Quote: I think this issue of CDs being released with RIAA EQ might be an urban myth. Or at best an exaggeration of an isolated incident. You know how Chinese whispers work. I did a fair amount of Googling and could not find any facts to support CDs had been released with RIAA EQ...

If you mean FILE format I'd say FLAC encoded without normalization. I think it is best because it can be tagged and retains all the music for the best sound. It is lossless. Any file format that is lossy such as MP3 is not very good when compared to lossless on a very good listening system...

Try Kings of Convenience - definitely acoustic but these guys sing in a gentler style to your sample, but still worth a go for you. Their best albums IMHO is Quiet is The New Loud and Riot on an Empty Street. Both albums are very well recorded and have an honest in the room feel to them...

I experienced a great example of this 6 months ago. I'd recorded a show on my PVR of Paloma Faith on a TV show called Live From Abbey Road in which they feature live sessions of various artists. Never seen or heard of her before. I was very impressed with the 3 songs that I saw Paloma Faith...

Listed in no particular order...   Mofi SACD - Blood, Sweat & Tears self titled - track #7 Spinning Wheel originally recorded October 9, 1968. Awesome open sound stage, huge dynamics and great separation of instruments.   Mofi SACD - Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Couldn't...

I'd  steer clear of the "Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Collection" because it was released in 2005. This means it more than likely has been remastered with compression/loudness and made over bright.   I own Pyromania and Hysteria both on MFSL CD and old standard CDs (Vertigo made in Germany...

In general I find most remasters previous to about 1995 are good, after that most have been made over bright and compressed to make them seem good on cheap gear and iPods. There are of course exceptions to this general guideline.   The up shot is you can pickup used original CDs that sound...