Is there a a label you have found pretty much infallible? I mean by this, you could buy any CD or record and know you will enjoy it, both for the music, most important and recording quality. I am not including here, reissue labels like Speakers Corner. We are talking of new recordings and music
I have found a number which nealy hit that mark. In no particular order, Linn, Waterlilly, ECM and Opus 3.
My top pick is without a doubt, the German label Stockfisch. That is partly because they major on Singer, Songwriters, a genre I love. My favourite artists on the label are; Sara K David Munyon, Allan Taylor Eugene Ruffulo Chris Jones There are other excellent artists to and good compilations you could start with. My favourite of all, Sara K "Waterfalls"
Larry beat me to it! I was about to say that although it only existed under its original ownership from about 1975 to 1985, and it had a relatively limited catalog, the French classical label Astrée was so good musically and sonically (in LP form, at least) that it gets my top vote.
I was also about to give an honorable mention to Harmonia Mundi France.
As I get older, I find I tend to have less allegiance to individual acts and look for ways to find new music/performances I might like. One way is to put ones trust in certain labels/brands and go from there.
Naim that is recorded by Ken Christianson of Pro Musica in Chicago. His stuff is my favorite label. Some others I do enjoy- Harmonia Mundi Water Lily Acoustics-Kavi Alexander Chesky's brazilian stuff Mapleshade some of their jazz stuff is fun
Can't say 100% guaranteed I'd like every single release in their catalog but I'd buy a record without hearing from the following:
Kranky Siltbreeze AUM Fidelity Flying Nun Dischord UHF Constellation Quarterstick Merge Thrill Jockey Drag City Matador Southern Lord Profound Lore Kompakt Warp !K7 Load Sub Pop Neurot DFA Italians Do It Better Kill Rock Stars Troubleman Unlimited Burger
Some excellent suggestions here. The problem with some "Audiophile" labels is of course, the music. Some labels have excellent recordings, but the music is pretty forgetable. I would include Naim in this, though as always, there are exceptions. With Naim, it would be anything by Antonio Forcione.
I'll tell you David, Stockfisch certainly does a wonderful recording job and it's always nice to have something that justifies the amount of money spent on a nice system. But I have just grown too weary of audiophile demo music, if you know what I mean. I have found the older Philips classical recordings to be wonderful and the music is real. Look for a NM copy of Quartetto Italiano Mozart String Quartet in Bflat and String Quartet in F on Philips and you'll see what I mean.
For jazz fusion, check out the GRP label, started in the '80's by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen. It features releases such as "Harlequin" by Dave Grusin and Lee Rittenour. Larry Carleton, Dave Valentin are included in the catalog. Even going back to the '80's, this label got digital right.
Chavro, I couldn't agree more. I have the late Beethoven Quartets by Quaterto Italiano, one of my favourite recordings. I was trying to look for current releases, more than historical recordings and labels, in my original post.
If you are considering historical labels, then I may be prejudiced being British, but look no further than Decca and HMV. For me the great era of Classical recordings was on the SXL and ASD pressings respectively, of these two great companies, in the late 50's, 60's and 70's. As far as I know, you are deprived of easy access to their output. I am not sure how many recordings reached the US, not as many as here I am sure. You can still find countless thousands of them in second hand record stores here. The sustained high quality of recording and pressing over decades, has never been matched as far as I am concerned. The current favourite choice seems to be Decca, but I have always had a preference for HMV myself.
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