How would we define one recording as objectively better than another? Dynamic range, full use of audio spectrum, no clipping, no ultra sonic garbage, some special new recording process?
My first suggestion was objectively the most popular album. Finding the best recording seems very difficult.
It does not have to be that complicated. I think we are all aware of the concepts of Dynamic Range, clipping, compression, etc.
The DR Database can help:
https://dr.loudness-war.info/
Audacity or other similar software can also help if someone has them.
Discogs (
https://www.discogs.com) can also help with the years of original release
But at the end of the day, the idea I suggested ultimately comes down to this:
- Recommend your favorite album(s) that YOU think the recording quality is great, or the performance is great, or (preferably) both.
- Year of album release must be between 1953 and 2023 ( to make it a nice round 70 years = 70 great albums).
- We go for the year of the original album release, even though the version we might own was released later. For example, if I want to recommend the debut album from Dire Straits, it must go in the list of albums for year = 1978, even though the version you might have and like and recommend is the 2019 SACD.
Slowly but surely, a list of recommended albums for each year is starting to form, where we can all vote for all the albums we like.
In the end, the album that gets the most votes (for each year) becomes Album of the Year, and before we know it we have something like 70 albums "to die for" as voted by the infallible and knowledgeable ASR community.
I have no idea how to do this technically, with vote buttons and the like.
If there is enough interest, we can ask a moderator for help.
Also, we can make a start with ONLY one year, e.g 1978, just to get the thread / process / voting buttons started, see how it all works, make whatever adjustments / corrections necessary, before launching the thread full blast.
Something like this:
Year | Artist | Album | Recommended Release | Votes (with buttons) |
1978 | Dire Straits | Dire Straits | 2019 SACD | 1 |
1978 | xxxx | xxxx | xxxx | 1 |
The thread can remain open for one year, until Nov 2023. One year is enough time for everyone to do their digging / research.
Your thoughts are welcome.
PS We often get caught up in the equipment side and forget to enjoy the music. This idea is about the music.
gsp