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Do you have a favorite record label?

There has been much consolidation in the music industry, so many independent labels are now parts of corporate conglomerates, but through out the history of recorded music individual labels have had identities.

  I grew up in Detroit in the sixties so of course Motown was front and center in my consciousness.  I just returned from a few days in Memphis and loved visiting the Stax, Sun Records, and especially the Rock and Soul Museums.

  I don’t listen to much Jazz but I am aware that labels such as Blue Note had distinct profiles.  The same is true for Reggae and World Music labels.

  My genre is Classical and many small independent labels have really driven the creativity in the industry.  While the so called major labels were duplicating the Classical Top 100 ad infinitum, labels such as Naxos, Musical Heritage Society, Erato, and then later Hyperion, BIS, Chandos and most importantly cpo have greatly expanded the amount of repertoire available to listeners.  It’s never been a better time to be a listener.

  Other favorites?  Any genre goes, and perhaps offer a few words about why you value that label

mahler123
jsalerno277
518 posts
 

I forgot to mention the Pentatone label, now under the Decca conglomerate.  Check out the following, which I consider some the best from the label:

  1. Smetana:  Ma Vlast
  2. Schubert:  Landler
  3. Hayden: Die Schopfung
  4. Bates:  The Revolution of Steve Jobs opera

inagroove
302 posts
 

During the past 10+ years, I have listened to 10,000+ LPs released on most of the labels listed above (sans many of the boutique Jazz labels).

To me, Harmonia Mundi is THE label that produces the best recorded LPs available today (only one dud in dozens of titles).

Really surprised that other's have not mentioned it before... 

inagroove
302 posts
 

P.S. I have three pressings of Crosby, Stills & Nash (their first, of two, by that title) - an original pressing (textured jacket), Mofi One-Step, and ERC ($$). 

The ERC wins, hands down.

ERC may be the only other label that I have heard that is on par with Harmonia Mundi for consistently clear, articulate, natural (realistic) recordings.  

Until I have time to open my other ERC recordings, I can not judge the consistency of their catalogue, so I can not recommend them.

I would love to know other's thoughts of the SQ of ERC releases.

drmuso's avatar
drmuso
260 posts
 

I was a big fan of Philips during the '70s, when the oil embargo in the US degraded the quality of vinyl from most labels.  The imported Philips LPs continued to have the quietest surfaces, and generally the recordings were good, with top classical artists.

Now I like BIS and Harmonia Mundi.  Some of the other labels others have mentioned also seem good--cpo, etc.

mahler123 OP
4,142 posts
 

@jsalerno277 

Pentatone is interesting.  They were started by ex Phillips engineers who had been involved in Quad releases.  The bought they rights to these recordings and reissued them in SACD while recording new material in SACD.  Eventually they stopped focusing on multichannel and SACD.

 I have dozens of Pentatone SACDs , but since they dropped their multichannel emphasis when they issue a new release that interests me I just stream it

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