Very best sounding Vinyl

The absolute best sounding vinyl recording I own is the MFSL One-Step version of Yes Fragile.  Nothing else I have comes close.  It's also one of the nicest in terms of presentation - the box and contents are first class, well worth the asking price.

All of the Dire Straits MFSL 45 RPM releases are fantastic and I love the Cars S/T and Heartbeat City MFSL releases.

A friend gave me a copy of Hall & Oates Abandoned Luncheonette that was a Hot Stamper from Better Records.  I was really disappointed.  It had a fair amount of surface noise and the sleeve wasn't terrible, but was a bit worn.  All I could think was how mad I would have been had I actually spent big money on that record.

Some time later, I decided to give it another listen and compare it to some of the other copies I have, including a MFSL.  I was surprised to notice that while it was a little noisy, it certainly did have much better sonics and dynamics than the other pressings I owned. 

I can appreciate that the business model requires the purchase of multiple copies of a pressing and time spent listening to them all.  Taken in that context, the prices are not really that high.  It all comes down to what it's worth to you to have the best listening experience.  I bought 10 copies of Fly Like an Eagle trying to find one that sounded great and got close to great with one the MFSL copies I found.  It would have been easier and probably not have cost a lot more to just buy one from Better Records. 

I still haven't been able to bring myself to actually buy anything from Better Records, but I wouldn't just dismiss what they're doing out of hand.

Never heard of Better Records and their grading system. Is the happy medium just to buy those recordings on Ebay ? I assume people resell them there.

last time i visited Tom Port (Better Records) in his garage was 1999, and bought 10-15 records. not much impressed with his turntable. but i was happy with the pressings i bought. it was before he came up with the ’Hot Stamper’ branding.....and quadrupled his prices.

as far as best sounding vinyl predictably as a group; it’s certainly NOT early 80’s digitally recorded rock’n roll (Dire Straits). agree that they do sound good......but not great. got to go back 5-7 years to mid-70’s analog based masters (Eagles, Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac) and find an original pressing. i’m not saying digitally sourced pressings are bad, just not top level.

but easily the best sounding records as a large group are the Classic Records late 90’s and early 2000’s single sided 45rpm’s. and then certain Analog Production and Music Matters subscription based 45rpm series pressings. these recordings were the top ’Golden Age’ performances (Classical, Jazz and Rock) and all analog. and the quality of the mastering and production is outstanding. and this was 15-25 years ago and the master tapes were in better shape than now.

i have almost 100% of these 45’s; a whole wall. i could list 200 of them and all would be winners. trying to find original pressings of all these recordings would run you hundreds of thousands of dollars if you could find them. and in many cases (not all) the 45 rpm reissue would sound better. try a few and see what you think. they are findable and predictably excellent.

if you are a Led Zeppelin fan; see if you can listen to the Classic Records 45 rpm single sided box set. these are absolutely astonishing. not cheap; but unless you have the master tape the best you will ever hear LZ.

direct-to-disc can also sound very good; but most are not the best performances. so you many times get great sound and second rate music.

Oh yeah, in terms of vinyl sound quality alone would have to agree. In terms of "to show off your system" though BIA is hard to beat. Between you and me, I would go for the ones you mentioned.

 I don't think anyone here can tell you what the "Very best sounding Vinyl" is.

I agree with Mikelavigne's assessment of a where a good sounding record comes from. 

45 rpm Classic Zepp recordings-I would love to hear LZI-3 and HOH on system like Mikes. I'm a period press guy, but I've heard raves from others. I have a nice 33rpm Classic HOH, but it doesn't hold up to my RL press.

My collection is essentially 1980 and backwards. Really, it's more apersonal preference of music. Anything beyond that on an LP is because it was originally offered as both CD or LP. Those records however, generally sound no better than a good file or CD.

Better Records is for the person who doesn't want to put in the time to bin dive. You're paying for the service of going thru 3+ copies of a great Rock, Jazz or Classical to find the "Goldilocks"  stamper press. Original period press is only a start to finding "the best". SQ will vary with each copy.

If you want to "show off your system" get some of those tired artists I hear at shows or demos. Do a check on Discogs to reference the period press to see what to look for. It's not 100% accurate, but pretty close.

Diana Krall
Jennifer Warnes
Eagles
Miles KOB
Dave Brubeck Time Out
Steely Day AJA or Gaucho
Dire Straits...someone complete the list, I'm getting nauseous.

Ugh...I truly enjoy hearing those artists, but not for "audio geek" listening sessions.