art-best-sound

The best sounding albums by these artists.

Paul Desmond / Take Ten – Living Stereo Tubey Magical Sound from 1963

More Living Stereo Titles

  • Paul Desmond’s 1963 Cool Jazz Classic returns to the site for the first time in years, here with INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from start to finish
  • These are just a few of the things we had to say about this amazing copy in our notes: “fully extended from top to bottom”…”big and rich and 3D”…”very full and rich sax”…”jumping out of the speakers”…”3D and lively guitar and snare”…”texture and space all there!” (side two)
  • The brilliant Ray Hall engineered – anyone hearing this copy will understand exactly why we love to find his fabulous 60s recordings here at Better Records
  • Desmond joins forces here with Jim Hall, whose guitar stylings perfectly complement Paul’s velvety sax tone
  • 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
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Everyone wanted Desmond to come up with a sequel to the monster hit Take Five; and so he did, reworking the tune and playfully designating the meter as 10/8. Hence Take Ten, a worthy sequel… There is not a single track here that isn’t loaded with ingeniously worked out, always melodic ideas.”

For us audiophiles both the sound and the music here are enchanting. If you’re looking to demonstrate just how good 1963 All Tube Analog sound can be, this killer copy will do the trick.

This vintage pressing is spacious, sweet and positively dripping with ambience. Talk about Tubey Magic, the liquidity of the sound here is positively uncanny. This is vintage analog at its best, so full-bodied and relaxed you’ll wonder how it ever came to be that anyone seriously contemplated trying to improve it. (more…)

Steely Dan – Pretzel Logic

More of the Music of Steely Dan

  • Here is an early ABC Stereo pressing with solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them on both sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Simply phenomenal amounts of Tubey Magic can be heard on every strum of the guitars, along with the kind of richness, body and harmonic coherency that have all but disappeared from modern remasterings (particularly on side two)
  • Becker and Fagen spared no effort in the recording of this album – the mix is perfection
  • A Top 100 Album and our pick for The Best Sounding Steely Dan Recording of Them All
  • 5 stars: “Steely Dan made more accomplished albums than Pretzel Logic, but they never made a better one.”

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Eric Clapton – 461 Ocean Boulevard

More of the Music of Eric Clapton

  • With two STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sides or close to them, this vintage UK import could not be beat – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • Big and full-bodied with exceptionally breathy vocals, strong rhythmic energy and virtually none of the smear that plagues so many copies
  • If you’re a Clapton fan, and what audiophile wouldn’t be?, this return to form released in 1974 is clearly a must own, a title it shares with two of his other top albums: Unplugged and Just One Night
  • As good as the best domestic pressings can be, these British LPs simply capture a good deal more of the Midrange Magic of the master tape than they do
  • 4 1/2 stars: “…the pop concessions on the album don’t detract from the rootsy origins of the material, whether it’s Johnny Otis’ ‘Willie and the Hand Jive,’ the traditional blues ‘Motherless Children,’ Bob Marley’s ‘I Shot the Sheriff,’ or Clapton’s emotional original ‘Let It Grow.'”
  • If you’re a Clapton fan, and what audiophile wouldn’t be?, this return to form released in 1974 is clearly a Must Own, a title it shares with two of his other top albums: Unplugged and Just One Night.
  • His debut album is a longtime personal favorite, but I’m not quite sure it would make the cut for our core rock collection

Tom Dowd recorded this album at Criteria in Miami, the same studio in which Layla was recorded. I’d say the sound here is substantially better than what you typically get on that album, keeping in mind the sonic variations from track to track on Layla, which can be fairly dramatic.

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Bryan Ferry – Let’s Stick Together (on Island)

More of the Music of Bryan Ferry

  • Boasting two solid Double Plus (A++) sides, this UK Island label pressing is doing just about everything right – fairly quiet vinyl too
  • For material and sound, we consider this to be the best of Bryan Ferry’s solo albums – it’s a blast from start to finish
  • The energy, presence, bass, and dynamic power (love that horn section!) place it well above his other side projects
  • 4 stars: “The title track itself scored Ferry a deserved British hit single, with great sax work from Chris Mercer and Mel Collins and a driving, full band performance. Ferry’s delivery is one of his best, right down to the yelps, and the whole thing chugs with post-glam power.”
  • If you’re a Roxy Music fan, this title from 1976 is surely a Must Own
  • We’ve recently compiled a list of records we think every audiophile should get to know better, along the lines of “the 1001 records you need to hear before you die,” but with less of an accent on morbidity and more on the joy these amazing audiophile-quality recordings can bring to your life. Bryan Ferry’s third solo album is a good example of a record many audiophiles may not know well but should get to know better.

As for material, he covers some early Roxy songs (brilliantly I might add); Beatles and Everly Bros. tunes; and even old R&B tracks like ‘Shame, Shame, Shame.’ Every song on this album is good, and I don’t think that can be said for any of his other solo projects. Five stars in my book.

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Ambrosia – Self-Titled

More of the Music of Ambrosia

  • This copy was delivering the goods for Ambrosia’s ambitious Masterpiece with very good Hot Stamper grades throughout
  • We guarantee there is more space, richness, presence, and performance energy on this copy than others you’ve heard or you get your money back – it’s as simple as that
  • A permanent member of our Top 100 and, on big speakers at loud levels, the best copies are Rock Demo Discs of the highest order
  • “Its songs skillfully blend strong melodic hooks and smooth vocal harmonies with music of an almost symphonic density.”
  • Ambrosia is an album that helped us dramatically improve our playback quality

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Kenny Rankin – Like A Seed

More Singer-Songwriter Albums

  • Like A Seed appears on the site for only the second time ever, here with an INCREDIBLE Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side one mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side two
  • There’s real Tubey Magic on this album, along with breathy vocals and in-your-listening-room midrange presence
  • These sides are bigger, more natural, warmer and more solid than those of any other copy you’ve heard or your money back
  • There are some bad marks (as is sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs) on “You Are My Woman,” but once you hear just how killer sounding this copy is, you might be inclined, as we were, to stop counting ticks and just be swept away by the music
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Songs like the title cut and ‘Stringman’ spotlight Rankin’s continued growth as a songwriter.”

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Yes – The Yes Album

More of the Music of Yes

  • You haven’t begun to hear the weight, energy and space of Yes’s brilliant third album until you’ve played one of our killer Hot Stamper copies
  • On the right system, at the right volume (very loud), this very record is an immersive experience like practically no other (also particularly on side two)
  • A Top 100 Album and the band’s best sounding record if you ask us (although Fragile can sound absolutely amazing too, just not as smooth and rich)
  • “Organist Tony Kaye, guitarist Steve Howe and bass player Chris Squire play as though of one mind, complementing each other’s work as a knowledgeable band should.”
  • This Prog Rock Masterpiece from 1971 is one that we feel belongs in every audiophile’s collection
  • The Yes Album (along with Fragile and Close to the Edge) is also one of those albums that helped us dramatically improve our playback quality

Drop the needle on this bad boy and you will find yourself on a Yes journey the likes of which you have never known. And that’s what I’m in this audiophile game for. The Heavy Vinyl crowd can have their dead-as-a-doornail, wake-me-when-it’s-over pressings that play quietly. I couldn’t sit through one with a gun to my head.

With the amazing Eddie Offord at the board, as well as the best batch of songs ever to appear on a single Yes album, they produced both their sonic and musical masterpiece — good news for audiophiles with Big Speakers who like to play their records loud.

These guys — and by that I mean this particular iteration of the band, the actual players that were involved in the making of this album — came together for the first time and created the sound of Yes on this very album, rather aptly titled when you think about it. (more…)

Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Out of This World Sound at Loud Levels

More of the Music of Emerson, Lake and Palmer

  • Boasting KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it throughout, this UK Island Pink Rim pressing makes the case that ELP’s debut is clearly one of the most powerful rock records ever made – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Spacious, rich and dynamic, with big bass and tremendous energy – these are just some of the things we love about Eddie Offord‘s engineering work on this band’s albums
  • 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
  • “Lucky Man” and “Take A Pebble” on this copy have Demo Disc quality sound like you won’t believe
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Lively, ambitious, almost entirely successful debut album… [which] showcased the group at its least pretentious and most musicianly …there isn’t much excess, and there is a lot of impressive musicianship here.”

If you’ve got the system to play this one loud enough, with the low-end weight and energy it requires, you are in for a treat. The organ that opens side two will rattle the foundation of your house if you’re not careful. This music really needs that kind of megawatt reproduction to make sense. This is bombastic prog that wants desperately to rock your world. At moderate levels, it just sounds overblown and silly. At loud levels, it actually will rock your world.

Near The Top Of The List

Without a doubt this record belongs in the Top Rock section. I’d even say it belongs in the Top Ten. It is one of the most dynamic and powerful rock recordings ever made. The organ on this album is wall to wall and floor to ceiling. The quiet interlude during “Take A Pebble” is about as quiet as any popular recording can ever be — the guitar is right at the noise floor. It’s amazing! (Which explains why so many domestic copies have groove damage. The record is just too hard to play for the average turntable. Hell, it’s hard to play with an audiophile turntable.)

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Oscar Peterson Trio – West Side Story

More Jazz Recordings Featuring the Piano

  • A West Side Story like you’ve never heard, with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them throughout this early Stereo Verve pressing
  • Rich, solid bass; you-are-there immediacy; energy and drive; instruments that are positively jumping out of the speakers – add it all up and you can see that this copy had the sound we were looking for
  • Which wouldn’t mean much if the music wasn’t swingin,’ but it is – every track shows just how good this trio was in 1962
  • Credit engineer Bob Simpson, the man behind the legendary Belafonte at Carnegie Hall live recording from a couple of years before
  • An absolute Must Own – for sound and music, this is our pick for The Best Oscar Peterson Album of All Time
  • It’s hard to imagine that any list of the Best Jazz Albums of 1962 would not have this record on it

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Kraftwerk – Autobahn

More Art Rock

  • Stunning sound on this fun, TAS-approved album, with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them from start to finish
  • The right early import pressings (a happy discovery from a few years back) have richness, transparency, space and presence not found anywhere else, I tell you!
  • Forget the dubby domestic pressings – they’re disappointing in the extreme
  • These imports are tough to find with the right stampers, the right sound and audiophile quality playing surfaces, which explains why it’s been over a year since our last big shootout
  • 5 stars: “The 22-minute title track became an international hit single and remains the peak of the band’s achievements – it encapsulates the band and why they are important within one track – but the rest of the album provides soundscapes equally as intriguing.”

This vintage British Vertigo 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…)