Recommend me some vinyl!
Discussion
A rummage through my 200+ vinyl albums reminds me that at least 95% of them were pretty badly pressed and recorded, so much so that my lounge Hi Fi is hardly used nowadays. Most rock and prog rock albums from the 70's and 80's which make up pretty much all of what I have left now cluttering up shelves in the spare room were banged out in batches of tens of thousands with very little thought or care for sound quality.
There are a few worth a listen though, but I've no idea if you'll ever buy them remastered or new.
Most Dire Straits and Level 42 albums were well produced and recorded. Love over Gold especially, Peter Gabriels So is pretty good as is Stephen Cordells Wine Dark Sea, Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon is a Hi Fi show off classic and most of Bryan Enos albums are pretty well produced. Michael Jackson's (not mine I hasten to add) Thriller is good, and some of The Police albums sound crisp and clean as well. Sting's the Soul Cages does too. Supertramp albums on the A&M record label are all good. If you're into classical music then all the Deutsche Grammophon albums I have are consistently good as well.
I've got a pre production pressing of Lone Star's Firing on all Six which is probably the very best album of all. The rest really, even the ones still in mint condition played on several grands worth of Hi Fi sound really quite crap.
There are a few worth a listen though, but I've no idea if you'll ever buy them remastered or new.
Most Dire Straits and Level 42 albums were well produced and recorded. Love over Gold especially, Peter Gabriels So is pretty good as is Stephen Cordells Wine Dark Sea, Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon is a Hi Fi show off classic and most of Bryan Enos albums are pretty well produced. Michael Jackson's (not mine I hasten to add) Thriller is good, and some of The Police albums sound crisp and clean as well. Sting's the Soul Cages does too. Supertramp albums on the A&M record label are all good. If you're into classical music then all the Deutsche Grammophon albums I have are consistently good as well.
I've got a pre production pressing of Lone Star's Firing on all Six which is probably the very best album of all. The rest really, even the ones still in mint condition played on several grands worth of Hi Fi sound really quite crap.
Might be a plan for the OP to see what his local Hi Fi shop is using as a demo disc. That'll be as good as it gets even though it may not be to his taste. The Linn produced albums are all recorded to a very high standard too but again not maybe something you'd want to rush out and buy for the music on them.
VEX said:
And although Amazon looks an ok source, anyone got an online source they would recommend?
Discogs seems like a decent online site for pre-owned vinyl. Useful filters and search facility.There's also a list which is renewed on a Sunday evening on Pink Fish Media
Reading up on the subject of vinyl, as I recently got a turntable via Pink Fish classifieds (Nottingham Ace Spacedeck with Wave Mechanic power supply), there is a school of thought that a lot of the new vinyl that is being re-issued currently is not as good as a good copy of the original vinyl as it is often digitally re-mastered.
I've been buying quite a few LPs and in addition to the above, there is some good quality vinyl available via Ebay (although I'd suggest only searching for mint or near mint condition).
Some decent original recordings include (depending on personal taste)
Dire Straights - Love over Gold, and Making Movies
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, The Final Cut etc..
ELO (as suggested above)
Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever
Bruce Springsteen - various
There's obviously a host of classical stuff - for example I picked up a 1960s Decca analogue recording of Handel's Messiah (3 LPs) on eBay for £5.20 including postage a couple of days ago.
There's a thread on the Pink Fish site linked to above that gives some advice on classical recordings and which labels and dates are ones to look out for for the better recordings.
You are missing the fun of it all.
Go and find a second hand record shop (they are still out there) and you spend a Saturday afternoon flicking through the racks, picking out the records,looking at the covers,opening the gatefolds and feeling the product while listening to what the shop is playing.
Then you pay in cash and take them home in a paper bag.
Sitting down in front of your turntable, carefully remove the record and place it with side one upwards and lower the needle down, the thump of needle contact ,the little scratching noises and then the opening bars.....
Sit down in comfortable chair and listen while reading the cover,the lyrics,the credits looking at the cover and 'experiencing' the album, then onto side two. Listen to the album as the artist intended,if you want instant gratification then use Spotify
Buying a record was an event for most people and we used to savour the experience
Enjoy
Go and find a second hand record shop (they are still out there) and you spend a Saturday afternoon flicking through the racks, picking out the records,looking at the covers,opening the gatefolds and feeling the product while listening to what the shop is playing.
Then you pay in cash and take them home in a paper bag.
Sitting down in front of your turntable, carefully remove the record and place it with side one upwards and lower the needle down, the thump of needle contact ,the little scratching noises and then the opening bars.....
Sit down in comfortable chair and listen while reading the cover,the lyrics,the credits looking at the cover and 'experiencing' the album, then onto side two. Listen to the album as the artist intended,if you want instant gratification then use Spotify
Buying a record was an event for most people and we used to savour the experience
Enjoy
My test records
Dire Straits, Love over gold/Making movies are classic test records but expect to hear the tape hiss and watch for the poor quality vinyl used.
Phil Collins Face Value
Sade Diamond Life
Heaven 17 The luxury Gap
Pink Floyd Darkside, etc.
Ricki Lee Jones
Joan Armatrading Love and Affection
Tracy Chapman
Rush Moving Pictures
ACDC Highway to Hell
Genesis Selling England by the Pound
Peter Gabriel So, but also the rest.
Pat Benetar Precious Life
Fleetwood Mac Rumours
Jethro Tull Aqualung, Songs from the Wood, Under wraps
Alan Parsons Project Eye in the Sky plus others
Blondie Parallel Lines
The Police and Sting
Supertramp Breakfast in America etc.
Gary Moore, Cozy Powell
Van Halen , first Album
Suzanne Vega All
Plenty of others, a great turntable makes everything sound good
Dire Straits, Love over gold/Making movies are classic test records but expect to hear the tape hiss and watch for the poor quality vinyl used.
Phil Collins Face Value
Sade Diamond Life
Heaven 17 The luxury Gap
Pink Floyd Darkside, etc.
Ricki Lee Jones
Joan Armatrading Love and Affection
Tracy Chapman
Rush Moving Pictures
ACDC Highway to Hell
Genesis Selling England by the Pound
Peter Gabriel So, but also the rest.
Pat Benetar Precious Life
Fleetwood Mac Rumours
Jethro Tull Aqualung, Songs from the Wood, Under wraps
Alan Parsons Project Eye in the Sky plus others
Blondie Parallel Lines
The Police and Sting
Supertramp Breakfast in America etc.
Gary Moore, Cozy Powell
Van Halen , first Album
Suzanne Vega All
Plenty of others, a great turntable makes everything sound good
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