage analog is important to you
  • “On his second release for United Artists, Gerry Rafferty focuses an equal amount of attention on his lyrics and on the sincerity of the song’s moods to create one his strongest and most heartfelt albums. Delicate, touching, and extremely poignant, Rafferty blankets all of Night Owl’s tracks with a late-night/early-morning earnestness that is highly effective throughout.”

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Ellington-Basie / First Time – The Count Meets the Duke

More of the Music of Duke Ellington

More of the Music of Count Basie

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  • This original 6-Eye Stereo pressing was doing most everything right, with both sides earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER
  • Huge amounts of three-dimensional space and ambience, along with boatloads of Tubey Magic – here’s a 30th Street recording from 1961 that demonstrates just how good Columbia’s engineers were back then
  • If all you’ve heard are the Classic Records reissues of Ellington, you are in for a treat, because there is a world of difference lying between the real things and the Classic wannabes
  • It’s yet another Tubey Magical Demo Disc from the golden age of vacuum tube recording
  • 4 1/2 stars: “… a very successful and surprisingly uncrowded encounter… Ellington and Basie both play piano (their interaction with each other is wonderful) and the arrangements allowed the stars from both bands to take turns soloing.”
  • It’s hard to imagine that any list of the best jazz albums of 1961 would not have The Count Meets the Duke on it. The sound is out of this world on the best copies.

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Elvis Presley / From Elvis in Memphis

More of the Music of Elvis Presley

  • Solid Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER brings Presley’s 1969 release to life on this vintage RCA pressing – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Both sides here are remarkably – big, full-bodied and Tubey Magical yet exceptionally clear, spacious and open
  • We guarantee there is dramatically more richness, fullness, vocal presence, and performance energy on this copy than others you’ve heard, and that’s especially true if you own whatever Heavy Vinyl pressing is currently on the market, made from who-knows-what tapes
  • 5 stars: “…one of the greatest white soul albums (and one of the greatest soul albums) ever cut, with brief but considerable forays into country, pop, and blues as well. Presley sounds rejuvenated artistically throughout the dozen cuts off the original album, and he’s supported by the best playing and backup singing of his entire recording history.”

Of the handful of Elvis albums to ever make it to the site, this is clearly the critics’ favorite, and one listen will tell you why. This is the album that single-handedly revived Elvis’ fortunes, setting the stage for his record-breaking series of shows in Las Vegas doing pretty much the type of music he had recorded for it.

The next year he would go on tour for the first time since 1957 (!)

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Varese et al. / Percussion Music / New Jersey Percussion Ensemble

TAS List Records Available Now

  • This crazy fun 20th Century Percussion Music album featuring classical works which rely almost exclusively on percussion (piano and voice also make appearances) boasts INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades throughout
  • 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 of these TAS-approved sides are clear and spacious with sound that is positively jumping out of the speakers
  • This copy is transparent, speedy, and tonally correct from top to bottom like nothing else we played
  • Problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs, but once you hear how amazing sounding this copy is, you might be inclined, as we were, to stop counting stitches and just be swept away by the music

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