A crucial aspect that no one has mentioned yet is spindle wear. That is, marks around the spindle hole. These can indicate how often a record has been played. Little or no spindle marks is a good sign for minimal surface noise (although not always the case). If a record looks nice (no marks...

I like his choice of words - he doesn't call it metal. Forsaker doesn't sound that great IMO :/

Quote: Originally Posted by kwitel Wow; I had no idea this was the norm and to be honest, didnt even put two and two together with regard to the correlation between the time period and lack of audiophile type recording That said, I am starting to get very excited about this Jazz...

Quote: Originally Posted by RedSky0 Also to completely digress, am I the only one who finds Kid A incredibly overrated? I could name dozens of albums which were released both before and after that record that do atmosphere better and yet are also less clinical, anesthetic and far more...

In Utero is their clear best to me, but I'm undecided whether I prefer Bleach to Nevermind. Underrated, for sure.

Quote: Originally Posted by Mike Tiano The individual album reviews on Pitchfork are not specifically about the remasters--they only address each album from a musical standpoint and contains nothing about the remastered version. I want to see reviews of each album individually, and if...

Colors was a huge favourite for a brief time, but it sounds a bit tired and samey now. Still, looking forward to the new album. I hope they do the logical progression onwards in their music, and don't merely do a rehash of Colors. here's hoping.

I don't mind Viva Emptiness & Discouraged Ones; they're good collections of poppy metal songs. But other than that, I can't stand their new stuff. Dance of December Souls, For Funerals to Come and Brave Murder Day are three of my all-time favourite metal releases... but their new stuff sounds so...

I saw PT last time they came to Australia. They are exactly like the DVD - precise playing, perfect replicas of the studio performances. Whether that's a positive or negative is personal opinion, but I did enjoy their show. Amazing drumming by Gavin, too.

yep, this album sucks... I wasn't a huge fan of Rapid Eye Movement either, aside from a couple of songs. the last two albums have been bland and uninspired, and rehashed. FWIW, I think Second Life Syndrome is one of the few masterpieces of this decade of progressive rock, and Out of Myself isn't...

60s. free & avant-garde jazz (later works of John Coltrane is enough to put this decade in front...) like Albert Ayler, Coltrane, Pharaoh Sanders, et al. plus plenty of innovative late 60's rock, like: King Crimson's debut, Doors' debut, Leonard Cohen's first two albums, Captain...

Quote: Originally Posted by DavidMahler P.S...... I in no way mean to insult anyone's taste, cause I think all the albums up there are great with the exception of one or two..... BUT.....you take a look at that very accurate list of great albums from this decade and realize just how...

XtremeMusic & Vista Home Premium going fine here. I can't even remember what drivers I'm using, they might not be the latest. what exactly isn't working?

Sonny Sharrock - Ask the Ages surprised this wasn't mentioned yet

Quote: Originally Posted by Dublo7 I don't know. This just has no emotional resonance with me whatsoever. It reminds me of some awful Dream Theater album. Maybe something will click soon enough. I agree. they've gone backwards with this album. Stupid Dream - FOABP is an...

some great albums mentioned already.. some to add to the list: Charles Mingus- Black Saint and the Sinner Lady; possibly one of the greatest jazz compositions of all time. Charles Mingus - Blues & Roots; fantastic bluesy, spiritual jazz. McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy; amazing lineup, amazing...

assuming they're consistent with their ratings... most likely Kid A. hopefully Godspeed You Black Emperor's "Lift Your Skinny Fists.." makes the list... in fact I'd be very surprised if it didn't place highly, since they're so hipster-core.

sounds like you're talking about Hot Rats-onwards fusion era Zappa rather than his early experimental stuff. In which case I'd recommend seeking out more jazz fusion, like Mahavishnu Orchestra, particularly their first two albums "The Inner Mounting Flame" and "Birds of Fire". both are possibly...

Quote: Originally Posted by Geoff Rymer Jerome did you end up spinning OK Computer? Was I just unlucky to get a noisy copy or was yours similar? my copies of OKC, The Bends and Kid A Capitol reissues are dead quiet, sounds like you got a noisy pressing.

roughly ranked: 1. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon 2. Genesis - Selling England by the Pound 3. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King 4. King Crimson - Red 5. King Crimson - Larks' Tongues In Aspic 6. Pink Floyd - Animals 7. Gong - Flying Teapot 8. Genesis - A Trick of the...

oh ok, I misunderstood. Sorry As for finding information about certain CDs and their mastering, etc. I would suggest the Steve Hoffman forums. there are usually numerous threads on artists and/or certain releases suggesting the 'best' mastering of it (ie. an original CD master circa late...

Quote: Originally Posted by Nubster Yeah, I can understand quality in one way being subjective but I mean quality as in the technical aspect. Less or zero artifacts, background noise, distortion, ect. you've already been brainwashed by this site. good music isn't about being...

This is what most pop music sounds like. Heavily compressed until it's just a wall of noise. Rick Rubin also produced Metallica's Death Magnetic, which has disgraceful sound quality. Gonna also have to jump on the 'I hate this album' train. Their early stuff is decent, but MTM is just awful.

I'm with you, but I think this applies to most new vinyl nowadays. It's a real shame, and turns off those who are buying into the 'vinyl resurgence' but are constantly being disappointed with bad pressings (myself included). The worst problem I've come across is small white marks/dots lined...

Quote: Originally Posted by TimJo As noted in an earlier post, the one exception to this advice is the Jimi Hendrix - Axis: Bold As Love. This was the only pressing so far in the Back To Black series that is a brand new mastering, and all analog using the original source tape. See post...