[Radioking59]

Sonney Boy Williamson II  

I have the Analogue Productions SACD of this album and it is excellent. Highly recommended if you like blues.

 

[mateored]

There are some good suggestions in this thread (and, honestly, some puzzling ones too).  I'll try not to repeat previous suggestions here, although I want to thank the posters who recommended Diana Krall: Live in Paris and Muddy Waters: The Folk Singer.  Both excellent recordings. The Muddy Waters one is really surprising, given the age and type of music.  I didn't expect it to be so engaging.  It's not the last word in clarity, but it has a really nice sound to it (even if the vocals have too much reverb/echo).   
 
The first albums that came to my mind are:
• Lyle Lovett: Joshua Judges Ruth
• Chris Isaak: The Baja Sessions
• Phish: Farmhouse 
 
In fact, pretty much all of the albums by these artists are really well recorded.  
 
Also worth noting:  I love SRV, but most of his recordings are pretty mediocre.  I just discovered that "The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble" has much better sounding versions of many songs.  It doesn't say "Remastered" but it certainly sounds a lot better to me.  

 

[mateored]

Let me also add:
• Grateful Dead: Reckoning.  (If you search on-line, you can find free, hi-res versions of the recordings that were used to make up this album, called Live at the Warfield, I think)
• the Jerry Garcia Band box set
• most of the Sigur Ros albums

 

[MattTCG]

  There are some good suggestions in this thread (and, honestly, some puzzling ones too).  I'll try not to repeat previous suggestions here, although I want to thank the posters who recommended Diana Krall: Live in Paris and Muddy Waters: The Folk Singer.  Both excellent recordings. The Muddy Waters one is really surprising, given the age and type of music.  I didn't expect it to be so engaging.  It's not the last word in clarity, but it has a really nice sound to it (even if the vocals have too much reverb/echo).   
 
The first albums that came to my mind are:
• Lyle Lovett: Joshua Judges Ruth
• Chris Isaak: The Baja Sessions
• Phish: Farmhouse 
 
In fact, pretty much all of the albums by these artists are really well recorded.  
 
Also worth noting:  I love SRV, but most of his recordings are pretty mediocre.  I just discovered that "The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble" has much better sounding versions of many songs.  It doesn't say "Remastered" but it certainly sounds a lot better to me.  

 
Loving on the JJR album!!
 
thanks..

 

[Ted Arlington]

Just to add a few different ones:
 
Sinead O'Connor - Am I not your girl?
Thomas Dolby - The Flat Earth
Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Welcome to the Pleasure Dome
Chris Rea - The Road to Hell
Soul to Soul - Club Classics volume 1
The Blue Nile - A Walk across the Rooftops
Donald Fagen - Morph the Cat

 

[MattTCG]

Okay, today I stumbled across a live recording that is up there with the best that I've ever heard. Chris Botti: Live in Boston
 
Wow!! I'm not sure who the sound engineer was for this one but I'll be him/her a beer anytime. Chris Botti is a jazz trumpet player for those who are unfamiliar. If you have the slightest interest, try this one. You won't be disappointed. 

 

[Les H]

Re the Louis Armstrong recording you heard at the meet:  I can't be sure what it was, but an amazing one from a performance standpoint and a decent recording to boot is The Great Summit: The Master Takes.  Louis and Duke Ellington record together for the first (and I believe only) time over a day or so in NYC, playing Ellington compositions with Ellington on piano (the least well-recorded instrument of the album, unfortunately) and Louis' great stable of players, not to mention Louis himself singing and playing horn.  This is one of those few albums that can transport you back in time and put you in the studio with the musicians to hear history being made - others like that for me are Miles Davis Kind of Blue, The Weavers at Carnegie Hall, Belafonte at Carnegie Hall, and Jazz at the Pawnshop (in this case you are put in the nightclub).  Interesting that all my favorites are recorded live at concert venues with simple miking or live in the studio.  I'd also add Holly Cole's Temptation to this list.
 
Les

 

[MattTCG]

I'll check out the Master Takes that you mention. Also I'm wondering if the new 24-96 Kind of Blue is worth the money.

 

[SilverEars]

Holy ****!  Yes, Yes, this is similar sounding to the Louie Armstrong music I heard at a meet also on a STAX headphones.  What are other ones like this?
 
And yes, Les, Carnegie Hall is one of the best.  We seam to share good tastes in recordings.  
 
I guess with anything labeled Duke Ellington is gonna be quality recording.

 

[skeptic]

Thanks for the suggestions on The Great Summit and Chris Botti in Boston!  Along these lines, I'm also really partial to Ella and Louis Again (MFSL Gold Disks), Oscar Peterson We've Got Requests (K2HD), and LFF's ultra budget recommendation from way back when - Rusty Dedrick Allstars (http://www.amazon.com/Salute-Bunny-Berigan-Dedrick-All-Stars/dp/B0000001BU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394175042&sr=8-1&keywords=rusty+dedrick+allstars)

 

[doublea71]

  I'll check out the Master Takes that you mention. Also I'm wondering if the new 24-96 Kind of Blue is worth the money.

It does sound great, but I've heard a vinyl rip that sounds nearly the same. The new KOB still has some background noise - I was hoping it would be gone, but it's still there. I think it may depend on how good your gear is, too. I have a setup somewhere between entry and low-mid level, so it's possible that I'm not hearing it in its proper glory. I think you should just bite the bullet and yell at me if you think it's a waste of money...

 

[melbmonk]

Well, thanks so much for all the tips folks. Yes, that Muddy Waters is fantastic. Here's a few of mine - a couple already mentioned:
 
 
Just about anything Stevie Ray Vaughan, esp, SACD with Albert King.
Delbert McClinton, Room to Breathe.
Ry Cooder, Jazz
Gillian Welch, The Harrow and the Harvest.
Rickie Lee Jones, Girl at her Volcano.
Jazz at the Pawnshop. 
Richard Buckner, Devotion and Doubt.
Asleep at the Wheel, Western Standard Time.
Bobby Womack, The Bravest Man in the Universe
Gloria Estefan, Abriendo Puertas
Garden State Soundtrack (this is good recording/production-wise but I add it because it is simply a great soundtrack album)

 

[maeschba]

Remote Galaxy by Flint Juventino Beppe (2L).

 

[Mastad0n]

I just want to thank all of the contributors on this post for sharing.  Over the last few days, I've picked up some albums that I probably would not have purchased that sound amazing.  Please keep the recommendations coming!

 

[redsoxfan]

Excellent choices in my opinion... I have seen numerous Steely Dan albums mentioned but I don't recall seeing Gaucho. While it's not my favorite Steely Dan album it sounds amazing. Also, James Taylor (Live) - particularly Coppermine -  sounds absolutely phenomenal to my ears... As does Breakfast in America by Supertramp. Another I haven't seen mentioned is "Settin' the Pace" by John Coltrane the JVC XRCD Edition... When Coltrane comes in on the opening track - I See Your Face Before Me - it just takes my breath away! My apologies if any of these were previously mentioned and I missed them. 
 
Lastly, I can't say enough about the incredible sound quality of "Folk Singer" by Muddy Waters. I have the MFSL Gold Disc and the sound just floors me every time I listen to it.