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The Best CDs to Give as Presents


Here is a great idea: instead of bringing yet another bottle of wine to someone's dinner party.....

What CDs do you nominate to give as a present where:

a) There is at least a chance they wouldn't have it already

and

b) For any particular genre of music, both artist and performance could please a discriminating audience.

c) As usual EXTRA CREDIT! for good recordings!

Of course, you should stick to the wine and/or flowers for your audiophile friends who already have 10,000 CDs....

But hopefully this might grow into a useful list for normal music appreciating friends, family and business associates.

I have had some success with Vince Guaraldi for Christmas stocking stuffers and Patricia Barber for non audiophiles who like jazz.

This thread was inspired by my need to give some "classical" music to a friend who is a patron of the NY Philharmonic, but I otherwise have no idea regarding his tastes or collection.

Should recent reissues or remasters also be included?

Thank you and hope this is interesting for others.
cwlondon
tobias
1,534 posts
 
If I were giving music to a classical music lover and he/she liked Bach and Baroque, I'd give the Zelenka Trio Sonatas on ECM with Heinz Holliger playing oboe. Performance, recording and music all are top-notch. Having listened to Bach all my life I find Zelenka in some ways a relief -- less virtuosic, more melodic and still brilliant.
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
The Brandenburg Concertos.
gsm18439
895 posts
 
New Century Saxophone Quartet recording of Bach's The Art of Fugue. Exquisite, different, and familiar.
t_bone
1,182 posts
 
Theo, as long as the recipients also take up CD-giving, even if you give someone something they already have or secretly despise, they can simply give the same one away when they go somewhere.

CW, I personally think it is a great idea - I have but two local friends who have decent taste in wine, and discovering new music is cool.

In my local music stores, I can get some great samplers for cheap (you know, the ones where the music is off-copyright). I have listened to a lot of music I might have overlooked this way so I might do that. For a friend who loves a lot of music, I might do the 10-disc sets of great Blues artists, or a set of Dino Lupati recordings; for someone where I don't know their taste, I admit I'd spend longer thinking about it - depending on their age and general demeanor, perhaps a 60s jazz sampler, or something like LAGQ. If I truly had no idea but I knew the person had a sense of humor/discovery, I might try a sampler of 70s funk. So few people own any funk music but so many people get a kick out of listening to it. That said, if the partyholder is a control-freak, funk might be one of the more annoying things one could bring... :^)
foster_9
1,638 posts
 
The movie soundtrack "Shaft." This would make an outstanding gift. Excellent recording and timeless music that still sounds fresh after almost 40 years. For those who are unfamiliar (though everyone knows the "Shaft" theme song), the high quality of the writing, production, arrangement and performances in this recording is a happy revelation. IMO, this is Isaac Hayes' seminal work and legacy to popular music. A classic.
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