Records To Die For

Records 2 Live 4 2024

Stereophile Staff  |  Jan 19, 2024

As I was preparing our annual Records to Die For feature for 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it occurred to me that at such a moment, "Records to Die For" didn't evoke the same feelings it once did. That name—for what has become Stereophile's most popular feature—had started out light-hearted, derived from a 1980s pop-culture idiom, which eventually found expression in several book and movie titles as well as at least one Death-Metal band. In late 1990, as the 1991 feature was being prepared, it didn't seem so light-hearted at a time of so much death and suffering. At such times, music is a salve, a source of encouragement, perhaps even a means for survival. Records to Die For officially became Records to Live For.

Today—knock on wood—the worst of COVID well behind us, the new designation seems exactly right. This feature is all about music that inspires, that makes life rich—that gives us a reason to live, in times troubled and joyous. These are records that, if you knew you didn't have that much time left, you'd be eager to hear one last time. At least.

Once each year, since 1991, we've asked all our writers, music writers and hi-fi writers, to name two of their favorite albums of all time—albums that have special meaning. The records may be old or new. There is no requirement that they have particular musical or sonic merit, although many of them do. What matters is that they have special meaning—particular emotional resonance—for the writer. We used to require that they still be in print or at least reasonably easy to find, but we eliminated that rule a while back: A record to live for (or, before that, a record worth dying for) is worth incurring some expense or putting in some work to track down. Today, the only rule is that each writer must not have chosen the same album for previous versions of this feature; it's fine if it was previously chosen by a different writer.

It is common for Records to Live For to include works by musicians who have recently left us. This year, two of us chose music by Jimmy Buffett, who died last September. Other trends: Two writers chose the very recent collection of Shostakovich symphonies from Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, our Recording of the Month for January 2024. Also, two writers chose music hosted at YouTube, reflecting, I'd say, the increasing importance, in the streaming age, of video in hi-fi. Whatever it means, I'm pretty sure this is a first.

Without further ado, here it is: Records to Live For, 2024.—Jim Austin

COMMENTS
jimtavegia's picture
Submitted by jimtavegia on January 22, 2024 - 12:12pm

I had put off long enough so an upgrade to my vinyl experience to a Technics SL-100C happened on Sunday, 1-21. After your Atmos story it was time to make my LP physical media sound its best. I changed out the AT-VM95C stylus that came with the table to the ML I just bought. So now between Tidal HD I can sort through all your recommendations and then buy the format I really want.

I still don't understand the reason for the lower rez Atmos deal. Most of us started our hi-fi journey with vinyl and now there is no reason to dismiss it now.

My youngest son now owns my Dual 501 table with a REGA RB250 arm and a AT-VM95E cart to start his vinyl journey.

Sal1950's picture
Submitted by Sal1950 on January 24, 2024 - 3:08pm

"I still don't understand the reason for the lower rez Atmos deal. Most of us started our hi-fi journey with vinyl and now there is no reason to dismiss it now."

Please, your way to intelligent to not "understand" Apples choice here. The file sizes of lossless Atmos files are huge and extremely demanding of expensive bandwidth, so made a compromise choice for financial reasons. But I do know you understand that perfectly.
Why do you not bash Spotify in any way for continuing to stream 2ch in a compressed form while most others have moved on?
Modern lossless high resolution multich from 5.1 to Atmos and Auro far exceeds the sound quality and enjoyment capability of 2ch.
I also started off my HiFi journey way back in the late 1950s and am so very excited and pleased with the progress we've made in the last 60+ years.
It's unfortunate your stuck on such primitive sources.

Sal1950's picture
Submitted by Sal1950 on January 24, 2024 - 3:45pm

"Lindberg has been at the forefront of producing immersive recordings—see above for the surround-sound formats in which this album is available—but since surviving the quadraphonic wars in the 1970s, I exclusively enjoy my recorded music in stereo. J.A."

John, Don't you think a 50 year grudge do to the weakness in 1970s technology is a bit long? Maybe you should get this "forefront" quality Atmos recording on BluRay, and a few more, then visit the new Atmos listening room Kal Rubinson has built. I'd say 50 years is long enough not to experience the progress the SOTA in home music reproduction has made. You might be enlightened.

SteveDisque's picture
Submitted by SteveDisque on February 27, 2024 - 5:33am

John Atkinson hardly needs *me* to defend his choices. Still, why dismiss his attitude as a mere "grudge"? Multi-speaker sound systems are an elaborate nuisance to rig up (especially if you're as unmechanical or un-physical as I am), and definitely de trop in New York apartments and other smaller living spaces. (No question that the mutual incompatibility and misleading claims for the old quad systems didn't help.)

Like John, I just listen in frontal stereo. Yes, some labels are doing wonderful things in surround, but some aren't -- think of some of those late Pro Arte releases -- and I, for one, don't want to spend the time going down that rabbit hole. Just my $.02, or $.002.

Sal1950's picture
Submitted by Sal1950 on February 27, 2024 - 6:31am

I don't know what else you can call it but a "grudge" when a man refuses to listen and explore new technology because of something that occurred 50 years ago ??? And this from a man that was supposed to be leading the readers of this magazine to the SOTA in music reproduction during much of that time. His predecessor (J. Gordon Holt) knew much better.
I know all about living in smaller spaces, living in a 900 sqft modular home, but I have a very good 5.2.4 multich/Atmos music reproduction system installed here.
When it comes to costs, a very large segment of this magazines readership consider $100,000 a entry level system, so many if not most, can well afford anything they desire.
---------------------------------------------
"Yes, some labels are doing wonderful things in surround, but some aren't -- think of some of those late Pro Arte releases"

Maybe if you spent more time listening to a quality surround system than typing, you'd have a more grounded understanding of the incredible amount and variety of TOTL quality multichannel recordings available in the world today.
cent' anni
Sal1950

lowtechphile's picture
Submitted by lowtechphile on January 24, 2024 - 6:14pm

Thanks for the tip on En Attendant Ana. I had not heard of this band. Lovely album.

barfle's picture
Submitted by barfle on January 25, 2024 - 7:44am

I teresting that there’s no Rick Wakeman on anyone’s list, or Beach Boys, or Holst’s “The Planets” or “1812 Overture.” There’s a lot of music there that helps make MY life worth living.

SteveDisque's picture
Submitted by SteveDisque on February 27, 2024 - 5:28am

I'd merely point out that a recording of either "The Planets" or "1812" would have to be really special to qualify for "Records to Live/Die For." Back in LP days, the Steinberg/BSO "Planets" might readily have qualified; but the CD processing has betrayed it, making the silky BSO strings sound like a synthesizer. So *that* one's out....

Trevor_Bartram's picture
Submitted by Trevor_Bartram on January 26, 2024 - 4:28am

I enjoyed: En Attendant Ana, Principia with echoes of Stereolab circa Margerine Eclipse. Stravinsky, Petrushka an MLP sonic marvel on par with the Howard Hanson recordings. I look forward to the Kristy MacColl & June Tabor recordings. Thanks!

Lars Bo's picture
Submitted by Lars Bo on January 29, 2024 - 3:21am

Thanks, Jim.

The 1991 Records To Die For, you mention, has another special significance to me - it gave the final push to buy my first CD player:

While visiting family in the U.S., who happened to have a recent SP-issue with R2D4 91, I read Gordon Emerson's recommendation of David Diamond Symphonies 2 & 4*. None of us knew much about the works of Diamond, but the description intrigued me, so I bought the CD. We ended up playing it a lot, and not to be able to play this music (especially the 2nd sym.) once back home in Denmark was a bleak outlook. Vinyl was also starting to get scarce, so at this point I simply decided to buy an inexpensive CD player, to get going.

My new player didn't really sound very good or convey play of music very well. Or stay for very long in my setup at the time. But, while not furthering high intensity experience, it did most importantly provide a gateway to more worlds of Music Magic.

*https://www.stereophile.com/content/1991-records-die-page-4

X