Famous well mixed-mastered albums?

[The don]

I got my yamaha msp5 recently and i would like to practise my ear and learn my speakers.
could anyone suggest a well mastered album?
All kind of music except heavy things like black metal...they are too rough for my ears

[pingu]

Well produced albums.

Pat Metheny secret garden

[ericlingus]

pick up "A Blaze in the Northern Sky" by Darkthrone. Oh wait.. you said not black metal and a GOOD mixed and mastered CD. How about Blackwater Park by Opeth. They have some heavy moments(not black metal though) but softer ones as well.

[pingu]

I think if you want shit loads of examples do a search here or at gearslutz and you will find a few threads that have covered this.

[ericlingus]

Yeah I remember threads about this and lots of albums were mentioned.

[DonF]

Check out Bob Katz's "CD Honor Roll": http://www.digido.com/portal/pmodule...er_page_id=93/

Don

[formerlyfzfile]

Obviously there are tons of great albums that make good referencing but some of my favorites are:

Wilco - A Ghost Is Born ...... great mix of beautiful and ugly sounds.
Mr Bungle - California ..... serious ear gymnastics
Zappa - Make A Jazz Noise Here ....... great live album
Radiohead - OK Computer ..... love the guitar on this album
Beck - Midnight Vultures ....... great album nobody every talks about. Sea Change is well done too but makes me want to shoot myself
Phish - Story of The Ghost ..... cohesive and open sound
Jane's Addiction - Ritual De Lo Habitual .... classic (strange to say that)

Take the albums YOU are most familiar with and listen to them a LOT on those speakers ..... and do direct comparisons to how they sound on other speakers and try to be super critical of those differences. (Obviously) The more familiar you are with the reference material the more you'll be able to find the little nuances that sound different on your speakers compared to other "regualr" sound systems.


-mike

[TheDewd]

The best sounding album I've ever heard is, without a doubt, Bon Jovi's "Keep The Faith".
Randall Staub is a sucker for mixing so good! I envy him so much!
And George Marino has a way of cleaning the job with his honorable mastering skills.
This album is dated 1992, which implies that the "loudness war" didn't catch fully yet.
Thus, the mastering lets the songs breathe and seriously, the SNARE is so good, I drool over it everytime I listen to "If I was your Mother".
That snare is something to be heard!

[LeeRosario]

anything engineered by Al Schmitt. I would be specific, but it's worth checking any of his work.

[pingu]

The Dewd

It seemd your not just a pretty face.

Love the red BTW

[Farview]

I always liked the sound of Dream Theaters 'Awake' album. I'm having to learn some Heart tunes and I'm amazed at how powerful some of those songs are. According to Wavelabs meters, Barracuda has an rms level of about -20dbfs. I haven't bought anything in the last few years that had an rms level much below -9dbfs. I wonder if there is a connection?

[pingu]

Connection?

Probably.

Dont think it has anything to do with headroom though or fairy dust.


Just joking.

Dont hate me more.

[FALKEN]

i always thought stp's purple was a really good sounding album. until i used it as a reference, and my mix came out balanced, yes, but very guitar heavy like albums sounded in the 90s....not the sound i'm going for now...you know? i think its good to stay within the style...

[The don]

thx for your time gentlemen....

[SouthSIDE Glen]

"Belly of the Whale" (single) by Burning Sensation

"Back To Back" by Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges

The soundtrack to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"

"Get Started, Start A Fire" (single) by Graham Parker

"Rain Dogs" by Tom Waits

"It Feels Like Rain" by Buddy Guy

"Rhythm, County and Blues" by about 100 A-List artists

and any album by Lyle Lovett.

G.

[rayc]

The graham parker single & album are great for a lighter, somewhat acoustic sound. I mean REALLY GREAT if that's what you're aiming for.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by pingu

Well produced albums. Pat Metheny secret garden

Indeed, Secret Story is something to wonder !

Too many Windham Hill,Narada,GRP,Novus, Pope and ECM Records to mention

Genre jumping…as I recall my random picks :

Veracini 5 Ouvertures - Musica Antiqua Köln

La Damnation de Faust - Boston Symphony Orchestra (Seiji Ozawa)

Andreas Vollenweider - Book Of Roses

Track 09 : Jugglers in Obsidian

Timbre and treatment of this Spanish Guitar is so ruthless for dynamic (dome and cone) , unlike anything I have ever heard. In fact, only the planar systems are able to resolve inner detail properly. Even the finest dynamic speaker, sounds mechanical compared to the planar when listening to this piece. For any ribbon owner must. Certainly test this track !


Kristin Hersh - Hips And Makers

Barbra - Back To Broadway (David Foster + Synclavier


OST Predator II (Alan Silvestry)

The Living Daylights (John Barry)

The Blue Nile - A Walk Across The Rooftops

Cocteau Twins - Heaven Or Las Vegas

Depeche Mode - Songs Of Faith and Devotion

Sting - Ten Summoner’s Tales


Mark Isham - (Mark Isham)
Atmosphere equivalent of sumicron lense

Yanni - Keys To Imagination ( Interesting how self thought man developed refined sense of importance to production. We may debate his A-minor occasional no~way~out~street, but man is dangerously addicted to making superb sound. You have to hear this album where composition and production become one.

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Originally Posted by rayc

The graham parker single & album are great for a lighter, somewhat acoustic sound. I mean REALLY GREAT if that's what you're aiming for.

Oh yeah, they nail a real fine line there between crisp and sparkly without going so far as to sound harsh or artificial. Great air. And that bass line anchors it very solidly on the lower end for a full balance that remains very tight sounding at the same time. I could listen to just the first half-dozen bars of that song alone if they didn't also do such a tight job building the rest of it as the song goes along as well.

G.

[breaktheground]

I'm suprised nobody mentioned THE MARS VOLTA.

Deloused in the Comatorium is the best mix i've ever heard, Mr. Bungle's California used to be #1 for me but TMV ruined it.

If nobody has this album, BUY IT. One of the best albums ever recorded/performed in the history of music, no joke. The are the Pink Floyd of our generation. This is the only album i've heard in the last 10 years that actually has some soul.

[petermiller]

I'm not a fan but check out steely dan "gaucho" great recording for listening to speakers on.

[Ironklad Audio]

tool - aenima

lateralus as well...david bottrill made both of these albums sound amazing

the last few neurosis albums also sound amazing, as they were all engineered by steve albini

i've also always been fond of the mix/master quality of deftones albums, especially around the fur and white pony