What are your "reference" CDs?

My reference LPs: Ry Cooder "Jazz", Ry Cooder "Paris-Texas";
Tchaikovski/Rozhdestvenski "Swan Lake" and "Sleeping Beauty" boxed set; Pat Metheny "Offramp"; Can "Ege Bamiasi";
Frank Zappa "Uncle Meat"; King Crimson "Islands".

My reference CDs: Symphonic Tango(Teldec), John Pattitucci "One More Angel"(Concord Jazz); Praxis "Transmutation"; Lobos/Brouer/Piazzolla "Death of an Angel" symphonic compilation of latin composers; Guesch Patti "Blonde".

I'm surprised to find Sting on your reference CD list. I love his music, and own most of his CDs, but I find the recordings to be rather compressed with a lack of good dynamics. Anyone else feel this way about Sting's recordings, or is it just me?

jd

Sting and Eagles as well are all drastically compressed but if you like it you listen despite the quality of recordings.

Sting on vinyl sounds far a-lot better. Later digital remasters if such exist might sound much more better.

I personally loved Sting within the Police period. The later he goes the worse and the more pop his albums are.

Robert Cray "Sweet Potato Pie", Bocelli "Romanza", Clapton "Unplugged", Natalie Merchant "Tigerlilly".

Lucinda Williams "Car wheels on a gravel road"
Miles Davis of course "Kind of blue"
Karrin Allyson "Remembering John Coltrane"