1966-must-own-rock-pop-etc.

Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 – Self-Titled

More of the Music of Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66

  • Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66’s debut LP, here with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it throughout this original A&M stereo pressing
  • This side one is rich, full, open, and spacious, conveying a sense of the amazing performances of these great musicians, and side two is not far behind in all those areas
  • The drums and percussion are powerful and punchy with lots of room around them, with plenty of WHOMP and good extension on the top end (particularly on side one)
  • The toughest of the band’s albums to find with audiophile sound and surfaces, which is why it’s been years since our last shootout
  • 4 1/2 stars: “The hit was Jorge Ben’s ‘Mas Que Nada,’ given a catchy, tight Bossa Nova arrangement with the voice of Lani Hall soaring above the swinging rhythm section. But other tracks leap out as well; the obvious rouser is the Brazilian go-go treatment of the Beatles’ ‘Day Tripper’…”

This is one of my favorite albums, one which certainly belongs in any audiophile’s collection. Better sound is hard to find — when you have the right pressing. Unfortunately those are pretty hard to come by. Most LPs are grainy, shrill, thin, veiled and full of compressor distortion in the louder parts: this is not a recipe for audiophile listening pleasure.

But we love this album here at Better Records, and have since day one. One of the first records I ever played for my good audio buddy Robert Pincus (Cisco Records) to demonstrate the sound of my system was Sergio’s syncopated version of “Day Tripper” off this album. That was decades ago, and I can honestly say I have never tired of this music in the intervening years.

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Frank Sinatra – Strangers In The Night

More of the Music of Frank Sinatra

  • Boasting two solid Double Plus (A++) sides, this vintage Reprise pressing is doing just about everything right – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • This Sinatra title surprised us with its Demo Disc sound – on the blog, it’s one of the records we “discovered” with audiophile quality sound, because who knew the album could sound this good but us?
  • Clearly one of the better sounding Reprise-era Sinatra albums we have ever played
  • Credit must be given to the extraordinarily inventive arrangements of Nelson Riddle and the Tubey Magical engineering of Lee Herschberg
  • 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
  • “Sinatra’s singing is relaxed, confident, and surprisingly jazzy, as he plays with the melody of ‘The Most Beautiful Girl in the World’ and delivers a knockout punch with the assured, breathtaking ‘Summer Wind.'”

We cannot recommend this pressing highly enough. If you want to know what the best sounding Sinatra records sound like, this is your chance. Folks, in my opinion it simply does not get any better than a killer White Hot Stamper of Strangers In The Night.

These originals are the only way to go for ’60s Sinatra, but finding them in good shape on quiet vinyl is no picnic and only a few of them actually sound the way we want them to. It’s a real treat to be in the presence of the Chairman Of The Board, in his prime, working his magic — but only an exceptional copy like this one has the power to put him right in the room with you.

What to Listen For

The Tubey Magic has to be heard to be believed. I cannot recall hearing a richer, smoother, tubier Frank Sinatra album in all my born days.

Weighty brass is key to the sound of more than just the horn section. Any leanness or thinness in the brass is instantly heard as Sinatra without weight and richness to his voice. This is the instantly recognizable sound of most reissues, the main reason we stopped buying them years ago. Having played so many amazing original stereo pressings for our shootouts over the years we don’t think that will change anytime soon. There simply is no substitute for a clean stereo pressing on the original label.

Full, Rich, Breathy, Present vocals are obviously critically important as well. This copy delivers some of the best we heard.

On this copy the orchestra and band are putting out plenty of low end, reaching down well into whomp land. It’s a thrill to hear to hear that sound on these swinging arrangements coming out of my speakers.

And of course the copies that are rich and tubey but also big, clear and open did the best in our shootout. (more…)

The Beatles – Revolver

Hot Stamper Pressings of Revolver Available Now

  • Both sides of this British stereo pressing were doing most everything right, earning outstanding Double Plus (A++) grades
  • Here is the space, energy, presence, clarity and massive bottom end you had no idea were even possible on Revolver – what a record!
  • 14 amazing tracks including “Taxman,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Here, There and Everywhere,” “Yellow Submarine,” “Good Day Sunshine,” “Got To Get You Into My Life,” and “Tomorrow Never Knows”
  • 5 stars: “Even after Sgt. Pepper, Revolver stands as the ultimate modern pop album and it’s still as emulated as it was upon its original release.”

Want to be blown away by Beatles sound you never imagined you would ever be able to experience? Drop the needle on Taxman on this very side one — that’s your ticket to ride, baby! We were knocked out by it and we guarantee you will be too.

This Is How Good It Can Get

This superb pressing has all the qualities we look for on Revolver: vocal presence, Tubey Magic, huge weight to the bottom end, and, most importantly of all, energy. It’s also exceptionally smooth, sweet and above all analog-sounding — the upper-midrange grit and grain that compromise most pressings are nowhere to be found here.

It’s as BIG and SOLID as a rock record can sound. The best copies have practically zero coloration. They let us think we are sitting in the control room enjoying the playback with Geoff and George.

Unlike so many copies of the album, the band here is enthusiastic and rockin’ like crazy. This copy brings the music to LIFE in a way that few others can. That’s our definition of Hot Stamper sound in a nutshell.

Listen to how grungy and smooth the guitars are on And Your Bird Can Sing — they are close to perfection.

The trumpet on For No One has rarely sounded as good as it does here — you can really hear air and spit being pushed through the horn. That’s not phony detail, that’s what a real horn sounds like if you are close to it.

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Bob Dylan – Blonde On Blonde

More of the Music of Bob Dylan

  • These early Stereo 360 pressings were doing just about everything right, with all FOUR sides earning roughly Double Plus (A++) grades
  • You won’t believe how rich, full and lively this album can sound on a copy this good (particularly on sides one, two and three)
  • Includes tons of quintessential Dylan classics: “Rainy Day Women,” “I Want You,” “Just Like A Woman,” and more – they all sound phenomenal
  • 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
  • 5 stars: “Blonde on Blonde is an album of enormous depth, providing endless lyrical and musical revelations on each play… It’s the culmination of Dylan’s electric rock & roll period — he would never release a studio record that rocked this hard, or had such bizarre imagery, ever again.”

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Simon and Garfunkel – Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme

More of the Music of Simon and Garfunkel

  • A Parsley, Sage… like you’ve never heard, with excellent Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it on both sides of this vintage Stereo 360 pressing – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Their best recording, a Top 100 album and a Demo Disc for Tubey Magical voices and guitars (particularly on side one)
  • Especially smooth, present, breathy vocals (also particularly on side one) – this is the sound we love here at Better Records
  • Having played them by the hundreds, we’ve found that midrange presence and resolution are precisely what go missing on the modern Heavy Vinyl reissue, and that if those qualities are important to you, vintage vinyl is the only solution to your problem
  • 4 1/2 stars: “…an achievement akin to the Beatles’ Revolver or the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album, and just as personal and pointed as either of those records at their respective bests.”
  • Fans of this folky duo should definitely find a place for this 1966 release, which is also their best sounding album
  • One specific set of stampers always win our shootouts, and when you hear them you will know why – the sound is big, rich and clear like no other
  • We’ve discovered a number of titles in which one stamper always wins, and here are some others

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Frank Sinatra and Count Basie – Sinatra At The Sands

More Frank Sinatra

  • These original Blue and Green Reprise Stereo pressings were doing just about everything right, with all FOUR sides earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them
  • Truly one of the greatest live albums of all time, recorded late at night in the big room at the Sands Hotel in Vegas
  • This is Basie and Sinatra in their natural habitat and in their prime, putting on the show of a lifetime
  • On the right system, this is about as close as you get to hearing Sinatra singing live in your listening room, with the added realism of a live Vegas show (particularly on sides one, two, and four)
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Basie and the orchestra are swinging and dynamic, inspiring a textured, dramatic, and thoroughly enjoyable performance from Sinatra … the definitive portrait of Frank Sinatra in the 60s.”

This double album presents Sinatra and Basie at the height of their powers, in a setting especially conducive to both men’s music, the big room at the Sands Hotel in Vegas. If you missed it — and I’m sure most all of us did — here’s your chance to go back in time and be seated with the beautiful people front row center. This two-disc all tube-mastered analog set is practically the only way you’ll ever be able to hear the greatest vocalist of his generation — in his prime, no less — fronting one of the swingingest big bands of the time.

The presence and immediacy here are staggering. Turn it up and Frank is right in front of you, putting on the performance of a lifetime.

The sound is big, open, rich, and full. The highs are extended and silky sweet. The bass is tight and punchy. And this copy gives you more life and energy than most, by a long shot. Very few records out there offer the kind of realistic, lifelike sound you get from this pressing.

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The Rolling Stones – Aftermath

More Rolling Stones


  • Excellent Tubey Magical 60s British sound throughout this vintage UK Decca pressing, with both sides earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • “Lady Jane,” “Under My Thumb” and “Mother’s Little Helper” are three of the best sounding tracks – all are lively and solid here on this outstanding Double Plus side one
  • 5 stars: “… the group began incorporating the influences of psychedelia and Dylan into their material with classics like ‘Paint It Black,’ an eerily insistent number one hit graced by some of the best use of sitar (played by Brian Jones) on a rock record. Other classics included the jazzy ‘Under My Thumb,’ where Jones added exotic accents with his vibes, and the delicate Elizabethan ballad ‘Lady Jane,’ where dulcimer can be heard…”

The sound of this pressing is going to be very hard to beat. Until just recently it had been ages since we’d found a copy of Aftermath with sound quality of this caliber to list on the site. It’s surprisingly clean, clear and smooth, with prodigious amounts of Tubey Magic, which is the kind of sound that lets you play the album at the appropriate volume — LOUD.

Although some songs sound amazing, not every track is well recorded. We just have to accept that the Stones are not The Beatles when it comes consistent quality for their earliest recordings. However, a strong copy like this one paired with the great music on the album will certainly deliver a lot of pleasure to audiophile Stones fans.

Finally! Top Sound for the Stones

This is our favorite of the early Stones records. You can’t argue with “Lady Jane” and “Under My Thumb,” two of the best tracks this band ever put down on tape.

“Lady Jane,” “Under My Thumb” and “Mother’s Little Helper” are three of the best sounding tracks on side one. On side two, “Out of Time” and “I Am Waiting” are especially well recorded

Credit must go to the engineering talents of Dave Hassinger.

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The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds

More of the Music of The Beach Boys

  • A Pet Sounds like you’ve never heard, with stunning Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound from start to finish – just shy of our Shootout Winner
  • Fairly quiet for this pressing – noisy vinyl is the rule, not the exception
  • 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 Beach Boys revolutionized the popular music of the day with their genius for harmony, and a copy like this has their voices sounding the way they should
  • 5 stars: “The group here reached a whole new level in terms of both composition and production, layering tracks upon tracks of vocals and instruments to create a richly symphonic sound.”

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The Byrds / Fifth Dimension

More of the Music of The Byrds

  • Fifth Dimension returns to the site for the first time in years, here with INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound throughout this original Stereo 360 pressing
  • Both of these sides are full and rich, yet clear, lively and spacious like nothing you have ever heard
  • It also has an extended top like few Byrds’ records have ever had, in our experience anyway, and we’ve played them by the score
  • 4 1/2 stars: “… its high points were as innovative as any rock music being recorded in 1966.”

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The Young Rascals – Self-Titled

More of The Young Rascals 

More Rock and Pop

  • The Young Rascals’ self-titled debut LP hits the site with excellent grades from start to finish
  • We chanced upon an amazing sounding stereo original about ten years ago, and only ten years later (!) we finally had enough clean copies to do a proper shootout
  • We often say that the average copy of Album X is no great shakes — here’s a title where almost no copies sound good and the average pressing is awful
  • Big, rich, energetic, with tons of analog Tubey Magic, this blue and green Atlantic stereo pressing has exactly the right sound for this music
  • 4 1/2 stars: “The Young Rascals is that rare example of a genuinely great album that got heard and played, and sold and sold. [It] couples a raw garage band sound with compelling white soul more successfully than just about any record since the Beatles’ Please Please Me.”

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