What CDs to buy

My analog slightly bests digital with many recordings , so I might listen to CDs when the vinyl is out of print. Also, I might not want to spend the asking price for vinyl and prefer to own the digital, which means CD, or download. So, for me CD is not a primary focus, but plays a small part of what I listen to. The Three Blind Mice 45 RPM box is out, so this probably retires my CD. We will see.

All that said, I can’t rationally justify buying physical media when streaming sounds so good.  That last ten percent with vinyl play comes at a premium.

@dhite71 

When auditioning music to buy I generally use the following resource-

AOTY

Usually at the end of the month I’ll sort the new release albums buy genre, screenshot the album cover icons to use as a list and then audition that months releases on Qobuz. I make notes of those I wish to purchase and place an order when done- Easy! 
There are other online catalogs and lists that I use as well but this provides me with the most up to date info out there. You can even go through previous years listings as well. Give it a try!

For the most part, CDs were mass produced in many countries. At the peak of CD production, there weren’t many Pop, Rock, Country releases that stood out in terms of sound quality. High quality was the norm for classical and jazz. There were some great albums that should be in everyone's collection such as Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.

After the mid 90s til present, record labels began to remaster the original CD releases, and started a wave of terrible sounding discs. Read about the Loudness Wars.

If you want to start listening to jazz or classical, @jasonbourne52 made some great choices.

There are some small producers of high quality CDs and records of  different genres. 

Google "Analogue Productions" and "Mobile Fidelity."

XRCD’s …. Step- up in mastering from ordinary redbook cd’s

go browse DISCOGS and ELUSIVEDISC , especially for their Various – Best Audiophile Voices series 

https://elusivedisc.com/music/digital/xrcd/