IMHO this is a perfectly legitimate and useful topic that
@pvehling has raised, and it's kind of a drag that it was almost immediately taken off topic. Pvehling didn't ask folks to identify the masterings that have the highest DR numbers on the DR database, so it's pointless to debate whether the DR database is worthwhile or not (and IMHO just silly to try to claim it's completely worthless). And while I really like Steve Wilson's remixes and agree that most of them are sonically excellent and well-done, those are re
mixes, not different
masterings of the same original albums/sources.
So here are a few CD masterings that I would recommend, admittedly chosen more or less at random based on what popped into my head. I think one can find a lot more information and recommendations over at the Hoffman forums. Whatever one might think about some of the audiophile woo-woo that some members promote over there, that forum is a tremendous resource for information about different masterings. Even if you don't always want to take someone's word about which mastering sounds better, there's still a ton of useful info about which ones are different and how they differ, to help you make your own informed decisions. It also can save you a lot of money, because people will often post EAC peak readings of the pressings they own, and a lot of times you find out that the mastering you're interested in and thought was only available on a rare expensive pressing is actually available on multiple CD pressings, including ones that are very cheap.
So, with that said:
Peter Gabriel IV/Security: There are more than a dozen pressings of this that are European pressings with the catalogue number PGCD4 and feature a solid light blue design on the CD face. About half of these pressings use the identical mastering as the common West German "target" CD produced for the US market in the mid-1980s. But the other half of these pressings use a different mastering that IMHO is a bit cleaner/clearer sounding and even more dynamic-sounding in places than the target mastering. Because the disc design and 99% of the printing on the booklet are the same, the only way to tell these two masterings apart with a blue-face CD is the runout matrix. The target mastering matrix will include 8000912, while the mastering I'm talking about here, the one I feel is better, will have 786370 in it. There's also a Japanese "black triangle" pressing of this album that has a level-shifted version of the 786370 mastering, but that pressing is expensive, as most Japan black triangles are. Side note: for me the best mastering ever of this album is the 2015 Gabriel-supervised remaster, but that's not available on CD, only as a digital download from his Bandcamp site.
Robert Plant, Dreamland: This 2002 album is very underrated IMHO - but the mastering is quite dynamically squashed. But in a reversal of the usual pattern, the 2007 remaster sounds better to my ears - cleaner, less harsh. The DR meter shows that the 2007 is a little more dynamic too but only 1-2dB and I don't think that means anything. IMHO the better sound is not because of marginally increased dynamics - it's about different EQ or possibly a new digital transfer if the original recording happens to be analogue.
Beach Boys, Pet Sounds: A million reissues of this, but for the stereo version I don't think the Mobile Fidelity SACD can be topped. Not because it's an SACD - it's a hybrid, so the CD layer has the same mastering. Just a darned good mastering IMHO.
Miles Davis, Kind of Blue: Don't want to make this list all about audiophile discs, but same deal as Pet Sounds: I don't know that I've heard Davis' trumpet sound less distorted than it does on this mastering. My favorite among the approximately 8,000 different reissues of this album.
Big Star, #1 Record and
Radio City: In 2004 George Horn did a remaster of both of these albums and I think it's easily superior, both to the super-common first-US 1992 issue, and to the lauded 1987 German Line issue. It's super clear, punchy, and dynamic. It's trebly, but that, by all accounts, is what's on the master tapes and what was originally intended, and the Horn mastering is IMHO not harsh. The Line mastering is mellower with less biting high end, but it lacks some detail and for me becomes a bit less satisfying on extended listening. The Horn mastering exists on a hybrid SACD, but there's also a 2-disc set that contains both albums on a single CD, bundled with a DVD of a documentary about the band (really good doc, BTW). That version is out of print I think, but it can still be found and is cheaper than the SACD. Concord Records (of all labels) also issued each of these two albums, with the Horn mastering, separately on CD around 2014, and those might still be in print. You have to buy 2 CDs of course, but last I checked they weren't terrbily expensive.
The Clash, London Calling: As the above hopefully shows, I'm not a "you have to get the expensive original Japan CD" kind of person. But in this case, the 1988 Japan CD (Epic 25 8P-5060) has a unique mastering and to me it's the best or 2nd best mastering of this album. And last I checked, you can get it for not a lot of money if you're patient. There's also a great remaster from 2013. It's audibly less dynamic - clearly has had some kind of compression or limiting applied - but I think still sounds very nice, and is to my ears cleaner than the Japan 8P pressing. Only downside of the 2013, aside from the reduced dynamics, is that it comes on 2 CDs - not because the material can't fit on one, but because it's a "mini-LP" packaged version meant to replicate the album artwork and 2-disc split of the original LP.
Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon: Best of breed is the 2003 SACD, which I think is expensive these days. But a great alternative is the Doug Sax mastering done in 1993 for the 30th anniversary of the album. Many folks at the Hoffman forums and elsewhere laud the 1980s Japan "non-TO" black triangle mastering or the Mobile Fidelity gold CD mastering. But when a blind test was run there, the Sax 30th anniversary mastering won. This mastering shows up on a bunch of different pressings with 1992-1994 copyright dates on them, but the easiest way to ID it is from the 30th anniversary CD itself, because that one has a milky-white version of the famous trianguar prism on the cover, instead of the usual more transparent version. And the CD is available dirt-cheap on the used market, like $4-5 last time I checked.
Depeche Mode, Construction Time Again: Lots of early DM fans prefer the German Mute CDs from the 1980s, and I share that preference for some of their albums. But a Hoffman forum member turned me on to the standard US Sire CD for this particular album, and they were right - better bass, clearer, punchier, sharper transients, and full dynamics. Often I've found that with 1980s UK bands (like The Smiths), UK or EU CDs sound better than the US Sire discs. But not in this case. And because it's a common US issue, it's very cheap.
Depeche Mode, Violator: I've never heard a bad-sounding version of their 1990 breakout album, but to me the US Sire CD tops the UK issue - slightly warmer and better bass.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Welcome to the Pleasuredome: The original 1985 CD, mastered by Barry Diament, is well-regarded but to me is a bit flat and "soft" sounding. In 2017 ZTT/BMG reissued this in their "Art of the Album" series, which houses CDs in hardcover booklets and includes some enhanced printed artwork. That makes it a little expensive, but not egregiously so, and it's the best-sounding CD I've heard of this album - super-dynamic, clean, nice punch to the bass. Almost every other mastering of this album on CD is flat and unimpressive like the Diament, or very compressed and unpleasant. This one nails it IMHO.
Kate Bush, Hounds of Love: Lots of folks love the 1980s Japan CD of this, or a very cool 2000s Japan mini-LP reissue - both of which use the identical mastering as the regular, inexpensive 1980s US CD. But in 2018, Bush's Fish People label put out a remaster of this album. It's not premium-priced and to me it's easily the best-sounding version of this album ever. So much more present and full-bodied, with plenty of dynamics.
Led Zeppelin: Don't want to go too far down this massive rabbit hole. I will only note three things: (1) Every 1980s CD of a Zep album has the identical mastering to all the others - if anyone tells you a target CD or Japan CD sounds better than a different pressing from the same time period, they might honestly think that, but I suggest you don't follow suit. (2) Most of the 1980s CDs sound pretty good, and most of the 2014/2015 remasters sound pretty good, and most of the 1990s remasters don't sound as good but are not bad - and all of these masterings are available inexpensively. (3) Specific sonic standouts IMHO include the
2014 remaster of Zep III; the
1990s remaster of Zep IV; the
1980s mastering of Houses of the Holy (Barry Diament nailed that one); and the
2015 remaster of Presence.
Massive Attack, Mezzanine: The original 1998 CD sounds fantastic - and the 2019 remastered and expanded reissue sounds even better. More full-bodied and perhaps slightly cleaner.
Rain Tree Crow: A 1991 reunion of David Sylvan's first band Japan under a different name. The original CD pressing is a bit more dynamic on the DR meter, but the 2003 remaster is IMHO much better - and much of its reduced DR Meter score comes from the mere fact that its bass has been boosted to an appropriate level.
Rolling Stones, Let It Bleed and
Beggars Banquet. The 2002 reissues - available in SACD issues and regular CD issues - are the best these albums have sounded IMHO. They are DSD mastered, but it's just the digital transfers, the accurate speed (long a problem on Beggars if memory serves) and whatever mastering they did all add up to a great result. You don't need the SACDs - the CDs contain the identical mastering - but the SACDs are pretty cheap still too.
Sinead O'Connor (RIP)
, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got: Original standard CD sounds the best IMHO. Reissue is dynamically squashed, which sounds bad and doesn't suit the music, which depends on large dynamic swings for most of the tracks.
The Smiths: 1980s UK Rough Trade CDs sound the best IMHO for Hatful of Hollow and Strangeways Here We come. For The Queen Is Dead most folks also prefer the UK Rough Trade, but the 2017 remastered reissue, while dynamically compressed, sounds super-smooth, bringing back the bass Johnny Marr always felt was missing from their original CDs, but at the same time avoiding the somewhat flat and "thuddy" sound of the Marr-supervised 2011 remasters. The 2017 reissue isn't for everyone - it's a good deal less dynamic than the originals - but it sounds very nice, does not get harsh when turned up, and in some versions comes with multiple extra CDs that include a live show that's better than the Rank live CD, and also remastered versions of some non-album singles that previously appeared on worse-sounding compilations.
Talk Talk: Not going to comment on individual albums' CD mastering here. But this is a band that has a million compilations issued, and among them is a 1997 one called The Very Best of Talk Talk (dark brown cover with a drawing of a yellow/orange bird in a cage), mastered by Terry Burch. It's the best-sounding Talk Talk compilation, better than the most well-known Natural History. You should check the track list - it uses single versions of some of their biggest songs - but it's a great comp for sonics. Side note: The 1990 Natural History compilation probably has the best overall tracklist, and the US CD and UK/EU CD had different masterings with the US mastering sounding better. The 2012-ish reissue uses the UK mastering so I would recommend sticking with the 1990 US original if you want Natural History on CD.
