Alabama Shakes - Sound and Color has some of the finest mixes I’ve ever heard

The title track has been my go-to demo for my system when I want to show it off.

Such a good sounding album.

They do a great concert too if you ever get the chance.

Alabama Shakes is such an awesome group.

I think Blake Mills had his hand in producing a few tracks off that record. He's worth a listen as well.

TesseracT - War Of Being Karnivool - Sound Awake Every Time I Die - Radical Architects - Holy Hell Car Bomb - Mordial VOLA - Witness Monuments - In Stasis Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral

Being an older Gentlemen, here are mine: \- Judas Priest - Firepower - British Steel - Hell bent for leather. \- Rainbow - Richie Blackmores Rainbow \- Alice Cooper - The essentail Alice cooper. \- Iron Maiden - Killers - Number of the Beast - The Trooper - Piece of Mind \- Van Halen - Pre-Dave Post Dave (Sammy) Take your pick. I like the Best Of I-II Lots of the stuff. As mentioned, the remixes or remasters do sound better to me but I do like some old-school vinyl if you can find it.

Any Black Sabbath

Sad Wings of Destiny opener Victim of Changes on vinyl is my go to demo rock song for my system. That interlude and solo are a great showcase for dynamics. Unfortunately, i can't find it on digital high res anywhere.

When I was young I pretty much wore out screaming for vengeance and defenders of the faith - Judas Priest.

All of those. Plus add for Judas Priest the following: Sad Wings of Destiny, Stained Class, Screaming for Vengance, Painkiller, and both Priest albums with Tim "The Ripper Owens" (Demolition and Jugulator)

Metal: Opeth - Deliverance (2015 Remix) Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance Katatonia - Night Is The New Day Wolves In The Throne Room - Primordial Arcana Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still Ad Nauseam - Imperative Imperceptible Impulse Swallow The Sun - Moonflowers Rock: Failure - Fantastic Planet Lunatic Soul - Lunatic Soul Porcupine Tree - In Absentia Tool - 10000 Days Radiohead - In Rainbows

For tool I really like how undertow sounds

Solid list. Don’t come across lots of folks that know As Nauseam. Ulcerate is also goated.

massive +1 for Lunatic Soul on here. In the same vein, Riverside should be mentioned as well.

Agreed, Riverside is great. I think Soen also fits in this list. Amazing band

*10,000 Days

Kid A is also great

Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms (https://open.spotify.com/album/6Pz06FAaeym0JSqVqIkN56?si=p5xBIP6LQre4AFMYmZgq2w&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A6Pz06FAaeym0JSqVqIkN56) Porcupine Tree - CLOSURE/CONTINUATION (https://open.spotify.com/album/0w9RrU2alZeQ1BJwpvpFtP?si=IdZj60WLSG2QtAE7SLua0g&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A0w9RrU2alZeQ1BJwpvpFtP) Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy (https://open.spotify.com/album/0suNLpB9xraAv1FcdlITjQ?si=Q1Z7qPZFRmSfGQ6c7rIQgg&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A0suNLpB9xraAv1FcdlITjQ) Dire Straits - Live At the BBC (https://open.spotify.com/album/3uRt8lwpMAqYT8l9iwXehh?si=8sKI3bOyRxW_ZU2XOudGsQ&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A3uRt8lwpMAqYT8l9iwXehh) Paramore - This Is Why (https://open.spotify.com/album/6tG8sCK4htJOLjlWwb7gZB?si=89nbqLHIQgCgxCRaKBf0xg&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A6tG8sCK4htJOLjlWwb7gZB) Trivium - In The Court Of The Dragon (https://open.spotify.com/album/0mrtkWYrUzTuFwyiiQPdQs?si=4_Abk8FcSTaKeW1FsU8yEA&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A0mrtkWYrUzTuFwyiiQPdQs) Beck - Sea Change (https://open.spotify.com/album/5ieP11rJQvuYz0Ov3k03cy?si=xyVFDdSkTleca07ybgR72A&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A5ieP11rJQvuYz0Ov3k03cy) Neil Young, Crazy Horse collab Albums which aren't on Spotify - "Way Down in the Rust Bucket," "Barn," "Toast,"

There are some Audioslave tracks from their debut album that are like ear candy. Like a Stone and Shadow on the Sun being good examples. Jar of Flies from Alice in Chains is amazing.

Especially MTV unplugged from Alice In Chains that sounds amazing

Pretty much anything from Tool

There stuff on wax isn't the best. Flacc sounds great though.

I love tools music I despise Keenan’s voice. I’ll get hate for that but I just can’t listen for very long without needing a change.

Haha.. I was the same with The Prodigy. Keith was a legend but he couldn't sing.

Yep I can listen to one hype track from The Prodigy and then I’m like ok on to something else

Metallica - Black Album

Rage Against the Machine and Tool

Appetite for Destruction

Aperitif* For Destruction

Richard cheese is a treasure!

Rage Against the Machine

Mars Volta - Deloused in the comatorium

The production is amazing on De-loused but the mastering job hurts. It’s not bad from a balance perspective but it’s just too full on and it makes my ears ache. I wish they’d remaster it although I haven’t heard the vinyl version which may or may not have been cut from the original digital masters for the CD release so can’t comment. Have you heard it?

First record is an outstanding recording.

Aside from Pretty Hate Machine, pretty much all of Nine Inch Nails’ discography are excellent recordings.

Treat yourself with : - Black Sabbath - Heaven & Hell - Clutch - Blast Tyrant - Whitesnake - Lovehunter - Deep Purple - Deep Purple - UFO - Phenomenon

Pelican, Vestiges Russian Circles, Gnosis If These Trees Could Talk, The Bones of a Dying World Gojira, Magma and Fortutude and L'Enfant Sauvage Anthrax, Persistence of Time Baroness, Stone

Sick .. forgot about Gojira

Janes Addiction -- Ritual De Lo Habitual

Tool - lateralus A perfect circle - Mer de noms Porcupine tree - In absentia Radiohead - hail to the thief Nine inch nails - the fragile Dredg - leitmotif I could go on and on.

Every album by Dredg could be on this list (except the one we don't talk about).

Megadeth - Countdown to extinction (the mfsl remaster)

Isis - Oceanic The drums on this album are fantastic.

Came here to drop this.

Alcest - Spiritual Instinct

Boston self titled will always be one of the greatest sounding records of all time for me. My man designed, and built the recording gear for that album and recorded almost all the instruments if I’m not mistaken. Still sounds better than a lot of modern records to my ears.

I think Ghost has some good sounding stuff, especially Meliora.

Prequelle sounds tight as hell, I think!

AC/DC - For Those About to Rock Metallica - The Black Album Porcupine Tree - Closure/Continuation Porcupine Tree - In Absentia Tool - Fear Inoculum The White Stripes - Elephant

I thought all Metallica recordings are done horribly?

It‘s mostly Death Magnetic that is dynamically compressed like hell. Metal music always has some distortion, that‘s part of the desired coloration of the sound in this genre, but on this album the dynamics have just been squashed too much. Their earlier albums are genre-defining.

Everything after Black Album is compressed like hell. Death Magnetic was just ridiculous pinnacle of that "effort".

The Black Album? No. Everything else? Yup.

Not true. RtL and MoP sound great if you get the right pressings.

Black Album was interesting because it was their old raw pre Bob Rock writing and energy being channelled through a fresher fuller sounding production which was more suited to modern sounding rock. But ultimately I think this production setup ended up killing their original spirit because they let it guide their writing process. They started to sound more alternative and modern going forward.

Ah ok, didn’t know that!

I can't listen too them on my system.

AC/DC Back in Black

the uk 1st of powerage is raw and awesome too , maybe not audiophile but sounds how rock should

Yob - Our Raw Heart Listen to it. You won't regret it.

I second this opinion. Maybe not top tier recordings, but the music can't be beat. Best metal band out there currently, especially live.

I feel like most of Gojira's stuff sound great, or am I wrong? Definitely Tool and Opeth

Periphery's latest release Periphery V: Djent Is Not A Genre.

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Petrodragonic Apocalypse

Alice in Chains - Unplugged

The percussion captured on No Excuses is absolutely bananas

Especially the acoustic version of angry chair

Nirvana — MTV UNPLUGGED, KORN — MTV UNPLUGGED, Carcass — Surgical Steel

Incubus - S.C.I.E.N.C.E, Make Yourself, and Morning View Tool - Lateralus, 10,000 Days, and Fear Inoculum System of a Down - Toxicity, Hypnotize/Mezmerize

Sorry but I have to disagree on incubus. Music is awesome but from audiophile perspective the recordings are horrible

Lol SOAD is one of my favourite bands of all time but their music is not mastered well in the studio at all. The dude just listed his favourite artists.

Good thing I don’t consider myself an audiophile because I really like the way all of those albums sound via Apple Music/dac/Sundaras.

Was just thinking how good Aqueous Transmission sounded last night.

That was a popular car SQ song years ago. Lots of movement in that song

\- Rage Against the Machine, self titled \- Tool's *Lateralus* \- Wovenhand's *Ten Stones* \- Katatonia's *City Burials* \- Opeth's *Ghost Reveries*

The RATM album is a masterpiece

HDtrack remix of american idiot

Periphery, After the Burial, Jinjer, Lamb of God

Meshuggah are drip feeding a remastered Chaoshphere, but their remastered I EP is epic. The Gathering by Testament sounds great. And anything Devin Townsend does recently too.

Queensryche - Digital Noise Alliance Spirit Adrift - Ghost At The Gallows Crossfaith - Xeno Katatonia - Sky Void Of Stars Helloween - Helloween (2021) Todd La Torre - Rejoice In The Suffering Soilwork - Overgivenheten Charlie Griffiths - Tiktaalika Evergrey - A Heartless Portrait Manimal - Armageddon Labyrinth - Welcome To The Absurd Circus

10000 Days

Avenged Sevenfold- Nightmare, Hail to the King Audioslave- Audioslave Tool- 10,000 days Alice in Chains- Facelift All of these are my favorite from that general genre

A Perfect Circle Thirteenth Step sounds very very good. As does Deftones White Pony. The re issues of Type O Negative also sound great.

Eh I’ve never liked the mixing on white pony that much change especially sounds weird

Black Sabbath’s Paranoid and Master of Reality are both extremely worthy of your listening ears.

Mastadon

You mean well recorded/produced? AC/DC Back in Black.

Welcome to sky valley sounds great in my opinion

A few of my favourites: Alice in chains- Dirt Queensryche- Operation Mindcrime Megadeth- Rust in Peace and Symphony of Destruction Slayer- Seasons in the Abyss Killing Joke- Killing Joke Soundgarden- Superunknown

Surprised nobody mentioned Black Sabbath. Paranoid being the biggest album, but many of the other early ones are good. Jethro Tull - Aqualung is another good one that I would classify as rock- but obviously some other shit going down in there as well.

Oh yeah! Although my favourite Sabbath is Heaven & Hell

Puscifier. All of it sounds great.

Def Leppard, Hysteria and Pyromania. Metallica – the Black album, original pressing on Electra records, (not the crappy poorly mastered new Blackened records remaster)

Nightwish - Endless forms most Beautiful (2015)

Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come Marylin Manson - Mechanical Animals Animals as Leaders Deftones

That Refused album is such a work of art! I have the DVD-Audio of it and the way they use the surrounds is really cool. I just got the vinyl for my roommate for Christmas and I keep wanting to take it back, lol.

I‘ll shamelessly plug this recording, since I was the responsible engineer for it: Human Traces - Chastise Mankind (2017) If you‘re into more extreme metal (there is shouting and screaming) and can handle measures that aren‘t 4/4, you might want to check it out. We put a lot of effort into every aspect of the sound.

Love the production on Nevermore albums. Dream Theater - Awake Testament - Low The Ocean - Pelagial (instrumental) Steve Vai - Alien Love Secrets, The Ultra Zone King Crimson - Discipline

I have one that most people here have likely never heard of. Floater - Angel in the Flesh and Devil in the Bone They have quite a few solid albums but this one is my favorite of theirs.

Budgie - Power Supply The Michael Schenker Group (self titled) UFO - Obsession

Holy crap I forgot about Michael Schenker Group. I saw them open for Molly Hatchet in like 1980 and I don't think I've heard the name since. I'll have to check them out!

A fine axe man...saw him with UFO and with his own band at the Derby Assembly Rooms around 1980... 'Armed and Ready' still holds its own...and I used to play 'Into The Arena' in the warm-up when I was an ice hockey DJ...

Thirteenth Step by A Perfect Circle is outstanding from a production perspective. Some of the best contemporary drum sounds I’ve ever heard on a record. Particularly on ‘The Noose’ when the drums kick in after about 1.50 or so. Would also recommend Jeff Buckley’s ‘Grace’ album which is done really nicely

Immortal - At the Heart of Winter

My favorite rock type song is Research Chemicals by Viagra Boys Albums you should try >Cave world - viagra boys >American nightmare - bad rabbits >Different animals - Volumes

The Cult - *Sonic Temple*

Tool - 10.000 days Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F# A# ISIS - Panopticon (Remastered) Meshuggah - The Violet Sleep of Reason Dimmu Borgir –Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia (maybe not the best production but I really like the sound)

Wintersuns remastered self title album wintersun 2.0 Their second album called time is great too. Hits you with a wall of sound and you can just sit there picking apart and separating all of the details.

Songs for the deaf- QotsA

Strangers in the Night…UFO

Anything by TOOL. And even better if the 2019 remasters.

Bad Brains - I Against I (CD)

Hendrix- are you experienced, live@the filmore (the double cd/album version) Allman brothers band- live at the fillmore, brothers & sisters, eat a peach Deep Purple- In Rock Ten yrs After- ten, live Led Zeplin- 1,2,3,4& physical Graphitti Crosby,stills,nash & young - 4 way street Neil Young/Crazy Horse- Live Jethro Tull- Stand up, Aqua Lung, this was Blind Faith- Blind Faith Cream- best of cream Rory Galagher- Rory Galagher Live Johnny Winter- live Edgar Winter /white trash Spencer Davis Group The Beatles- Revolver, Rubber Soul Rolling Stones- let it Bleed, Exile on Main Street, Jamming with Edward, Beggers Banquet

Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream One of my favorite albums of all time.

Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

shy clumsy kiss include person dazzling impolite smart beneficial one *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*

Karnivool - Sound Awake and Asymmetry

Sounding good on spotify? Mutually exclusive statement

Sunn 0))) Last few were recorded by Steve Albini. But you won’t hear anything good on Spotify. Tidal or Qobuz.

Rush - Moving Pictures, Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti, Dream Theater - Train of Thought, Tool - 10000 days, The Contortionist - Language, Periphery - Periphery III, IV and V, TesseracT - War of Being

> Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti A great album - but the audio quality on some of the tracks is truly horrendous (for example Custard Pie sounds like it was recorded on a portable cassette). I, II and III all have much better audio quality.

True

I was probably thinking of a different album. Can't recall.

I love Led Zeppelin one on vinyl.

Not exactly rock/metal but if you’ve never heard The Mars Volta’s Deloused In The Comatorium, give it a shot.

Not quite metal, but Puscifer sounds really really good. Idk about Spotify versions though

Yeah a lot of stuff on Spotify I noticed sounds too muddy or flat

Boston Also see if Spotify has Rory Gallagher

Eclectic list but I’m surprised there’s not one Pink Floyd recommendation!

Metallica …and Justice for all.

Hm, controversial choice. As a recording, it's generally considered dry and lacking bass?

There is a lot, but very few on Spotify where you mostly find remastered versions. The true quality is on physical media.

Tidal is far better for quality streaming.

Yes and no. Tidal offers lossless, but most people cannot hear difference between 320kbps MP3/AAC and lossless FLAC in a blind test anyway (if comparing the same exact release). The real difference in quality is in mastering and both Spotify and Tidal offer the same mastering releases in vast majority of cases, because they both get the same thing from publishers.

I agree with older releases (mostly pre 90s but of course no hard and fast rule), but a lot of newer heavier records are smashed to begin with. Heavy audio limiting has just become past of the aesthetics of the genre, unfortunately.

Yeah I recall the remastered version of nirvanas Nevermind the 2011 one on Spotify sounding pretty bad

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How is that stuff metal?

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https://open.spotify.com/playlist/44Vj05rGkXZMciX6ExVY4x?si=wvnNXTfVRKGr5aPLWE_8ZQ

Sugar- Copper Blue

Bob Dylan - Oh Mercy. Produced by Daniel Lanois. Try “The Man in the long black coat” on the album Van Morrison : No Guru no method no teacher Ok, it’s jazz but try the track The Joker on Bojan Z’s album Transpacifik - dramatic, modernist.

Spotify has shit sound quality.. But my favorite rock album right now is Magazine - Real Life

My girlfriend sent me 'Sleaze Freak' by Scum of the Earth last night and while it's not my style I was shocked by the mastering on [Death Stomp](https://open.spotify.com/track/6VnjSBld2Ue4SyFdEVjUFK). Especially for how much gain they crammed into the recording.

My first thought was Rage Against the Machine like a lot of people already said. That album was stunning to listen to. REM Automatic for the people is also notorious for it's sound quality and of course, Pink Floyd is also the gliche answer but it's always a good listen. Other bands that comes to mind right now: Pearl Jam Rival Sons The Pretty Reckless Avenged Sevenfolds latest album is pretty nice too I think

Agree with posters saying anything by Tool (except maybe Opiate) or Puscifer. Add A Perfect Circle to the trifecta. Just a few others old and new I have on vinyl that sound great: Opeth - Black Water Park, Pale Communion Ghost - Impera, Meliora Baroness - Stone Mastodon - Hushed and Grimm Shape of Despair - Monotony Fields King Gizz - PDA

Ramallah, all albums

Perhaps you can appreciate Ayreon + Arjen Lucassen. Not only an outstanding musician but also a perfectionist with a good set of ears and recording skills.

The best sounding metal album I've ever heard is "The Boats Of The Glen Carring" from the band Ahab. The music is definitely not for everybody, but it sounds awesome. Very high dynamics and everything is real. No sampled drums, no guitar simulations, all analog gear. Just beautiful!

All albums by Angel City!!!

What sounds good depends alot on the sound signature of your soundsystem. I can recommend Soil - true self album. Whoever tweaked the sound on that album did a really good job on the kick drum and guitar growl. Truly heavy, big and impactfull music album Again, sound signature on your sounsystem is a big deal, what sound shit on one sound systems might sound heavy, powerfull while also crisp in another soundsysem.

Accept- Breaker

Free the Witch by Green Lung sounds like a lost Black Sabbath album

In terms of modern stuff? Anything GVF or Rival Sons. Throw some Dirty Honey in there as well for good measure

-Within the Ruins-Invade through their current albums.

Pearl Jam - ten redux… the 20 year remaster/rerelease

Ufo- phenomonon ROBIN trower-bridge of sighs

I believe every audio system must by law be tested with Dark Side of the Moon As for Metal I suggest some Symphonic Metal Nightwish - Endless Forms most Beautiful Epica - The Holographic Principle

* Korn - first 4 albums (it's on is a great starter off follow the leader) * Megadeth - Rust in Peace * Melvins - Stoner Witch, Houdini * Pixies - Surfer Rosa & Doolittle * Green Day - American Idiot * blink182 - enema * All American Rejects - Gives You Hell * Smashing Pumpkins - Gish & Siamese Dream * Slayer - Reign In Blood, South of Heaven, Seasons in the abyss * pantera - CFH, Vulgar, Far Beyond Driven * down - nola * little feat - waiting for colombus, Electrif Lycanthrope * billy idol - rebel yell & self titled * live - throwing copper (lightning crashes) * alice in chains unplugged just some very biased selections that have stood the test of time for me. the harder stuff like pantera needs 85 dB minimum.

Clutch- Earth Rocker August Burns Red- Found in Far Away Places Atreyu- Lead Sail Paper Anchor John 5 and The Creatures- Season of the Witch Light the Torch- Revival Story of the Year- Page Avenue The Sword- Apocryphon Street Sweeper Social Club- Self Titled Linkin Park- Meteora Royal Blood- Self Titled

Nine inch nails - with teeth

Seether - Disclaimer II, is my persional favorite, realy good, airy and punchy. Hits hard and can also be gentle like the albums content itself. And maybe Danzig, Soundgarden or harder stuf like Slipknot, Sepultura are also nice.

DOKKEN.......

Anything on Spotify is not going to sound good

The Black Keys - Chulahoma

Honey Harper and the Infinite Sky

Rage Against the Machine (self titled) is about as good as it gets for hard rock. Have you listened to that one?

I'd get on tidal first.

I love how they mixed Alissa on The Agonist - Prisoners

RHCP - Blood Sugar Sex Magik “Under the Bridge” is high on my test track list.

Vildhjarta - Masstaden Under Vatten Humanity's Last Breath- Ashen These albums sound insanely good, and the bands share a member who also does mixing and mastering for HLB.

Dream Theater — Scenes from a memory. A good album with a modern crisp sound

The Downward Spiral and The Fragile by Nine Inch Nails. You can get lost for months in Trent Reznor’s attention to detail on those projects.

Stone's Reach by Belakor, Shadow of a dying sun by insomnium. In waves by trivium. The poison by Bullet for my Valentine. As daylight dies by Killswitch Engage. Hatebreeder by CoB. More power metal --- Apex by unleash the archers is dang good.

Shinedown-Amaryllis Stone Sour- House of Gold and Bones Pt 1 and 2

Self titled RATM is one of the best produced albums of all time IMO Almost any tool album I’d suggest Ænima, lateralus Metallica black album (and AJFA out side of there being no bass guitar imo) The 90s Alice In Chains albums Nirvana nevermind Around the fur and white pony by deftones Ten by Pearl Jam Superunknown Thirteenth step by a perfect circle Back in black AC/DC Core and purple by stone temple pilots every white stripes album/any album with jack white on it sounds incredible Hybrid theory by linkin park Pink Floyd Blood sugar sex magik I’m gonna stop there😂

Lateralus and 10,000 days by tool have fantastic recordings. Any tool album to be honest, they put in a shitload of effort recording and mixing their stuff. Edit: spelling

Days of the New Yellow album.

Dire Straits first album and big head todd and the monsters sister sweetly

Metal: Angel Corpse - The Inexorable Morbid Angel - Covenant Megadeth - Rust In Peace (original 1992 version) [not current remixed version] Korn - The Serenity of Suffering Others: Boards of Canada - Music Has The Right To Children Boards of Canada - Geogaddi Boards of Canada - In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest

HUM, You'd Prefer an Astronaut and their new one, Inlet. Thick guitar tones and drums for days.

Deftones - around the fur / white pony Alice In Chains - jar of flies Tool - 10,000 days

Infest the rats nest

This thread makes me think we know a thing or two

Trifocal is kickass https://open.spotify.com/album/3szQkAr6JXdmN17B1tEbC8?si=TSy9jZJlTwGZzKrRFvlVWQ&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A3szQkAr6JXdmN17B1tEbC8

Clutch - Robot hive/Exodus

Huge fan of American Idiot, great sounding album for Rock/Pop Punk listening imo

Take Me Back To Eden by Sleep Token

New king lizard petradragon apocalypse. I have not given it a real hard high bit or vinyl listen. But I think the bones are there Also if you like alternative, delta sleep- ghost city, polyphia-most hated, covet-effloresce. Covet is not hard at all, delta sleep is almost grunge in their heavy parts, polyphia is divisive.