10 best cds any audiophile shud posses/Your favourites

Paco de Lucia - Entre dos aguas

This album is too good with Spanish compositions played on a Flamenco guitar with a very good sound-stage overall.

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For popular music..
1. Pink Floyd-Dark Side of The Moon (Black Triangle) CP35-3017
2. The Beatles- Abbey Road (Black Triangle) CP35-3016
3. The Who-Who's Next (SHM-SACD)
4. Bad Company-Bad Company (Audio Fidelity Gold Disc)
5. George Michael-Faith (CBS 32-8P-231)
6. Heart-Dreamboat Annie (Capitol C2 46491)
7. Marvin Gaye-What's Going On (MFSL UDSACD 2038)
8. Metallica-Master of Puppets (DCC Gold GZS-1133)
9. Queensryche-Operation Mindcrime (Any recording will do)
10. Rush-Moving Pictures (Any recording will do)
11. Rush-2112 (MFSL UDCD-590)
12. The Clash-London Calling (Japan MHCP-524)
13. The Police-Synchronicity (MFSL UDCD-511)
14. U2-The Joshua Tree (MFSL UDCD 650)
15. Eagles-Their Greatest Hits (DCC Gold GZS-1039)
16. Santana-Abraxas (MFSL UDCD 775)
17. Alison Krauss & The Union Station-Paper Airplane (Any recording will do)
...will probably add some more when I get back home. Good thread :)
 
Some CDs that I own with excellent recording quality (not necessarily my favorite albums music-wise)...

Pink Floyd - Dark side of the moon
Dream Theater - Dark clouds and silver linings
Tool - Lateralus
Zakir Husain - Making Music
The Absolute Sound 2004 compilation
Laura Fygi Songbook
George Benson - Breezin' (actually I only own the vinyl)
Art Pepper - They way it was
Prem Joshua - Water down the ganges
 
I dont know about CDs per se but these are some of the songs that always sound nice in any format. I think they are simply recorded/ mastered well.
Bad company-self titled album
Micheal jackson-thriller
Peggy lee- Fever(song)
Pink Floyd-Dark side of the moon.
Jack Johnson- Most of his albums
 
Some favourites are evergreen perennials but current favs keep shifting as one gets introduced to music one was not familiar with.

Here's my current favs:

1) Tutti Orchestral Sampler from Reference Recordings. This album features some truly outstanding performances. And the sonics is reference grade. For anyone who loves large-scale orchestral music, this is THE album to own.

2) Mokato Ozone - Live and Let Live - Love for Japan. Features a brilliant line-up of guest artists on this benefit album. Two fav tracks - Variations on a Dance featuring (Hawaiian) ukelele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro, and (Mozart's Clarinet Concerto mvt II) Adagio featuring Cuban clarinetist Paquito d'Rivera

3) Keith Jarrett's My Song. This is one of the more approachable albums by his European quartet. It features the inimitable Jan Garbarek on sax. The ever changing pace, tempo and moods on "The Journey Home" takes you from a somewhat hesitant and complex start to a fleshed out and bouncy middle, then finally a complete change of pace to a mellow and melancholic ending. This album sounds good on both vinyl and CD, and I'm spinning the record as I write this.

4) Tabula Rasa is a collaboration of American banjo maestro Bela Fleck with Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (on Mohan Veena), Jie Bing Chen (on Erhu) and a few other Indian musicians. Together, they make mind-bending music. Not to be confused with Tabula Rasa by Estonian composer Arvo Part:)

5) Aja by Steely Dan is probably the pinnacle of this duo. Features some of the finest musicians of the late 70s. The sonics continue to be the standard by which other jazz albums are measured. And the music and clever songwriting continue to entertain.

6) Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms is another perennial favourite. Good music, outstanding sonics. I have the European vinyl pressing and it sounds very good. The XRCD is also outstanding. It is unfortunate that this album spelled the beginning of the end of this once tight band.

7) Daft Punk's Random Access Memory is a musical tour de force. IMHO, it is one of the better albums of the modern time, though they choose to stick to mostly bluesy minor chords (on the numbers performed by them and not on collaborations). It is easy to pigeonhole the Punks as an EDM act, but this album shows the world of their musical depth. They're surely more than a electronica dance band. I guess they pulled off a major coup by making Giorgio Moroder - who many would agree is the father of disco - speak about his life, set to a memorable and catchy tune. Another smart inclusion is Nile Rodgers on electric guitar. He defined much of the funk disco sound of the late 70s and 80s with his uniquely funk rhythm guitar (he's the guy who plays the Fender Stratocaster in the band Chic). In a way, this album is a tribute to their musical heroes.

8) Having recently attended a concert by the Symphony Orchestra of India and the 108 member Bournemouth Symphony chorus performing Verdi's Requiem, I'm listening to various interpretations of this great work. Current fav is Ferenc Fricsay conducting RIAS Symphony Orchester of Berlin with the Chor Der St. Hedwigs Kathedrale and RIAS Kammerchor.

9 and 10 are probably my own :) compilation CDs of music I like (various artists). It's good to have a bunch of CDs of very familiar music to test improvements after swapping out gear in the system, or to judge unfamiliar systems.

Hoping to hear more of what others here like.
 
Jls001, would like to know what's on CDs 9 & 10. Could you please list? Thanks

Actually there are three:) And some of the tracks are from the albums listed above. Anyway, here goes:

CD1

1. Spyro Gyra: Pipo's Song
2. Tracy Chapman: Baby Can I Hold You
3. Rimsky-Korsakov - Dance of the Tumblers (Minnesota Orchestra)
4. Rokia Traore: The Man I Love
5. Mokato Ozone ft Paquito d'Rivera: Adagio
6. Natasha Beidingfield: Wild Horses
7. Petra Magoni & Feruccio Spinnetti: Eleanor Rigby
8. Rodrigo y Gabriella: Tamacun
9. Arnaldo Atunes: Se Podo Acontecer
10. Arne Jansen: The Great He-Goat
11. Gotye: Somebody That I Used To Know
12. Sibelius: Violin Concerto - Allegro ma non troppo (Hilary Hahan, violin)
13. Peggy Lee: He's My Man
14. Takeshi Inomata: Fools Rush In
15. Ana Moura: Sou Do Fado, Sou Fadista
16. Art Pepper: You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To

CD2

1. Leonard Cohen: Coming Home
2. Feng Zi Cun: Jolly Meeting - Tang Jun Qiao Magical Flute
3. Jason Mraz: I Won't Give Up
4. Mokato Ozone ft Christian McBride and Jeff Watts: Goldaze
5. The Alan Parsons Project: Limelight
6. Isao Suzuki Trio: Aqua Marine
7. KCi & Jojo: All My Life
8. Jeremy Monteiro Trio: Falling in Love With Love
9. Paul McCartney: My Valentine
10. Arnold - The Padstow Lifeboat (Dallas Wind Symphony)
11. Jamie Cullum: Don't Stop The Music
12. Salvatore Accardo - Paganini VC1 in D Major Op 6 III Rondo: Allegro spirituoso
13. Tears for Fears: Woman in Chains
14. Orchestral Maneouvres in the Dark: Metroland

CD3

1. Allan Taylor: The Beat Hotel
2. Northwest Sinfonietta: Carmen Fantasy
3. Elvis Presley: Fever
4. Marianne Thorsen - Trondheim Solistene - Oyvind Gimse: Mozart Violin Concerto No 4 in D Major KV 218 - Allegro
5. Kari Bremnes: Lover in Berlin
6. Gregory Porter: No Love Dying
7. Steely Dan: Black Cow
8. Sibelius: Symphonic Poem Finlandia (Karajan)
9. Souad Massi: Roaui
10. Michael Buble: Me and Mrs Jones
11. Spyro Gyra: You Can Count on Me
12. Barb Jungr: Lilac Wine
13. Hugh Masakela: Stimela

PS: don't worry if your system can't handle some of the torture tracks on that list. I haven't come across one which will play every one of them with lan and grace. Some do it better than others. Mine buckles under the pressure of many of these tracks.
 
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13. Hugh Masakela: Stimela


I love this track ever since I heard it a year or so back on a well tuned system...been looking for the CD or Vinyl but its very hard to come by...not counting discogs where you might have to pledge your soul to pay for it...
 
I love this track ever since I heard it a year or so back on a well tuned system...been looking for the CD or Vinyl but its very hard to come by...not counting discogs where you might have to pledge your soul to pay for it...
Love it too!
I have it on the first Dali CD. Wonder if you can still find it with some Dali dealer
 
I agree on the Dali CD. Excellent to setup systems. See if you can find one with a dealer and copy it using Exact Audio Copy

Also,

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Eric Clapton - Unplugged
Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing
 
I love this track ever since I heard it a year or so back on a well tuned system...been looking for the CD or Vinyl but its very hard to come by...not counting discogs where you might have to pledge your soul to pay for it...
I have these all three volumes of Dali cd.. They are just awesome..
 
dire straits / mark knopfler - mk always gets it spot on when it comes to the recording. everything is just perfect. transparent, right amount of forward, good sound separation...just because of this listening to his music is so much better. ive always wondered why so many other artists dont get this right. the intro to money for nothing is always a good demo song - esp where the drums and the electric guitar kick in

hell freezes over dvd - apart from hotel california, which is generally the first song you listen to when you go for an audition, heart of the matter is my favorite on that disc to showcase the system

cranberries - there was once a song that i heard at an audition - i loved it and have never been able to find it since

neil diamond - love the mid range and vocals

https://youtu.be/3fpupBCL6TE - this video of queen and david bowie live - under pressure. the drums, guitar and the pure energy and vocals...hair raising.

quite a few songs of michael buble

eric clapton unplugged - the intro is amazing

norah jones, tracy chapman for obvious reasons

some edm and rap also can showcase a system well. i listen to a bit of edm but not rap

and many more....
 
If the Purpose is to listen to good music as well as test your System I would recommend:
1) the SONY Test CD first issued in 2005 with some excellent covers and originals of popular songs cutting across genres - For All round acoustics
2) Jethro Tull Greatest Hits ( for wide varierty of instruments)
3) Queen - A Night at the Opera ( for Vocal range and Harmony)
 
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