On a different note, share the artists you own that DON'T sound good


Use whatever parameters you pay attention to. Timbres, dynamics, clarity, imaging, soundstage, top-end, mids, bottom-end, etc.

In my collection, the artists that (usually) don't sound good are-

Faces

Rod Stewart 

(early) Rolling Stones

(some) Ted Nugent

(some) Eric Clapton

(early) Aerosmith

(early) Beatles

(early) Credence

(early) Doobie Bros

(early) The Clash

Foghat

(early) The Who

(early) ZZ Top

(early) Led Zeppelin 

Janice Joplin

I've probably overlooked some other stinkers in my collection

Thank  God for talented remastering engineers!

tomcarr

Neil Young, "Mirror Ball," with Pearl Jam is a terrific album, poorly recorded. I have tried to appreciate the "grunge" recording.

Same with any Smithereens recording. The sound is so two dimensional. 

Also, Nick Lowe is a terrific musician. As a producer, not so much. Any many musicians had him producing their albums-Elvis Costello and the Attractions in particular. "Get Happy!!" and  "Armed Forces" are great records, but the sound....

David

 

I'm a big Jethro Tull fan, and some of their albums are terrible as far as sound quality goes.  Then on the reverse side, Ian Anderson's "Divinities" is one of the best recordings available.  Some old "Stones" albums were also not good.  If I think about it more I could probably name many more.  I try not to listen to the recordings that are poor quality.

The Velvet Underground made some of the most groundbreaking, highly influential music of the 60’s but the SQ of their recordings are not for the faint of heart. They were probably recorded to intentionally sound lo-fi and “White Light White Heat” in particular is a tough listen. They are still on regular rotation on my system including Lou Reed’s solo work.

@orthomead 

The best way to learn about jazz is to start listening to it.

 

Yes. And it's such a broad genre that one can ease into it. 

More on point, I wish the early Led Zep CDs sounded better.