Stereophile's Great Recordings (February 2012 Issue)

Johnny Vinyl

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I only own 7 of the recordings mentioned, which goes to show that I probably have better taste than they do. I say that somewhat facetiously, but I can't believe that each one of these is a masterpiece of good music, unless the point was to choose a good recording without regard to content. Not referring to this list, but I've bought a few "recommended titles" over the years and they left me rather unimpressed to say the least.

What's your take on these lists?
 

Fast/Forward

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Aug 21, 2011
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Filler!! :)

I'm relieved reviewers don't listen to Mitch Miller, Lawrence Welk and Montovani! LOL!
John, I started paying attention to what LPs were spinning on audio reviewers
gear and seeing if their taste in music and then audio matched mine. When the twains meet
you may "get" a reviewer and notice what you have in common in both areas.
A less than ideal example is HP. No, not the sauce! I found his hardware reviews consistently
dependable, and his sonic judgement of vinyl spot on (with his gear, how else), but when it came to musical taste we were not in tune. It didn't mean that one of us was right and the other wrong but how one connects to the music. Myself, I happen to prefer European conductors but having a European born parents may have something to do with it.

But still filler.
 

Ronm1

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Well John by your logic I have better taste then you and the mag, only four here!!! Course in the past that # has changed on my stash with the periodic Records to Die for
 

Johnny Vinyl

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Well John by your logic I have better taste then you and the mag, only four here!!! Course in the past that # has changed on my stash with the periodic Records to Die for

LOL! You got me and yes you do! And ditto on the R2D4. I actually like the Music Reviews from TAS best of all as it gives me a scale on both the music and the sonics. I've bought a few as a result and so far no dogs to speak of.
 

Ronm1

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John, some nostalgia, I really appreciated the music reviews in the old Stereo Review. Plus do you remember a, I'll call it a compendium, privately published that listed only classical recordings....as an ex on Beethoven's 5th it would list every known lp by artist, label, if a reissue and every mag review by sonics/perf, by mail only. Later cd's were added, format was 8x11 similar to a large crossword book, very small font though. That one was really helpful when I started to get into classical in the early 70's.
 

Johnny Vinyl

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I don't recall that listing, no. So (on vinyl), what is the best recording out there of LvB's 5th?
 

Ronm1

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^^^ I wish I could ans that, they stopped publishing in the late 80's/early 90's. Through various moves I no longer have any copies, bummer. I remember getting a refund check in the mail when he quit publishing.
 

rbbert

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If I find just one album that I like but don't have, I consider the list (article) worthwhile. I don't know how to evaluate the sound quality ratings, though; I have found TAS's to be almost worthless, Stereophile's to be somewhat better.
 

rbbert

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John, some nostalgia, I really appreciated the music reviews in the old Stereo Review. Plus do you remember a, I'll call it a compendium, privately published that listed only classical recordings....as an ex on Beethoven's 5th it would list every known lp by artist, label, if a reissue and every mag review by sonics/perf, by mail only. Later cd's were added, format was 8x11 similar to a large crossword book, very small font though. That one was really helpful when I started to get into classical in the early 70's.

That was called "The Basic Repertoire", and was nowhere near as comprehensive as you describe (I still have the last couple they published). For each of what Richard Freed considered to be orchestral works in a typical symphony orchestra's basic repertory, he would discuss a few notable recordings.
 

Ronm1

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That was called "The Basic Repertoire", and was nowhere near as comprehensive as you describe (I still have the last couple they published). For each of what Richard Freed considered to be orchestral works in a typical symphony orchestra's basic repertory, he would discuss a few notable recordings.

I believe we are talking about a diff pub....their was very little discussed, as I remember it, just a list of mag/newspaper ratings/label/artist/year/if reissued/remastered, not unlike what you would find in a record store at the time when ordering, but more of the data we audio/music junkies tend to care about, just a long single line list of works....as the 5th ex I mentioned previously that could easily by itself take more than one page of entries since there are an awful lot of recorded performances.. I always found it quite comprehensive in that regard. Another sort, of the data, that was included was a separate one for recordings that only received tops in both sonics/perf ever. The mag/newspaper year,mon, etc was included on each entry so if you wanted more you could make the attempt to get it since details of a review were not supplied..just # of stars or ABCD depending on the scale that was used. A # of EUR publications were also included for ratings.
 
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flez007

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I have found that both my music tastes and gear are quite similar to what MF has, not all of what he posts at the "heavy rotation" column is what I get but... pretty close.
 

rbbert

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I believe we are talking about a diff pub....their was very little discussed, as I remember it, just a list of mag/newspaper ratings/label/artist/year/if reissued/remastered, not unlike what you would find in a record store at the time when ordering, but more of the data we audio/music junkies tend to care about, just a long single line list of works....as the 5th ex I mentioned previously that could easily by itself take more than one page of entries since there are an awful lot of recorded performances.. I always found it quite comprehensive in that regard. Another sort, of the data, that was included was a separate one for recordings that only received tops in both sonics/perf ever. The mag/newspaper year,mon, etc was included on each entry so if you wanted more you could make the attempt to get it since details of a review were not supplied..just # of stars or ABCD depending on the scale that was used. A # of EUR publications were also included for ratings.

That sounds like the Penguin Guide, not something from Stereo Review
 

Ronm1

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That sounds like the Penguin Guide, not something from Stereo Review

Twas not the Guide and my mention of SR was that I did enjoy those music reviews and actually found quite a few very helpful, but that had nothing to do with the 'Compendium' I have poorly been trying to describe.
 

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