What are your favorite sounding albums (note: I’m not talking about sound quality)

BF2>LYR3 >ZMF Ribbon Cable>ZMF Classics (protein pads) sound great with old Sabbath and Judas. Every time I pump enough gain through this pairing I have to exclaim "these are really nice cans".

 

Ani DiFranco, Dilate

I'm not sure whether other people hear this album the way I do. Ani's earlier studio albums almost have the feel of intimate live recordings: Just her and her guitar, accompanied often by Andy Stochansky and rarely by other musicians, with minimal production or processing of the acoustic sound. But Dilate sounds totally different to me -- it's still just her and Andy, but she plays eight or nine instruments and it's almost like she uses the studio as yet another one. The record isn't just more polished than her earlier work, it has a whole different quality.

Bandcamp and YouTube
Track 1, "Untouchable Face", is probably the most broadly known of all her songs. Everything on the album is good, but I probably listen most to track 4, "Dilate", and track 9, "Going Down".



Ani DiFranco, Living In Clip

So I never saw Cheap Trick or Peter Frampton in concert. But of the performers I have seen, none has an album that captures the experience of their live show better than Living In Clip. I've been to 20+ Ani shows and I have tapes of at least that many, but even those tapes don't convey the sense of being there like this record does. It's really remarkable.

Bandcamp and Youtube
Best experienced straight through from track 1 to track 31. But if you have to pick and choose, try track 5, "Shy"; track 9, "I'm no Heroine"; and track 15, "32 Flavors".

 

M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

An epic double album by French duo, M83. Developed after Anthony Gonzalez moved to California, he has said that the album is an ode to Los Angeles. After living in SoCal for a number of years, I definitely feel an LA 80s inspiration. Many tracks have an ethereal quality and I think about space or focused calm when listening. It feels like they've derived inspiration from Philip Glass.

 

Oak - False Memory Archive

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kKgjg54r8YJID2QoJsU5c_6RuHMWby9ZE




I love the combinations of sounds and textures paired with good lyrics and some outstanding vocal harmonies.

 

Here’s two albums that need a flat lower midrange to sound their best. f**k the upper mids.


Low - The Great Destroyer

I read a review somewhere saying that when Low was at their best they know exactly when to hit here, hit there, come down a bit, Come back up, hit again. No better is that skill showcased than on this album. But if you’ve got just upper mids blasting you in the face you’ll miss the beautiful sound of the guitar captured on this album. One of my favorite rock albums.





Earth - Hibernaculum

also has part of an awesome photograph by an awesome photographer on the cover. The sound of the distorted guitar is super rich and slow, with slow thick drum beats and subtle slide guitar giving it a subtle earthy country sound. It’s still definitely a metal album but like none you’ve ever heard.

 

listened to this and agree it’s got a great sound. Made me realize that all her albums have a different sound that fits the music. She’s very creative and exploratory with both her music and its sound. Compare this to “White Chaulk” or “Let England Shake”

 

I sadly couldn’t find a YouTube video but the version of “Hear My Train a’ Comin’” on the album “Blues” is some of the best guitar playing I’ve ever heard, the sound he gets out of the electric guitar is unbelievable. Unparalleled. I think this is the best example of Jimi Hendrix’s guitar work I’ve heard.



Also the version of “Hey Joe” on the 1disc album version of Winterland. Also not on YouTube but so so good.

 

This was some brilliant Hendrix! I thank you for sharing it with us

Something odd I'm not sure if I've shared here, but this rendition of Amazing Grace is my favorite! Not just as a piece of music but the moment that's captured here is pretty special! As it was done live in the Church I believe, the documentary is also pretty spectacular

 

I never really got into Hendrix for a long time. Then recently I’ve gotten into metal particularly sludge slow metal and this opened the door for me understanding Hendtix. I think he may have been the first metal musician. Which means metal is heavily blues based, something I never thought about before.

I don’t think anyone can get that kind of sound out of a guitar. Though he’s still not my favorite guitarist I don’t think I have one. Lots of sounds and ways to play electric guitar!

 

I've been on a Alice In Chains Jar of Flies kick lately, I just love entire composition of the album as a whole!

 

Another beautiful Low recording. This one is I believe a YouTube exclusive. Live in a recording studio. Sound quality is excellent and just lets low’s sound shine through. This is the other side of Low from The Great Destroyer album I posted earlier. Slow, and honest and gorgeous. One of the best live acts I’ve seen. They pour their hearts out on stage it’s incredible to witness. This gives you a glimpse but you should go see them live.

 

You'd probably like this one too - Low together with the Dirty Three. Track 2 is a great cover of Neil Young's 'Down by the River'.

 

I own the album! I love the dirty three too! Great band. Totally unique and such a powerful sound for 3 musicians.

 

Here’s one of my favorite Dirty Three albums.



https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLckAHSF6bQghqvSpk9y0zBjU0dppkZC2I&feature=share

 

Super cool thread.

Got me thinking about two albums I love for the feel/sound, and that have a kind of spiritual kinship with each other.

Both albums have this laconic, drone-ish, blues quality, with a real sound of being in a room with some musicians who are slaying you with their restraint. Both make you want to have a joint in your fingers.

Chris Whitley - Perfect Day

Perfect Day is probably my favorite track from this album — and a far better version than the Lou Reed version — but Wild Ox Moan is the one you need to hear first to feel the vibration of the album.



And then there's this Jason Molina album. The brother from another mother album.

Songs: Ohia - Ghost Tropic

No Limit On The Words is a fine entry point here.



Incidentally, Wild Ox Moan is one of those songs — like The Ship Song — where listening to every cover you can find is incredibly rewarding and interesting.

EDIT: Oh, and the saddest kinship between these two: both musicians died young, arguably at their own hand. Molina drank himself to death (organ failure), and Whitley smoked himself to death (lung cancer).

 

Best sounding of all time?
Allman Brothers Live at the Fillmore East and Layla by Derek and the Dominoes have stuck with me longest.
Temptations greatest hits always a pleasure....
Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note stuck in my mindscape probably forever with Coltrane's My Favorite Things

 

Medeski Martin and Wood are a genre defying “psychedelic acid jazz” trio who have been around forever and have a sound that is completely their own. I’ve seen them in concert multiple times and they always blow my mind. Incredibly talented musicians. I have no idea how to describe their sound.

From their website:

“Imagine the cubist angles of Sun Ra’s alto saxophonist Marshall Allen fluttering in between beats, Marc Ribot on guitar, plus strings, and a percussion ensemble, and you have a glimpse into what the Dropper is about. The album organically weaves avant-garde experimentalism and hypnotic thunder music into a well-developed dropper. Witness the trio’s maturing sound metamorphize once again.”

here’s the song “The Dropper” from the album of the same name. The whole album is really good but not available on YouTube.

 

Found the dropper on Tidal, will give it a listen, 22 albums available...

 

Yeah they’ve been around forever! One of those bands that is really good and has a devoted following that is enough to support the band but for whatever reason they never get “big”. In MMW’s case you can imagine why. It’s too “out there” too get that popular. The keyboardist is a madman! You should see his keyboard layout when he plays live. He’s surrounded by keyboards on all sides.

 

Now that’s what I call “range”

MMW acoustic Hey Joe