I know we already have the “what are you listening to now” thread, and the “song of the day” thread, and while those are great in their own right, knowing that someone is listening to DSOTM, Aja, Rumors, etc isn’t really what I’m looking for. The purpose of this thread is to share music that you have discovered, that you have a reasonable belief the many here may not have heard of.  Any genre, any medium - quality recordings a definite plus. 

A couple of my recent “finds”:

Everything I have found so far has astronomical prices attached which I not able to pay at this point; I need these to be in a digital format (Preferable WAVE, FLAC, OGG or high-bitrate MP3 etc)

The albums are:

Studio

Madcap Laughs

Barrett

Live

The Peel Sessions

The Radio One Sessions

Compilations

Syd Barrett

Opel

Octopus: The Best Of Syd Barrett

Crazy Diamond

Wouldn't You Miss Me?  The Best Of Syd Barrett

An Introduction To Syd Barrett

Thanks for looking!

What albums do you enjoy every song on, hence the title - All killer, no filler!

One of my favorites for this category is Fleetwood Mac - Rumors. I enjoy EVERY song on this album.  When I was younger, I could not stand “Never Goin’ Back Again”, but now, with a greater appreciation of Lindsay’s guitar work, and much higher quality audio gear, it’s become one of my favorites.  Also, the DVD Audio version has an extra track, “Silver Springs” that’s a true gem. 

https://www.headphonesty.com/2025/03/best-audiophile-songs-test-speakers/?fbclid=IwY2xjawI7DW9leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHR2scdh4F4al5VNEbM-Qjtr9p3xT9iMb2PsVPYyjSRto-oGOxP9NGuwbuA_aem_c-QRHFgd9NJUy1ArtUGq_w

Not reissues, but newly released albums.

Please introduce the artist/group and a little info about the album.

A link to an album cover is cool, videos are not necessary. 

I'll go first

Latest discovery: Thicker than Water by Brian Bromberg. 

Brian is an accomplished bass player both electric & acoustic.

The album was released in July of 2018

https://www.statista.com/chart/32880/share-of-hours-spent-engaging-with-music/

IFPI's landmark Engaging with Music 2023 report provides insight to the music industry from the perspective of fans, with survey data of over 43,000 internet users across 26 countries. It found that on average, respondents listened to 20.7 hours of music each week, up from 20.1 hours per week in 2022. IFPI also reveals that on average, people listen to eight or more different genres and use seven or more different methods to engage with music.

As the following chart shows, audio streaming now makes up the biggest share in terms of methods used for listenership. Just under a third (32 percent) of all the hours that people spent engaging with music in 2023 was under the umbrella term of audio streaming, including subscription and free tiers such as Spotify, Apple Music and Melon. The second most popular method was video streaming (31 percent), which includes long-form and short-form videos found on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, while the third most popular was music on the radio (17 percent), including live broadcasts, catch up and internet radio stations.

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/a46871755/james-kaplan-miles-davis-3-shades-of-blue-excerpt/

I am hoping that this is a good thing.

Are you a Roon user?  If so, What do you think?

This thread is about one thing, and one thing only - Stunning recordings. Any format, any genre.  You don’t even have to like the music itself - it’s all about the RECORDING quality. We all know several of the standards - Dire Straits Brothers In Arms SACD, Donald Fagen Nightfly SACD, Fleetwood Mac Rumors DVDA, etc.  I’ve come across a few new ones lately too.  Please consider sharing your new finds, as well as your “old guard”.

Katie Melua, Piece By Piece off the Katie Melua Collection CD.

This track has incredible space and imaging right out of the gate.  The detail in her vocal presentation is on the level of many Alison Krauss recordings (That’s very high praise).  The bass is extremely deep, but without a hint of bloat or boom. The actual lyrics of the song are even touching and deep.  The CD is readily available on line for cheap, and I highly recommend acquiring it.

https://www.amazon.com/Katie-Melua-Collection-Incl-Bonus/dp/B001B4JVKE/ref=sr_1_15?crid=3H9ZG5QGS9JTE&keywords=katie+melua&qid=1644770023&s=music&sprefix=Katie+me%2Cpopular%2C144&sr=1-15

https://www.rt.com/pop-culture/573014-queen-brian-may-knighted/

The real meat of the documentary is a list of iconic musicians working with Grohl to cut a track for an album spawned by this documentary - more on that in a minute. He works with Rick Springfield, Stevie Nicks, Paul McCartney, Lee Ving, Chris Goss, Jim Keltner Trent Reznor, and Jesse Greene. The last two (Reznor and Greene) absolutely blew me away in their respective sessions with Grohl. I later learned that they cut an album of these tracks, titled Studio City, Real to Reel 606. After watching the Blu-ray, I couldn’t order this disc fast enough. Well, as good as the Blu-ray is, the CD is every bit as bad. No sound stage, no dynamics, no clarity - just blah. And to add insult to injury, the tracks on the CD sound nothing like the tracks they were cutting on the Blu-ray. 
 

So in short, definitely buy (and watch) the Blu-ray documentary, but avoid the CD…

the Blu-ray 

the Cd - AVOID!

The Rippingtons, Moonlighting was also released in Japan as Cruise Control, Moon Riding. Both albums were released on CD and vinyl.

Does anyone know of others?

Apparently Mark knopfler played the guitar for this 

I was hoping to cull the knowledge of the members here and ask for recommendations for the next step in my system.

Attached is a picture of my current system.  I am wanting to replace the Yamaha receiver with something more suited to the tasks that I need it for.  Since, as you can see, the Carver amps are taking care of the amplification, I don't need a receiver that has the ability to amplify (and the Yamaha's pre-outs seem very weak).  So, as I see it, my needs are pre-amplification to the amps, and distribution of HDMI signals.  I need something that outputs at least 2 HDMI signals so I can watch TV and have a playlist going on the smaller screen.  Also, although I have never actually tuned in an am/fm signal, it might be helpful to have that feature.  And it goes without saying that it should be wifey friendly to operate, although I have the system setup so that she doesn't have to mess with my setup if she just wants to watch TV.  

I'm looking forward to your thoughts pointing me in the right direction.  As of yet, I haven't found anything that quite seems to fit the bill.

To kick it off, I recently acquired an SACD version of Blood, Sweat and Tears. I’ve always loved this group, as they are about as close as I stray to Jazz, lol. 
 

anyway, the track “You Make Me So Very Happy” is splendid. The various percussion instruments, the brass (!) and the bass are superb. If you haven’t heard this one in a while, give it a whirl - the SACD is pretty reasonable - there’s on on eBay right now for $26 BIN…

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185177027232?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=185177027232&targetid=1264870804984&device=m&mktype=&googleloc=1026990&poi=&campaignid=14859008593&mkgroupid=130497710760&rlsatarget=pla-1264870804984&abcId=9300678&merchantid=6296724&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2NaNBhDvARIsAEw55hjd5saty2EkGaTZH09v01cAWFrawGXdyIOAIgZZ3ETddue4vqLLakAaAk7GEALw_wcB

The first came courtesy of @jazzman53 from his post in the “new music” thread.  When he posted “Wicked Game” by Lydia Ainsworth, I just knew she was right up my alley, so I ordered three of her CDs.  Upon listening to them, “Wicked Game” is not entirely indicative of the majority of her material - much of her material is even better!  She has a ethereal vocal presentation combined with an electronic sound.  Think great female vocals with a toned-down Deadmou5 sound.  And her recording quality is sublime. My favorite (and new addition to reference tracks) was “Floating Dream” off her Phantom Forest album.  This track has -and I don’t use this term lightly- perfect bass, superb imaging and wonderful depth, and the detail is right up there with my other reference tracks from Alison Krauss and Dire Straits. This gal gives me hope for the future of pop-style music. 
 

The second great find of the night has kind of a funny backstory. I went through a phase in my life when I had way more money than time.  During that time, I bought a lot of SACDs that I barely listened to. However, I had one that I never even unwrapped - The Other Side by Godsmack. During my listening session, my wife came downstairs and listened for a bit (which very rarely happens). I asked her if there was anything she wanted to hear, and she asked about a particular Godsmack song that happened not to be in my FLAC library.  That’s when I remembered the SACD I had. I got it off the shelf, unwrapped it and put it in the Oppo - as soon as I hit play, my jaw hit the floor.  The detail, the clarity, the imaging... just.... WOW....  just about every track on this disc is pure GOLD. One of my quickest and easiest go-to tests for recording quality is cymbals. If I can’t tell the difference between a hi-hat, crash and ride cymbal, it’s not reference.  The Godsmack disc features a perfectly miced and mixed drum kit - every different type of cymbal (and tamboreen) has its own sound signature AND place within the soundstage - pure magic! And yes, there’s more than just cymbals, but you get the idea.  This disc is now in my top 5 (actually top 2 or 3 with Love over Gold and Rumors) reference discs.  
 

the Lydia Ainsworth track - YouTube won’t do it justice, but you’ll get the idea:

https://thedoobiebrothers.com/news/298444

Does anyone else relate to this, or am I in fact just a snob?
 

This only applies to listening in front of my 2ch rig, mind you - I’ll listen to much more via earbuds.