[bthorny]

I want everybodys opinon on what they think is the best album and song (it doesn't have to necessarily be from the best album) to listen on headphones?

I'll still don't have any favorites quite yet but.....I'm interested in your picks.

 

[NewSc2]

probably my 3 favorite albums of all time.

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here, The Wall
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

I know every note, spoken word, and mumble. Hearing these on a good pair of headphones blow me away.

EDIT: Although Kind of Blue has a nasty problem of putting me to sleep sometimes. It's just such relaxing music, and I usually get my quiet time alone to listen around 1am-3am.

 

[dkm24]

Steely Dan- Two Against Nature
Just a well recorded album

Mickey Hart- Planet Drum
All drums, recorded with Sennheiser mikes in a wooden partitioned room. All sorts of spatial cues.

Stevie Ray Vaughn- Most all of his stuff
You will be surprised at the quality of his recordings.

Art Pepper- Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section
Recorded in stereo in 1956 or 57 by Roy DuNann This album is just unreal. It probably is the best recorded album I have and it was done when stereo was in it's infancy. Here is an article about the engineering.

http://www.jsonline.com/onwisconsin/...ug02/63412.asp

 

[Mike Scarpitti]

Quote:

Originally posted by bthorny I want everybodys opinon on what they think is the best album and song (it doesn't have to necessarily be from the best album) to listen on headphones? I'll still don't have any favorites quite yet but.....I'm interested in your picks.

It's a Funny World by Mae Moore

Films for Radio by Over the Rhine

Falling Farther In by October Project

Cite de la Musique by Dino Saluzzi

Astrakan Cafe by Anouar Brahem

 

[Kali]

Hmm well the 3 albums i can think of off the top of my head as great headphone listening:

Pink Floyd - Is There Anybody Out There (The Wall Live)
Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights
Miles Davis Quintet - Steamin' With..

 

[Spyro]

Pat Metheny Group, "Proof"

Acoustic Alchemy, "The Beautiful Game"

 

[grinch]

the dave brubeck quartet - live at carnegie hall

when discussing this album with audio&me, he states that "[this] album is MADE for hd600" and i might have to agree. recorded live with two mics, the soundstage is incredible and the performance so laid back yet involving it is quickly becoming one of my reference albums. pickup the latest columbia remaster whenever you're in the mood for low-key and laid-back jazz, but don't worry: it's not elevator stuff.

tori amos - boys for pele

this is an album that has only become more and more enhanced as my headphone system has gotten more and more expensive.

you wouldn't believe how often she taps the piano with an idle hand, or keeps beat with her foot on the floor of the studio. the tiny nuances of sound that can be called from this album are incredible. tori amos has always been, in my opinion, an extremely intimate performer and listening to this album on headphones just further proves it.

pink floyd - wish you were here

though i hate to be cliche, pink floyd made incredible albums with tons of layers of things happening. this has always been my favorite floyd album and listening to it now, i love catching the little sound clips and progressions that make it incredible. a friend i once had told me that if you listen to this album while on acid you go through every possible human emotion by the end of it. (thought i might throw that out there heh)

sigur ros - ( )

incredibly well-recorded and rather impressive musically this was one of my favorite releases from last year. the added details from headphones only breathe more life into the album. this is an album that i really think was made to listen at home in a quiet environment, or lying in bed on the way towards sleep wearing headphones. there are no hit singles, it's just a single progression towards something that i'm not quite sure i will every truly understand.


that's all for now.

 

[KJ869]

Devil doll - Eliogabalus, The intro, the nyance in duetto of mirror. and of course Mr.Doctors wierd singing that realy buts the midrange to nice test

 

[AndrewB]

subatomicglue-globalenemy

Pink Floyd- Meddle

Hawkwind- Hall of the Mountain Grill

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Jean-Michel Jarre, Equinoxe -- especially "Part IV", it tickles.

ELO, "Fire on High" from Face the Music and
Joe Walsh, "Life's Been Good" from But Seriously, Folks... -- I dig that split, close-mic'd, strummed acoustic guitar sound.

Genesis, "Los Endos", Trick of the Tail -- nice use of a monaural/stereo transition for one of the climaxes.

Admitted, these are all gimmicky. For "realism", I would recommend binaural recordings.

 

[sacriste]

I just found The Mask Of Zorro soundtrack, amazing dynamics and rich textures (handclaps, spanish guitars and tap). A very inmersive experience.
My favorite recorded sound is Marley's Ghost album "Across The River". I don't have enough English vocabulary to express how beautiful it is, if I had to translate to a visual metaphor I call it "golden velvet sound".
For an easy choice, Buena Vista Social Club. With the right gear you feel you're in that vintage La Habana recording studio with all this legendary people having REAL fun.
A single song? A song from the Shefield Drive disc from a group called The Usual Suspects, is a musical journey from the jungle to the city and then they put both together in perfect harmony, you can hear thousand of details big and little, far, close, up and down. It's amazing. Highly recommended. The rest of the album is good to great, if you ask me.

 

[2993]

Jazz: Dave Brubeck -Take 5
Gene Kruppa -The Drum battle

Blues: Miles Davis -Birth of the cool

Drum and bass: LTJ bukem -logical progressions
Krust -Coded language

Techno: Ritchie hawtin -De:9/Decks fx and a 909/ Sheet one/ Muzik

Electronic: The death of the cool
Radioactive man
Aphex twin Selected ambient works 85 to 92


All great bits of music, but its worth paying the neccessary few grand to hear them on vinyl, with a clean AMP and some decent headphones or speakers.

 

[dwtjan]

I am SO discouraged. I wrote a large response and lost it. I wanted to detail all I could, and did. Not really up to that again, so I'll try my best. ELECTRIC LADYLAND is my one and only pick for a headphone choice of any kind. I was in 10th grade when it was released. Although it is a spectacular album on all levels, my reasons are due totally to the psychedelic aspect of it. I was full blown into Haight Asbury, acid and Timothy Leary. There is no comparison to ELECTRIC LADYLAND to this day, I've just learned. Finding that it is still considered years ahead of its time. I find that REAL cool. Tracks 11 and 12 are actually one song. There's no break between and it is a continuing story. These are my favorite songs for headphones ever. If you listen to the story, which is Hendrix and his lady are walking into the sea to live forever. Not to die, but to be reborn, away from man...anyway, with knowing this you'll be able to FEEL their journey AND the ocean. It's mind boggling how he does this. There is NO way to experience what Hendrix puts your brain through unless you use headphones. Like acid. No way to explain. You'd have to experience it, if you're into that kinda thing. To get the maximum full force I've found there is only one way. Which is best to lay down and have no outside distractions whatsoever. Not even moving, if you can handle that, yourself. Do your best to allow your brain to fully take in all Hendrix throws at it. And it's massive. The louder the better. At times you'll feel either your brain or your headphones are going to explode. Love it! Not many of us back then had the ability to experience it with headphones. I was fortunate to have a friend who allowed me to come every single night for three months to listen to it twice. The only catch was that I not even utter a word as he was really into his studying. Not even a hello or good bye. Hence the listening to it totally still. Although it is kick-ass any way you listen, if you really would like a glimpse into that world, at least give it a try. At least that way you'd have gotten the most out of it and probably would listen with more pleasure and awe whichever way you listen to it thereafter. If you do, please let me know what you thought about it. Peace! Ha! By the way, there are awesome
songs in and of themselves. But with headphones you'll discover Hendrix does them also using these effects, his way.

 

[Shoreman]

Memo to dwtjan:

Paragraph breaks.

Not meant critically...just a friendly suggestion. And welcome.

As for the OP's question, just a few off the top of my head:

Eric Clapton Unplugged
The Road to Escondido - J.J. Cale and Eric Clapton
On The Night - Dire Straits
Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits

 

[Mink]

Richard Buckner - Ed's Song
Sun Kil Moon - Lucky Man or Carry Me Ohio