Recommendations for well recorded/mastered rock music

[KozmoNaut]

Fair point. But it's a bugger if you are on a shuffle.

That's why Replaygain was invented

 

[MediumRare]

If you choose what you are listening to based on "sound quality" (a vague term at best), you're doing it wrong - especially in rock and metal. Find good music first, worry about sound quality later.

So I am listening to Heart - Barracuda, which I very fondly remember from a high-school era cassette. The drums (especially the cymbals) are so badly recorded I'm seriously questioning if I want to listen to it - it's the 2004 reissue, DR 06.

I am alone?

 

[MediumRare]

I've never listened to the Rolling Stones 1964 album, 12 x 5, before tonight. The 2002 CD issue is very well done. Fascinating to hear them before they became "The Stones". Of course there are some big hits on it, but also some blues and other pop. Some tracks are heavily stereo, others nearly mono. Overall the SQ is excellent, IMO.

 

[alex1berg]

Dave Mason: Certified Live. 1976
Hard to find an old one on CD. I haven't heard the remastered version.

 

[majingotan]

So I am listening to Heart - Barracuda, which I very fondly remember from a high-school era cassette. The drums (especially the cymbals) are so badly recorded I'm seriously questioning if I want to listen to it - it's the 2004 reissue, DR 06.

I am alone?

Couldn't find the 2004 reissue at Apple Music so I only have the 1980 Greatest Hits. Percussion is definitely mixed good and no glaring flaws coming out of the Yamaha HS7 speakers.

 

[levimax]

So I am listening to Heart - Barracuda, which I very fondly remember from a high-school era cassette. The drums (especially the cymbals) are so badly recorded I'm seriously questioning if I want to listen to it - it's the 2004 reissue, DR 06.

I am alone?

Since I recommended early Heart as well recorded when I read your message I listened to the 3 versions I have, the original Portrait Kendum mastered LP, a very early CD, and what ever is on Tidal which I would guess is the remastered version. Of course this is totally subjective but level matched the original LP and original CD sounded very similar but the Tidal version was definitely different and of lower quality... I would not call it "un-listenable" but noticeably degraded from the originals.

 

[5wavesup]

Here are a few suggestions from the Modern Era; Some oldish, some newish.

Radiohead - Ok Computer
R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
Wilco - Summerteeth, Sky Blue Sky, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Ode to Joy(2019 album)
Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf, ...Like Clockwork, Really everything
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible, The Suburbs
Arctic Monkeys - AM, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
Jeff Buckley - Grace
Def Tones - White Pony, Koi No Yokan
Ben Howard - I Forget Where We Were
Rival Sons - Feral Roots
The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream, A Deeper Understanding
The Hotelier - Home, Like NoPlace Is There
Real Estate - Days, Real Estate
Foals - Holy Fire, Total Life Forever
Tame Impala - InnerSpeaker, Lonerism, Currents

Hopefully you can find a few that you enjoy.

 

[strangeskies]

don't make SQ your primary consideration FFS.

Or, FFS, do, and just dive into the ECM and 2L catalogs.

And embrace the reality that you now listen to (and are deeply moved) by random and hitherto unknown-to-you Scandinavian Christmas Songs.

http://phonofile.link/ljos

 

[Jimbob54]

Here are a few suggestions from the Modern Era; Some oldish, some newish.

Radiohead - Ok Computer
R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
Wilco - Summerteeth, Sky Blue Sky, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Ode to Joy(2019 album)
Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf, ...Like Clockwork, Really everything
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible, The Suburbs
Arctic Monkeys - AM, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
Jeff Buckley - Grace
Def Tones - White Pony, Koi No Yokan
Ben Howard - I Forget Where We Were
Rival Sons - Feral Roots
The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream, A Deeper Understanding
The Hotelier - Home, Like NoPlace Is There
Real Estate - Days, Real Estate
Foals - Holy Fire, Total Life Forever
Tame Impala - InnerSpeaker, Lonerism, Currents

Hopefully you can find a few that you enjoy.

Right on.

 

[Soniclife]

Some interesting articles at the following link, they are worth a read even ignoring the best version part.
https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/the-best-version-of/

 

[levimax]

Some interesting articles at the following link, they are worth a read even ignoring the best version part.
https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/the-best-version-of/

Thanks for the link... very interesting information on the long and winding remastering path some of these classic albums take.

 

[Crazy_Nate]

I think some Tool can be pretty good (ie. Aenima). Pink Floyd can be fairly well done (DSOTM, Division Bell, Animals, Meddle, etc). Queen: Greatest Hits 1&2 is good (might depend on which version - I have the 1994 one). Metallica: Metallica. Bunch of Steely Dan albums (excellent).

I listen to a bit more metal than rock, and generally the quality is quite a bit worse. Not gonna stop me though

 

[John Dyson]

I hate to bring this up, but I noticed some comments about the difference in quality between CDs and vinyl, or implied disappointment in dynamic range.
There IS an answer to the old CD vs vinyl quality issue (not going there, but focusing on dynamic range matters.) There IS a syndrome that CDs are mastered differently, and the CDs don't reflect what was recorded -- but DO partially reflect what was on the tape. Here, I am speaking of material originally recorded between the 60's through early '90s....

Many (most) POP CDs were prepared for distribution differently than the vinyl, and this difference is substantial. Golden ears, and those of us who have perceptive hearing, but not quite golden ears might notice a difference in the 3k to 20+kHz range -- okay, I only hear up to 14k, but you get my point.
This difference becomes obvious if you have the right tools, but such tools are uncommon in the consumers equipment rack (or software suite.)
Basically, there IS latent compression in a lot of CDs, mostly noticeable in the higher frequencies, but the comopression curve does kick in for the midrange frequencies at lower levels. Before CDs, this compression was not manifest on vinyl, and there ARE pop CDs which are completely mastered. Note: eve some high-res downloads (e.g. Carpenters singles from HDtracks) have the latent compression.. (A snippet selection from the Carpentes singles is demoed on Audiophile Style.)

Answer to what is on the CDs: Take 1 DolbyA tape, EQ it to be listenable, result: 'FeralA' format recording.

All of the signal information is in the CD, and the frequency response balance is similar between the CD and the properly mastered material with full DolbyA decoding, but that is only because of the EQ scheme used to make the DolbyA signal sound listenable.

Before nay-saying, just let me supply examples -- I just posted one to Audiophile Style in their new 'Objective' section. I am new here in this forum, so keeping a light touch. If really itnerested, I can produce snippets galore. (There is no real commercial intent for consumers AT ALL, this was and IS a research project of sorts.)

Be aware when looking for well recorded material -- even some material with apparent wide dynamic range still have the HF compression!!!!
This is a real technical difference, nothing really to do with linear phase vs. minimum phase, or old digital technology, etc. It is all about the final preparation step for distribution being different!!!

John

 

[UCrazyKid]

OK, a few of these are repeats from above, but a few are new. I'm using "rock" in the broadest sense of the term to include classic, alt, indie, pop and some folk. I won't always break it down my album, check out the whole catalog, however some will sound better than others, and some versions/masterings will sound better than others. Rule of thumb, if it is from the MFSL, DCC, AF labels or generally mastered for SACD or DVDa it will be really good. Additionally if it is from Japan, West Germany, SHM-CD, HDCD, XRCD, etc. it will likely sound better/mastered better.

alt-J - An Awesome Wave
alt-J - This is all Yours
Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color
America - America [2013 Audio Fidelity SACD, AFZ 167]
Beck - Sea Change [MFSL]
Beck - Mutations [24/96 for Pono Mastering]
Beck - Colors
Beck - Morning Phase
Billie Eilish - WHEN WE ALL GO TO SLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO
The Black Keys - Turn Blue (and any of their other albums)
Boz Scaggs - Silk Degrees
Bread - The Best of Bread [DCC Gold]
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
Dire Straits - all the SHM-CD Japan remasters
DJ Shadow - The Private Press
Eagles - Hotel California [MFSL]
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Trilogy
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
FKA Twigs - M3LL155X
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac - Mirage
Fleetwood Mac - Tango in the Night
Gorillaz -
The XX - The XX
The XX - I See You
Toto - Toto IV
James Blake - James Blake
Jamie XX - In Colour
Lana Del Rey - Norman F***ing Rockwell
Led Zeppelin - any from HD Tracks
London Grammar - If You Wait [Qobuz 24/96 remaster]
Metallica - Metallica
Muddy Waters - Folk Singer [MFSL GOLD UDCD 593] (one of the best recordings of any kind, ever)
Natalie Merchant - Tigerlily [MFSL]
Norah Jones - Feels Like Home [SACD]
Panic! At The Disco - Death of a Bachelor
Pink Floyd - any
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here [MasterSound Gold Edition, or 2011 SACD remaster]
Pink Floyd - The Wall [MFSL}
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon [SACD 2-channel remaster]
Pixies - Surfer Rosa
Puscifer - Conditions of My Parole
Puscifer - Money Shot
Radiohead - any and "The King of Limbs" is especially great if you can find the "Newspaper Edition" 45rpm vinyl
Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine
The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers, Deluxe Edition [SHM-CD]
Rickie Lee Jones - Rickie Lee Jones
Sarah McLachlan - The Freedom Sessions [DCC Gold]
Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Towards Ecstasy [DCC Gold]
Spoon - Hot Thoughts
Spoon - Gimme Fiction
Steely Dan - any, especially the SHM-CD 2008 Japan Remasters
Supertramp - Crime of the Century [MFSL]
Supertramp - Breakfast in America [MFSL UltraDisc 2 (made in USA) or SACD remaster]
TOOL - Undertow
TOOL - Aenima
Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman
UNKLE - War Stories

 

[Soniclife]

OK, a few of these are repeats from above, but a few are new. I'm using "rock" in the broadest sense of the term to include classic, alt, indie, pop and some folk. I won't always break it down my album, check out the whole catalog, however some will sound better than others, and some versions/masterings will sound better than others. Rule of thumb, if it is from the MFSL, DCC, AF labels or generally mastered for SACD or DVDa it will be really good. Additionally if it is from Japan, West Germany, SHM-CD, HDCD, XRCD, etc. it will likely sound better/mastered better.

alt-J - An Awesome Wave
alt-J - This is all Yours
Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color
America - America [2013 Audio Fidelity SACD, AFZ 167]
Beck - Sea Change [MFSL]
Beck - Mutations [24/96 for Pono Mastering]
Beck - Colors
Beck - Morning Phase
Billie Eilish - WHEN WE ALL GO TO SLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO
The Black Keys - Turn Blue (and any of their other albums)
Boz Scaggs - Silk Degrees
Bread - The Best of Bread [DCC Gold]
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
Dire Straits - all the SHM-CD Japan remasters
DJ Shadow - The Private Press
Eagles - Hotel California [MFSL]
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Trilogy
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
FKA Twigs - M3LL155X
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac - Mirage
Fleetwood Mac - Tango in the Night
Gorillaz -
The XX - The XX
The XX - I See You
Toto - Toto IV
James Blake - James Blake
Jamie XX - In Colour
Lana Del Rey - Norman F***ing Rockwell
Led Zeppelin - any from HD Tracks
London Grammar - If You Wait [Qobuz 24/96 remaster]
Metallica - Metallica
Muddy Waters - Folk Singer [MFSL GOLD UDCD 593] (one of the best recordings of any kind, ever)
Natalie Merchant - Tigerlily [MFSL]
Norah Jones - Feels Like Home [SACD]
Panic! At The Disco - Death of a Bachelor
Pink Floyd - any
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here [MasterSound Gold Edition, or 2011 SACD remaster]
Pink Floyd - The Wall [MFSL}
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon [SACD 2-channel remaster]
Puscifer - Conditions of My Parole
Puscifer - Money Shot
Radiohead - any and "The King of Limbs" is especially great if you can find the "Newspaper Edition" 45rpm vinyl
Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine
The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers, Deluxe Edition [SHM-CD]
Rickie Lee Jones - Rickie Lee Jones
Sarah McLachlan - The Freedom Sessions [DCC Gold]
Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Towards Ecstasy [DCC Gold]
Sonic Youth -
Spoon - Hot Thoughts
Spoon - Gimme Fiction
Steely Dan - any, especially the SHM-CD 2008 Japan Remasters
Supertramp - Crime of the Century [MFSL]
Supertramp - Breakfast in America [MFSL UltraDisc 2 (made in USA) or SACD remaster]
TOOL - Undertow
TOOL - Aenima
Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman
UNKLE - War Stories

You didn't specify which Sonic Youth album, their early work is really badly recorded, but from Goo onwards they get much better. I like the way Sister and Daydream Nation sound, but I'd never describe them as well recorded, I'm going to stop what I was doing and listen to Hey Joni loud.

 

[UCrazyKid]

You didn't specify which Sonic Youth album, their early work is really badly recorded, but from Goo onwards they get much better. I like the way Sister and Daydream Nation sound, but I'd never describe them as well recorded, I'm going to stop what I was doing and listen to Hey Joni loud.

Ah-ha! You caught an error. I meant the Pixies - Surfer Rosa comes to mind.

 

[Soniclife]

Ah-ha! You caught an error. I meant the Pixies - Surfer Rosa comes to mind.

That is great, all their old albums sound good to me.

 

[dwa]

If so many people recommend Steven Wilson remasters/remixes maybe I'll just recommend Porcupine Tree itself.
And when it comes to rock music I cannot think of better-sounding albums than Shellac's - music may not be for everyone, but the sound is really something...

 

[Daverz]

I'd single out one label, A&M, for the work they were doing in the late 70s and into the 80s. Many Joan Armatrading albums, for example, such as Me, Myself & I. On the production side, that album still sounds timeless. A few of her others from the era have too may 80s specific production effects (e.g. synths) and sound a bit dated, but if you make the necessary mental adjustments ("just go with it"), the music still sounds great.

 

[UCrazyKid]

Here is another place to browse for great SQ albums.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammy_Award_for_Best_Engineered_Album,_Non-Classical