These are some of the best sounding CDs out there. Great music from The Beatles, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, Daft Punk, Norah Jones Dr Dre and Eva Cassidy to add to your CD collection.
Maybe it's just the age that I grew up in, but I do think that CD is the end-all be-all of physical media. Vinyl certainly has its charm, and the ritual of flipping the record and putting the needle on makes for more mindful listening, but CDs just have the best fidelity.
Yeah I tend to agree. CDs have better dynamic range, a lower noise floor, are easier to look after, don't wear out and cost a fraction of vinyl these days. I still love vinyl but CDs have a ton of advantages. Oh, and I bought a portable CD player again recently so I can play them on the move. Can't do that with my LPs!
I disagree that the CD is the end-all be-all of physical media. When done correctly, the CD is Fantastic. However, there are lps that beat the CD counterpart. Mastering is a big part of that. CDs tend to get more and more compressed each time a particular album is remastered.
I was an early adopter to cd in 1984, buying a Philips CD -101 player. It blew up me away to the point of selling off my all be it small vinyl collection by late 1986. Fast forward to 2003 and I due to the internet hype got back into the vinyl game again. Went all in buying hundreds of LP's second hand over the next 17 years. An went stupid nuts buying ever more expensive turntables, phono cartridges and phono preamps. I drank the Kool aid. Yes the nostalgia kick was fun and buying lots of albums cheap was great. I started buying new albums from oh around 2009-2020 but damn the prices started getting high for my blood. Anyway come 2020 I kinda got burned out and sick of all the money I spent on turntables and such. I began playing my CDs again, having not done much except for car audio for many years earlier. I began to the notice how frigging good most of my CDs sounded. I began to do A vs B comparisons between my LP's and their cd counter parts. I noticed that in pretty well every case the cd was in pure fidelity better. Add the fact I did not have to worry about clicks and pops made it better. So I sold off all my vinyl and turntable stuff in 2021 and have not missed it since.
@@DigbyOdel-et3xx I remember the first time I heard a CD in the 80's. Yes, no clicks and pops, but the sound quality sucked. Obviously digital has come a long way since then. When done right, it is excellent. Bottom line, it comes down to what each individual enjoys. I like both for different reasons.
CD’s do not have the best fidelity. If you’re listening to recent pressings, then yes but compared to original pressings in EX condition, by far no. I just purchased Pearl Jam’s Ten on vinyl original first press and truthfully it’s clarity and punch is more defined on vinyl than on any CD I’ve listened to. And I’ve owned Ten on many CD’s. And Dark Side’s original pressing from the UK blows away any format. Just my experience.
Ok, I am a huge collector since cd day 1 in 1982... and I sell too. I have sold lots of Eva Cassidy never knowing who she was. Never played a cd ( she's not on a major label so I thought she was a nobody). OK, so thanks to YOU I played her time after time album, was blown away and read her Wiki page. This hobby never fails to surprise. Thanks for opening my eyes to this talent!
Just come across your channel Matt. This is brilliant stuff. I have this kind of chat with three of my real life friends (we work in record shop in the UK), and we’re endlessly debating SQ vs format vs pressing vs mastering and all points in between. Re: Abbey Road 1987, yes it’s brilliant. We were very fortunate to come across a Black Triangle Toshiba Japan Abbey Road in store, and I can testify to its magnificence, too. A notch or two above the 1987, but it had to be moved on for sale as it’s a big ticket item. Keep up this great channel. Hope I get to watch many more. Regards, Gregor.
Ah cheers Gregor! Must have been hard to let that Black Triangle Abbey Road go! I think I'd struggle working in a record store as I'd always want to keep everything for myself. I'd be out of business in a week! 🤣
Hi 👋 I had the joy of seeing Miles Davis in concert back in the 1980s here in New Zealand. It was around the time of his Tutu album release. His back up band were very funky. I like Norah Jones. Nina Simone was one of the greatest entertainers of all time, i love her music.
Love these suggestions. Some I haven't heard and need to check out. A couple I think of as the best sounding in my collection include the original release of Faith by George Michael. In particular "Hard Day" is a great stress test for almost any system. Same thing for his "Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1" follow-up, particularly "Cowboys And Angels" where the bass is playing octaves. I also really like the sound of The Cure's Disintegration. This despite looking at the files in an audio editor suggests noisy analog tapes... it doesn't sound that way coming out of my speakers. ...Speaking of audio, you might check your recording setup. Your mic audio was only coming out of my right channel. Probably an easy fix although not knowing your setup I don't know where the fix needs to be applied. I'd prefer you in the center of my speakers. 🙂
Agree with Abbey Road and Dark Side of the Moon. Even the ongoing masters that keep coming out of those two sound great. Very well recorded which is where it all starts. Would add Dire Straits Brothers in Arms. One of the first “full digital recordings “ as the sticker on the jewel box said when I got it back in ‘87. The dynamics are amazing including the crescendo to start Money For Nothing. A great way to test your sound system. Thanks for the video. Hopefully more like this to come.
Thanks for the kind words! Yeah totally agree with you about Brothers in Arms. It really does sound amazing. Will be doing a part 2 on this as so many great suggestions have come forward for tremendous sounding CDs. Watch this space!
"Hounds of love" by Kate Bush "Songs from the big chair" by Tears for fears "Violator" by Depeche Mode "Blue lines" by Massive Attack "Black album" by Metallica are amazing albums that sound amazing on CD. This conversation could go on for days. There are many amazingly produced, mixed and great sounding albums.
Thanks mate, glad you noticed the wallets. I have indeed been using them to save space. I made a video on the pros and cons if you're interested: czcams.com/video/mQyJ2QGtKY0/video.html
Supertramp Breakfast in America is a superbly mastered album imo, Tears for fears are well mastered too. A superb jazz album which was quite hard to find is Lionel Hampton presents Buddy Rich which is superb
Is it just me, or is this video one channel? Is that huge speaker affecting your mic?! Anyways, I've got all of them bar the Eva and Nina albums, though I will look into those two - I never got the love for Ms Cassidy, though I will try that one based on it being included in a rather good list, though I've gone off the Dre album of late. Personally, whilst having 70s vinyl, and those early CDs of the Floyd & Beatles albums, I rather prefer the recently 'rebuilt' Abbey Road, and the Immersion DSotM (and the Quad mix in the box set).
You are so right about cds that are compressed or 'bricked' and sound terrible. You can use audacity to analyze. I find that SHM Japanese cds are generally better sounding.
Nice score! I think I found that Nora Jones CD in a charity shop too. You see "Come Away With Me" and "Feels Like Home" all the time in the ones around my way, but this one turned up and I grabbed it immediately.
There are 2 versions of this, I got the original, which is less compressed than the double cd, was recorded on a Sony dat machine I believe, superb sound quality.
Yes Agreed! I purchased a few Sade Import pressings. These Remasters are significantly better sounding than the originals. So, A Highly recommended upgrade.
Another one for your ears is Stevie Ray Vaughan-Cant Stand The Weather,Ihave it on both CD and vinyl and it is just amazing especially the track Tin Pan Alley(Roughest Place In Town).
Yep, sorry that's my fault. I was having some issues with Audacity and it wasn't mixing the mono mic into both channels. Apologies if it's annoying. Especially on headphones! Will sort out for the next one 👍
A few of my favourites: Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms SACD 5.1 Eagles - Hell Freezes Over K2 HDCD Peter Gabriel - So ( Remastered 2013) Oleta Adams - Circle Of One (Remastered) Roxy Music - Avalon HDCD Katie Melua - Call Off The Search Fourplay (First) Tears For Fears - The Seeds Of Love
On your recommendation regards Eva Cassidy, who i have to admit I knew nothing about, i actually found the album Songbird in a charity shop. Very good indeed, i hope to find that live album. What a tragedy she died so young.
Yes it was really a shame. So young and talented. Makes you wonder about what else she would have gone on to do if she hadn't been taken from us like that. I feel the same way about Jeff Buckley too.
I can confirm its sounds truly fantastic. When you put it on its quite startling compared to how most CDs sound. Excellent recommendation and makes you think if a little label can do this... why cant the majors.
Out of 1k+ cd's I have, I think Santana 'supernatural', Megadeth 'cryptic writings', Crystal Gayle's album made from the original master, and you mentioned dark side also from original master are some that come to mind.. Also frank zappa albums are well produced. When I sold stereos, I used the crystal Gayle, and supertramp 'crime of the century and the 2 dire straits albums for demos. We had insane direct to discs that were next level. Lincoln mayorga and that bunch
Most of The Beach Boys "two-fers" (2 LPs per CD) released on Capitol in the '80's sound great, especially on headphones. One of my absolute faves is *Kiko* by Los Lobos (prod by Mitchell Froom, engr by Tchad Blake). Speaking of remasters, I've been loving the anniversary edition of Travis' *The Invisible Band* (prod by Nigel Godrich). I suggest that fans listening via CD should keep in mind that players & DACs from the last 10 years or so often sound much better than older machines, so those older CDs may have more great sound to offer.
I believe Random Access Memories is actually ADD, recorded in analogue. So are most Radiohead CDs - in fact, some of those may even be AAD, like OK Computer, which definitely has an analogue master tape in existence. Although digitally manipulated parts are present in Radiohead’s music as well, so it’s more like A(D)AD 😊
We all have our favorites but for the best live recorded CD there is the Allman Brothers "Live at Fillmore East". Of course there are better fidelity modes (Mobile Fidelity vinyl or analog reel to reel) but for a CD it stands the test of time.
@@guyboisvert66 A CD is a "medium" fidelity recording/playback mode. At 16bit/44.1k Hz it may or may not please an audiophile given the quality of the original recording or the mastering. Other modes such as vinyl, SACD, digital download, open reel tape may yield superior audible results. All depends on the quality and care taken in the reproduction chain.
@@amham48 Ah ok, marketing influenced... CD quality is more than enough for human ears, higher than that bring almost nothing to the table... It's well documented that for a same master / mix source, humans are not able to distinguish from CD / SACD / "HiRes" Files. Open Reel tape is equivalent to about 13 bits, that was the best at that time but has been surpassed by digital since. I'm not saying that Otari / Studer / etc were "bad", they sounded great but there's better than that now. 24 bits / 96KHz is used for mixing but the result is downsampled @ 44.1 / 16 bits and it is, as i said, more than enough for human ears. If you have any background on digital signal theory / engineering math, you'll understand what i'm talking about. If not, here is a very good explanation for the non-engineers: czcams.com/video/cIQ9IXSUzuM/video.html
a nod to, "Tales of Mystery and Imagination: Edgar Allen Poe" by Alan Parsons Project...when i first heard this on a really nice stereo system, it blew my mind...
Alan Parsons was the sound engineer on both "Abbey Road" and "Dark side of the Moon". He's a legend. If anyone can make an album sound great it's Alan Parsons.
Thanks for the tip. I'm confused..Is Blu-ray Pure Audio a format? I'm not sure what the title of the recording is..or if there is one. Perhaps this is a series of recordings produced by Mr. Wilson. IDK Thanks!
Grace Mahya Live at The DUG, Tesla Five Man London Jam, Al Stewat Year of the Cat, Ray Charles genius loves company. And anything from Mtv's Unplugged.
"Random Access Memories" is one of the few albums I have on both CD and vinyl. I have a lot of fun blind testing my friends with those to see if they can pick which is which lol
Cool thing about that album is some tracks were recorded digitally and some analog, and you can hear it. But the really really strange thing about this album that almost nobody knows about is that it was officially released in a small cotton growing town in NSW, Australia called Wee Waa. They had their record release party at Wee Waa showground. Now, Wee Waa is a small rural town with a population of about 2000 people and I'm guessing that out of those 2000 people maybe 6 maximum would have even known who Daft Punk was, hell... most people in Australia wouldn't have even heard of Wee Waa. I have no idea how Daft Punk came to release this album there, it's so bizarre
Guilty of flicking through this a bit, so when I randomly clicked to 6:43, I thought that was going to be a 'wonderful wonderful life' because at a glance it looks like the Black album of the same name! I think maybe my best sounding CD was Genesis We can't dance, but that might be because it was the first one I bought...
Greetings. I'm buying all my music on CD again these days as, as you mentioned, vinyl is just too expensive and some pressings are frustratingly warped or crackly. And £25/30 is too rich for me to discover I don't really like that album after all. In the best of both worlds, I'd have CD's in a vinyl sized sleeve, so I would get the benefit of the wonderful artwork. A subject I'm interested in, presented by a likeable, down to earth geezer without the audiophile snobbery - I'll have me some of that. Subscribed 👍
I tried going back to vinyl after 20 some years on CDs and I couldn’t stand the popping and cracking that never bothered me before the CD. Some of my favorite reference CDs are Metallica Kill Em’ All Billy Idol White Wedding Rush Moving Pictures The Who Who’s Next Steely Dan Anything from Steely Dan
Not currently. I may do in the future though. I like to listen to CDs on my portable CD player when I'm out and about and I don't like taking the digipacks with me in case they get damaged in my bag, so protective sleeves may be the answer!
HirRes audio downloaded is the best music I own for sound quality. I would agree that CD or even vinyl can sound great…..but HiRes at 192khz is hard to beat……it’s as close as you’ll get to the studio mix sound.
So I am a semi-professional musician and I had a nice promotional CD that I would give out to people and recently I thought I need to upgrade it. But then I thought who even has a player and CDs? ( I certainly do and love CDs ) but would I be laughed at handing out a CD?
While it's true that for most of the public, CDs are more or less a relic of the past, I do see tremendous value in artists selling them still. Fr a start you make more money than streaming or downloads and secondly these days (sad as it may seem) it's almost considered "merch". Fans may still stream the album but want something physical as a memento of their favourite band or a gig they really enjoyed. It's a bit like the "silent vinyl" phenomenon I suppose. Also from personal experience on this channel that talks mainly about CDs, I've had nearly 45k views in the first 3 weeks of putting out videos. To me that says there is still interest in the format.
There is multiple versions of each album you mension, go full sacd on everything if you can. Just got a longbox with wish you were here sbm and 24k goldplated, i laught about it some years ago, not anymore😅.
Some Sacd versions are worse than the cd, as they are compressed, shame. But the Japanese Sacd of dire Straits making movies beat any other version or format in my opinion
DSOTM aside, I don't share your musical preferences but that's life Even Dream Theater sounds overproduced on some albums but that's probably as close as prog metal will ever get to the mainstream.
Yeah I think DSOTM unifies most people, regardless of musical tastes. It's such a magnificent piece of work. Being a Cambridge lad, I have a soft spot for Floyd anyway! Don't know much about Dream Theater if I'm honest. I'll check them out. I'm really enjoying all the great music people talk about on here. I'm getting so much inspiration!
Yeah that was my fault. I thought I'd mixed the mono mic channel down to matching stereo tracks but clearly not! Apologies if it's annoying to listen to.
I have some cds that were produced in the 90s that were horrible!! Fleetwood Mac Rumors, and their other album from the 70s were so bad, I couldn't listen to them. I found remastered editions in the 2000s that are so much better. I assume that remastered versions are the best.
Is it just me....? There is voice only in the right channel. Nothing in the left. Are we to assume Matt's Music Channel is in fact the LEFT channel? Play some music and let's see..
Sorry mate, that might be my fault! I was having some problems with audacity and I don't think it mixed the mono mic into both channels for some reason. Apologies if it's annoying (especially on headphones). Will sort it out for the next one.
Sorry about the audio. For some reason Audacity wouldn't record in mono and I thought it I'd mixed the stereo track down to mono but turned out I hadn't! Apologies if it was annoying to listen to. Abbey Road does sound amazing on Vinyl. My mum had a copy she bought new and it was the first Beatles album I ever heard. Will get a copy on vinyl at some point.
I kick myself for not knowing what I had when I was a kid. Thinking new was better than the old because of the packaging looking good made me get rid of many original cds.
The ‘87 Beatles releases are fantastic and the only ones I’ll buy - still on the hunt for Sgt Pepper but have the rest Daft Punk is amazing For another that is very well recorded - The Tony Rich Project - Words 1996
Haha to be fair Aja could easily be on this list but I tried to make it a mix between the ones everyone wants to see on the list and a couple that don't usually get mentioned. Might do a part 2 and include Steeley Dan Aja, Fleetwood Mac Rumours, Beach Boys Pet Sounds, etc in the near future!
I like your videos but looking at the flat covers of your CDs is a big turn off. They look dull and boring, nothing like opening the jewel case and taking out the booklet, it adds to the ritual.
Yeah I get it. It's purely a space thing. There's no more room for the collection to grow without doing this. I did a video on the pros and cons if you're interested.
Can’t understand why dark side of the moon is thought of so highly. I’ve tried to listen to it a couple of times and in my opinion I deem as the worst album ever. Therefore put me off Pink Floyd for good.
My point is that with all the noise effects (extreme auto-tuning, vocorders, etc.) that rap-hop uses, their recordings are no place to judge audio fidelity.@@mattsmusichannel
The album sounds fantastic on CD in my opinion and is widely recognised for the great mastering job that was done on it. If you're into Hip-Hop and want a great sounding album then this is a really good choice. If you want something to test how revealing your system is then sure, there are better options. I tried to choose a range of musical styles and what I felt sounds really good in their respective genres.
Maybe it's just the age that I grew up in, but I do think that CD is the end-all be-all of physical media. Vinyl certainly has its charm, and the ritual of flipping the record and putting the needle on makes for more mindful listening, but CDs just have the best fidelity.
Yeah I tend to agree. CDs have better dynamic range, a lower noise floor, are easier to look after, don't wear out and cost a fraction of vinyl these days. I still love vinyl but CDs have a ton of advantages. Oh, and I bought a portable CD player again recently so I can play them on the move. Can't do that with my LPs!
I disagree that the CD is the end-all be-all of physical media. When done correctly, the CD is Fantastic. However, there are lps that beat the CD counterpart. Mastering is a big part of that. CDs tend to get more and more compressed each time a particular album is remastered.
I was an early adopter to cd in 1984, buying a Philips CD -101 player. It blew up me away to the point of selling off my all be it small vinyl collection by late 1986.
Fast forward to 2003 and I due to the internet hype got back into the vinyl game again. Went all in buying hundreds of LP's second hand over the next 17 years. An went stupid nuts buying ever more expensive turntables, phono cartridges and phono preamps. I drank the Kool aid.
Yes the nostalgia kick was fun and buying lots of albums cheap was great. I started buying new albums from oh around 2009-2020 but damn the prices started getting high for my blood.
Anyway come 2020 I kinda got burned out and sick of all the money I spent on turntables and such. I began playing my CDs again, having not done much except for car audio for many years earlier. I began to the notice how frigging good most of my CDs sounded.
I began to do A vs B comparisons between my LP's and their cd counter parts. I noticed that in pretty well every case the cd was in pure fidelity better. Add the fact I did not have to worry about clicks and pops made it better.
So I sold off all my vinyl and turntable stuff in 2021 and have not missed it since.
@@DigbyOdel-et3xx I remember the first time I heard a CD in the 80's. Yes, no clicks and pops, but the sound quality sucked. Obviously digital has come a long way since then. When done right, it is excellent. Bottom line, it comes down to what each individual enjoys. I like both for different reasons.
CD’s do not have the best fidelity. If you’re listening to recent pressings, then yes but compared to original pressings in EX condition, by far no.
I just purchased Pearl Jam’s Ten on vinyl original first press and truthfully it’s clarity and punch is more defined on vinyl than on any CD I’ve listened to. And I’ve owned Ten on many CD’s.
And Dark Side’s original pressing from the UK blows away any format. Just my experience.
Ok, I am a huge collector since cd day 1 in 1982... and I sell too. I have sold lots of Eva Cassidy never knowing who she was. Never played a cd ( she's not on a major label so I thought she was a nobody). OK, so thanks to YOU I played her time after time album, was blown away and read her Wiki page. This hobby never fails to surprise. Thanks for opening my eyes to this talent!
Just come across your channel Matt. This is brilliant stuff.
I have this kind of chat with three of my real life friends (we work in record shop in the UK), and we’re endlessly debating SQ vs format vs pressing vs mastering and all points in between.
Re: Abbey Road 1987, yes it’s brilliant. We were very fortunate to come across a Black Triangle Toshiba Japan Abbey Road in store, and I can testify to its magnificence, too. A notch or two above the 1987, but it had to be moved on for sale as it’s a big ticket item.
Keep up this great channel. Hope I get to watch many more.
Regards,
Gregor.
Ah cheers Gregor! Must have been hard to let that Black Triangle Abbey Road go! I think I'd struggle working in a record store as I'd always want to keep everything for myself. I'd be out of business in a week! 🤣
Thank you for the Eva Cassidy review. Her "Fields of Barley" gave me chills. WoW
Isn't it beautiful! So glad you enjoyed it.
Great review. I have the first three CD's on your list and agree that they sound fabulous.
They're great sounding albums aren't they? Fantastic music too!
Hi 👋 I had the joy of seeing Miles Davis in concert back in the 1980s here in New Zealand. It was around the time of his Tutu album release. His back up band were very funky. I like Norah Jones. Nina Simone was one of the greatest entertainers of all time, i love her music.
Wow I bet Miles was amazing live! Must have been a fantastic experience. I'm a big Norah Jones and Nina Simone fan too.
Love these suggestions. Some I haven't heard and need to check out. A couple I think of as the best sounding in my collection include the original release of Faith by George Michael. In particular "Hard Day" is a great stress test for almost any system. Same thing for his "Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1" follow-up, particularly "Cowboys And Angels" where the bass is playing octaves.
I also really like the sound of The Cure's Disintegration. This despite looking at the files in an audio editor suggests noisy analog tapes... it doesn't sound that way coming out of my speakers.
...Speaking of audio, you might check your recording setup. Your mic audio was only coming out of my right channel. Probably an easy fix although not knowing your setup I don't know where the fix needs to be applied. I'd prefer you in the center of my speakers. 🙂
Nils Lofgren - Acoustic Live
Also the SACD of Brothers In Arms (Dire Straits), Bluray Audio of Black and White Night (Roy Orbison)
Agree with Abbey Road and Dark Side of the Moon. Even the ongoing masters that keep coming out of those two sound great. Very well recorded which is where it all starts. Would add Dire Straits Brothers in Arms. One of the first “full digital recordings “ as the sticker on the jewel box said when I got it back in ‘87. The dynamics are amazing including the crescendo to start Money For Nothing. A great way to test your sound system. Thanks for the video. Hopefully more like this to come.
Thanks for the kind words! Yeah totally agree with you about Brothers in Arms. It really does sound amazing. Will be doing a part 2 on this as so many great suggestions have come forward for tremendous sounding CDs. Watch this space!
It's a pity that the remastered editions of all have flat waveform and gain at 97-98 with distortion.
"Hounds of love" by Kate Bush
"Songs from the big chair" by Tears for fears
"Violator" by Depeche Mode
"Blue lines" by Massive Attack
"Black album" by Metallica
are amazing albums that sound amazing on CD. This conversation could go on for days. There are many amazingly produced, mixed and great sounding albums.
Great video Matt, thanks! I'm new to your channel. What are those plastic sleeves you keep your CD's in? Looks like a tremendous space saver!
Thanks mate, glad you noticed the wallets. I have indeed been using them to save space. I made a video on the pros and cons if you're interested: czcams.com/video/mQyJ2QGtKY0/video.html
Supertramp Breakfast in America is a superbly mastered album imo, Tears for fears are well mastered too.
A superb jazz album which was quite hard to find is Lionel Hampton presents Buddy Rich which is superb
Yes breakfast was an immaculate mix and so was supertramp's other album 'the crime of the century'
Is it just me, or is this video one channel? Is that huge speaker affecting your mic?!
Anyways, I've got all of them bar the Eva and Nina albums, though I will look into those two - I never got the love for Ms Cassidy, though I will try that one based on it being included in a rather good list, though I've gone off the Dre album of late. Personally, whilst having 70s vinyl, and those early CDs of the Floyd & Beatles albums, I rather prefer the recently 'rebuilt' Abbey Road, and the Immersion DSotM (and the Quad mix in the box set).
You are so right about cds that are compressed or 'bricked' and sound terrible. You can use audacity to analyze. I find that SHM Japanese cds are generally better sounding.
I have all those except the Nora Jones one, I recently got the Eva Cassidy one for 50p I was blown away how well it sounded!
Nice score! I think I found that Nora Jones CD in a charity shop too. You see "Come Away With Me" and "Feels Like Home" all the time in the ones around my way, but this one turned up and I grabbed it immediately.
There are 2 versions of this, I got the original, which is less compressed than the double cd, was recorded on a Sony dat machine I believe, superb sound quality.
I still love the REM album Automatic For The People. It's a breathtaking achievement.Thanks.
Great album! Listened to that so much in the 90s. Still do today.
Any album by Sade.
Yes Agreed! I purchased a few Sade Import pressings. These Remasters are significantly better sounding than the originals. So, A Highly recommended upgrade.
Nice B&W DMs in the background there - 330s? I have a pair of 110i speakers - they’re lovely things!
Another one for your ears is Stevie Ray Vaughan-Cant Stand The Weather,Ihave it on both CD and vinyl and it is just amazing especially the track Tin Pan Alley(Roughest Place In Town).
Trevor Horn has produced some masterpieces like the Grace Jones Slave To The Rythmn CD and Seal's CD as well.
Yes, definitely. Massively clever chap is Trevor Jones! Really shaped a lot of the way music sounded in the 80's.
Slave To The Rhythm is one of the best sounding records I’ve ever heard - always makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck!
Why is your voice only on the right channel?
Yep, sorry that's my fault. I was having some issues with Audacity and it wasn't mixing the mono mic into both channels. Apologies if it's annoying. Especially on headphones! Will sort out for the next one 👍
Mono is King!
Can I add Seeds of Love by Tears For Fears, the original 1989 CD release, sounds amazing.
Yes good shout! Songs from the Big Chair sounds amazing too.
@@mattsmusichannel Infact all of Tears For Fears albums (including their current one) have a well produced sound.
A few of my favourites:
Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms SACD 5.1
Eagles - Hell Freezes Over K2 HDCD
Peter Gabriel - So ( Remastered 2013)
Oleta Adams - Circle Of One (Remastered)
Roxy Music - Avalon HDCD
Katie Melua - Call Off The Search
Fourplay (First)
Tears For Fears - The Seeds Of Love
I just ordered a Japanese Import recording of Tears For Fears 'Seeds' album.
The seller said it is a very fine sounding pressing.
@@davidstein9129 the bluray pure audio is superb. Mixed by Steven Wilson.
Famous Blue raincoat. Jennifer Warnes.
On your recommendation regards Eva Cassidy, who i have to admit I knew nothing about, i actually found the album Songbird in a charity shop. Very good indeed, i hope to find that live album. What a tragedy she died so young.
Yes it was really a shame. So young and talented. Makes you wonder about what else she would have gone on to do if she hadn't been taken from us like that. I feel the same way about Jeff Buckley too.
I can confirm its sounds truly fantastic. When you put it on its quite startling compared to how most CDs sound. Excellent recommendation and makes you think if a little label can do this... why cant the majors.
Out of 1k+ cd's I have, I think Santana 'supernatural', Megadeth 'cryptic writings', Crystal Gayle's album made from the original master, and you mentioned dark side also from original master are some that come to mind.. Also frank zappa albums are well produced. When I sold stereos, I used the crystal Gayle, and supertramp 'crime of the century and the 2 dire straits albums for demos. We had insane direct to discs that were next level. Lincoln mayorga and that bunch
👍👍👍 for Eva Cassidy & Daft Punk ( the later I have CD&Vinyl )
Would love to have both these on vinyl too. Especially Eva Cassidy!
Saludos y BENDICIONES desde Puerto Rico
Most of The Beach Boys "two-fers" (2 LPs per CD) released on Capitol in the '80's sound great, especially on headphones. One of my absolute faves is *Kiko* by Los Lobos (prod by Mitchell Froom, engr by Tchad Blake). Speaking of remasters, I've been loving the anniversary edition of Travis' *The Invisible Band* (prod by Nigel Godrich). I suggest that fans listening via CD should keep in mind that players & DACs from the last 10 years or so often sound much better than older machines, so those older CDs may have more great sound to offer.
I'll add, roxy music avalon, george michael listen without prejudice and frankie goes to hollywood welcome to the pleasure dome.
Good man... good thinking ..
I was expecting less known albums. We can easily google these
Sorry I have been such a let down to you, stranger!
What great sounding - but lesser known albums would you recommend?
I believe Random Access Memories is actually ADD, recorded in analogue. So are most Radiohead CDs - in fact, some of those may even be AAD, like OK Computer, which definitely has an analogue master tape in existence. Although digitally manipulated parts are present in Radiohead’s music as well, so it’s more like A(D)AD 😊
We all have our favorites but for the best live recorded CD there is the Allman Brothers "Live at Fillmore East". Of course there are better fidelity modes (Mobile Fidelity vinyl or analog reel to reel) but for a CD it stands the test of time.
Cheers for the recommendation. I love the Allman Brothers but didn't have that one so I've just ordered it!
I agree.
Please explain "Of course there are better fidelity modes "! ;-)
@@guyboisvert66 A CD is a "medium" fidelity recording/playback mode. At 16bit/44.1k Hz it may or may not please an audiophile given the quality of the original recording or the mastering. Other modes such as vinyl, SACD, digital download, open reel tape may yield superior audible results. All depends on the quality and care taken in the reproduction chain.
@@amham48 Ah ok, marketing influenced... CD quality is more than enough for human ears, higher than that bring almost nothing to the table... It's well documented that for a same master / mix source, humans are not able to distinguish from CD / SACD / "HiRes" Files. Open Reel tape is equivalent to about 13 bits, that was the best at that time but has been surpassed by digital since. I'm not saying that Otari / Studer / etc were "bad", they sounded great but there's better than that now. 24 bits / 96KHz is used for mixing but the result is downsampled @ 44.1 / 16 bits and it is, as i said, more than enough for human ears. If you have any background on digital signal theory / engineering math, you'll understand what i'm talking about. If not, here is a very good explanation for the non-engineers: czcams.com/video/cIQ9IXSUzuM/video.html
a nod to, "Tales of Mystery and Imagination: Edgar Allen Poe" by Alan Parsons Project...when i first heard this on a really nice stereo system, it blew my mind...
Alan Parsons was the sound engineer on both "Abbey Road" and "Dark side of the Moon". He's a legend. If anyone can make an album sound great it's Alan Parsons.
Thanks for the tip. I'm confused..Is Blu-ray Pure Audio a format? I'm not sure what the title of the recording is..or if there is one. Perhaps this is a series of recordings produced by Mr. Wilson. IDK
Thanks!
Grace Mahya Live at The DUG, Tesla Five Man London Jam, Al Stewat Year of the Cat, Ray Charles genius loves company. And anything from Mtv's Unplugged.
"Random Access Memories" is one of the few albums I have on both CD and vinyl. I have a lot of fun blind testing my friends with those to see if they can pick which is which lol
Haha excellent game! How many of them guess correctly?
Hmm, I want a go at that! I'm sure it'll get easier each time you play the vinyl though, no matter how careful you are...
Cool thing about that album is some tracks were recorded digitally and some analog, and you can hear it.
But the really really strange thing about this album that almost nobody knows about is that it was officially released in a small cotton growing town in NSW, Australia called Wee Waa.
They had their record release party at Wee Waa showground.
Now, Wee Waa is a small rural town with a population of about 2000 people and I'm guessing that out of those 2000 people maybe 6 maximum would have even known who Daft Punk was, hell... most people in Australia wouldn't have even heard of Wee Waa.
I have no idea how Daft Punk came to release this album there, it's so bizarre
What about Aja and Crime of The Century Superb albums quality music and sound.
Guilty of flicking through this a bit, so when I randomly clicked to 6:43, I thought that was going to be a 'wonderful wonderful life' because at a glance it looks like the Black album of the same name! I think maybe my best sounding CD was Genesis We can't dance, but that might be because it was the first one I bought...
The latest remix of Abbey Road blows the 1987 master away
Greetings. I'm buying all my music on CD again these days as, as you mentioned, vinyl is just too expensive and some pressings are frustratingly warped or crackly. And £25/30 is too rich for me to discover I don't really like that album after all. In the best of both worlds, I'd have CD's in a vinyl sized sleeve, so I would get the benefit of the wonderful artwork.
A subject I'm interested in, presented by a likeable, down to earth geezer without the audiophile snobbery - I'll have me some of that. Subscribed 👍
Plus CD's don't wear out after many plays.
I recommend any Tracy Chapman HDCD and Sade's remastered Japanese Import record pressings.
The Eva Cassidy album was recorded at Blue Ally in Washington, DC, not in Chicago.
Thanks for the correction. Good spot!
Boston's debut album is the best sounding ever .
Any Miles Import Remastered recording s...especially the Japanese Imports.
Listen to Body and Soul by Joe Jackson on Intervention Records!!!!
One of the most amazing listening experiences you’ll ever hear!!!!
Black Triangle Abbey road is the definitive best sounding version on cd.
Most of the Aphex Twin recordings post "drukqs" are engineered quite well.
I tried going back to vinyl after 20 some years on CDs and I couldn’t stand the popping and cracking that never bothered me before the CD. Some of my favorite reference CDs are
Metallica Kill Em’ All
Billy Idol White Wedding
Rush Moving Pictures
The Who Who’s Next
Steely Dan Anything from Steely Dan
Do you place all your digi-packs in sleeves?
Not currently. I may do in the future though. I like to listen to CDs on my portable CD player when I'm out and about and I don't like taking the digipacks with me in case they get damaged in my bag, so protective sleeves may be the answer!
HirRes audio downloaded is the best music I own for sound quality. I would agree that CD or even vinyl can sound great…..but HiRes at 192khz is hard to beat……it’s as close as you’ll get to the studio mix sound.
Recognise the B&W speakers in the background 😊
Blues Alley is as famous as Ronnie Scott's... & it's always been in Washington DC.
David sanborns cds sound pretty great. Some ddd.
RIP David Sanborn.
So I am a semi-professional musician and I had a nice promotional CD that I would give out to people and recently I thought I need to upgrade it. But then I thought who even has a player and CDs? ( I certainly do and love CDs ) but would I be laughed at handing out a CD?
While it's true that for most of the public, CDs are more or less a relic of the past, I do see tremendous value in artists selling them still. Fr a start you make more money than streaming or downloads and secondly these days (sad as it may seem) it's almost considered "merch". Fans may still stream the album but want something physical as a memento of their favourite band or a gig they really enjoyed. It's a bit like the "silent vinyl" phenomenon I suppose. Also from personal experience on this channel that talks mainly about CDs, I've had nearly 45k views in the first 3 weeks of putting out videos. To me that says there is still interest in the format.
Your mic talk is only in the right channel.
Totally agree. Perfectly mastered vinyl can sound great, but the cd will sound even better.
If you are in for a suprise: Courtesy of choice, artist; Leila. 👍🎼
Find it by searching for Courtesy of choice.
Daft Punk album is NOT fully digital fyi,,, Please see SOS magazine's related issue. Thank you.
There is multiple versions of each album you mension, go full sacd on everything if you can. Just got a longbox with wish you were here sbm and 24k goldplated, i laught about it some years ago, not anymore😅.
Some Sacd versions are worse than the cd, as they are compressed, shame. But the Japanese Sacd of dire Straits making movies beat any other version or format in my opinion
DSOTM aside, I don't share your musical preferences but that's life Even Dream Theater sounds overproduced on some albums but that's probably as close as prog metal will ever get to the mainstream.
Yeah I think DSOTM unifies most people, regardless of musical tastes. It's such a magnificent piece of work. Being a Cambridge lad, I have a soft spot for Floyd anyway!
Don't know much about Dream Theater if I'm honest. I'll check them out. I'm really enjoying all the great music people talk about on here. I'm getting so much inspiration!
Chicago Transit Authority.
Excellent shout!
Why is your voice only mono and the music stereo? 🤔
Yeah that was my fault. I thought I'd mixed the mono mic channel down to matching stereo tracks but clearly not! Apologies if it's annoying to listen to.
How ironic that the audio of this video is terrible ☺️
The left channel has left the building.
Hopefully you can have a laugh about it
I have some cds that were produced in the 90s that were horrible!! Fleetwood Mac Rumors, and their other album from the 70s were so bad, I couldn't listen to them. I found remastered editions in the 2000s that are so much better. I assume that remastered versions are the best.
Is it just me....? There is voice only in the right channel. Nothing in the left. Are we to assume Matt's Music Channel is in fact the LEFT channel? Play some music and let's see..
Sorry mate, that might be my fault! I was having some problems with audacity and I don't think it mixed the mono mic into both channels for some reason. Apologies if it's annoying (especially on headphones). Will sort it out for the next one.
I love CDs
Me too!
Sorry bud, Abbey Road sounds the absolute best on vinyl! and you have recorded this in MONO!!!
Sorry about the audio. For some reason Audacity wouldn't record in mono and I thought it I'd mixed the stereo track down to mono but turned out I hadn't! Apologies if it was annoying to listen to.
Abbey Road does sound amazing on Vinyl. My mum had a copy she bought new and it was the first Beatles album I ever heard. Will get a copy on vinyl at some point.
I kick myself for not knowing what I had when I was a kid. Thinking new was better than the old because of the packaging looking good made me get rid of many original cds.
20/20 hindsight is a wonderful thing! Like you, I regret getting rid of my original CDs back in the day. Some are getting hard to find these days.
Supertramp - Crime of the Century. CD in AAD format.
Unfuckingbelievable...
The ‘87 Beatles releases are fantastic and the only ones I’ll buy - still on the hunt for Sgt Pepper but have the rest
Daft Punk is amazing
For another that is very well recorded - The Tony Rich Project - Words 1996
No Steely Dan...? No 'like' from me then.
Haha to be fair Aja could easily be on this list but I tried to make it a mix between the ones everyone wants to see on the list and a couple that don't usually get mentioned. Might do a part 2 and include Steeley Dan Aja, Fleetwood Mac Rumours, Beach Boys Pet Sounds, etc in the near future!
I like your videos but looking at the flat covers of your CDs is a big turn off. They look dull and boring, nothing like opening the jewel case and taking out the booklet, it adds to the ritual.
Yeah I get it. It's purely a space thing. There's no more room for the collection to grow without doing this. I did a video on the pros and cons if you're interested.
Good selection but loses credibility by omitting Aja
There's far too many great sounding CDs to fit them all into one video. I'm planning on doing another one soon. Watch this space!
Can’t understand why dark side of the moon is thought of so highly. I’ve tried to listen to it a couple of times and in my opinion I deem as the worst album ever. Therefore put me off Pink Floyd for good.
Haha yeah they're not everyone's cup of tea for sure. I really love that album but you're by no means alone in disliking it!
Too much autotune and pitch correction on the remastering. Recorded music is dead.
The 1987 Beatles CDs weren't very good sounding. Then you get into rap crap.
Yeah the 87 Beatles stuff sounds amazing. It's ok that you don't like hip-hop. We all have our own tastes mate.
My point is that with all the noise effects (extreme auto-tuning, vocorders, etc.) that rap-hop uses, their recordings are no place to judge audio fidelity.@@mattsmusichannel
The album sounds fantastic on CD in my opinion and is widely recognised for the great mastering job that was done on it. If you're into Hip-Hop and want a great sounding album then this is a really good choice. If you want something to test how revealing your system is then sure, there are better options. I tried to choose a range of musical styles and what I felt sounds really good in their respective genres.
🙄your showing off great sounding albums but your video only has your voice in one ear of my speakers.🙄
This video is not one of the best sounding, all audio on one side, very annoying on headphones.
The irony 😂
Cds suck!
1/4" rtr
Vinyl
I welcome your nuanced argument anonymous bot/human (whatever you are behind that user name).
Vinyl sucks in all possible way, CD is superior to vinyl