How can you tell the quality of the recording?

As in all cases its the mastering job of the recording, there are good recordings from the 80's and 90's not many but good examples are Donald Fagen's the Night Fly and Dire Straits Money for Nothing, One more thing to consider as cd has reached a maturity level of playback the better sources now available has brought my collection back to life in new way's as some recordings I use to think were unlistenable before now have a little more of my respect. Not sure why this is so but since adding the Oppo 95 with those lovely Ess sabre dac's may have something to do with it!

Does it sound natural.

Uh, it either sounds good and you like it or not maybe?

Most newer CDs on the last 10 -20 years are off good quality I would say.

That doesn't mean you will like the sound nor that most do not have flaws on the grand scale of things. It depends mostly on what you are listening for and what it takes to float your boat. It's a very personal thing. Like most things really....

That's why we have variety in the world. Chocolate vanilla, tutti frutti, all can be good quality but different.

I think I would get bored fast maybe if everything all sounded uniformly perfect. But that's just me....

Audiophiles by nature can be a hard to please bunch, always put off, always looking for flaws, always seeking better, etc.

Quality is a hard thing to quantify as we all learned reading "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and it's pursuit might even have some negative effects on one's psyche if not careful....

Wow, so much to respond to: I've been an audiophile since 19...I'm 52. My degree is in Broadcast Journalism, I was mixing in clubs @ 21, later when I calmed down, I was doing some church stuff, later yet was able to to some band recordings, handling the mix. Today I write and produce the television and radio for the company that I work for as well as still do occasional live recordings and work in churches, usually 4 to 10 pc bands, plus 4 people to full choirs... All of that is to say no more than I've experience and I've learned. Its never one thing... Mics matter, mic placement matters, If using more than 2 mics, you'll be mixing through a board. The quality of that equipment matters, just like an amp or cables to us. Where do you use an eq an how much matters. Mastering straight to 24 or 32 bit digital matters.
When I listen today, I listen very differntly than I did when I was 20 or even 30. Today, its top to bottom. Tight, clean bass, vocals accurate, no eq on vocals, mixed properly with the instuments, smooth, detailed high end. I've found that you can take what should be a great recording and just put the wrong person behind the board and you've got a mess.
So its great musicians, great vocals, great microphones, a great recording engineer, done on great equipment makes a great recording. Thats the condensed version.

Sorry, but I need to add and you can tell its a great recording because it sounds good....
Clean, detailed, tight, accurate.