Definitive Audiophile pressings

TenderLovingKiller® said:
I agree, popularity and critical acclaim don’t usually align but in the most special of circumstances but even in those circumstances where something it way more popular than critically acclaimed they still kinda make sense. Like a Celine Dion Album or BeeGees Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack those still make sense but the Eagles greatest hits album is the 2nd best selling album of all time Hotel California is the 15th best selling album of all time. That just doesn’t compute even when accounting for popularity/critical acclaim.
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Well sales don't always translate to long lasting or critical acclaim as you said. It was all just very homogenized, and a lot of my friends were in hook line and sinker, it's all they listened to, and it was all that was played at rally's, party's and what not. Then you had me and my "weird" friends who were listening to Jeff Beck, The Kinks, Santana and Journey, Cheap Trick, etc............I think the Eagles and such were just so easy to digest for so many.
 
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TenderLovingKiller® said:
I agree, popularity and critical acclaim don’t usually align but in the most special of circumstances but even in those circumstances where something it way more popular than critically acclaimed they still kinda make sense. Like a Celine Dion Album or BeeGees Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack those still make sense but the Eagles greatest hits album is the 2nd best selling album of all time Hotel California is the 15th best selling album of all time. That just doesn’t compute even when accounting for popularity/critical acclaim.
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Eh, I don't really agree. Not sure what the tracklist on their Greatest Hits is, but it's inoffensive, catchy country-rock music that I'm sure generations of families have kept a copy of in the car for road trips, at the cottage for lake weekends, etc. Everyone knows the songs, most people don't hate the songs, they're a fine soundtrack for when you're in a large group. On the list I just looked at, The Wall actually stands out a lot to me. That's a weird fucking album. I like it a lot, but that's not a record that people are gonna sing along to most of the songs.

I think the fact that so many of the top-selling albums of all time are greatest hits kinda signals that wide appeal sells.
 
BjorgenFjorgen said:
Eh, I don't really agree. Not sure what the tracklist on their Greatest Hits is, but it's inoffensive, catchy country-rock music that I'm sure generations of families have kept a copy of in the car for road trips, at the cottage for lake weekends, etc. Everyone knows the songs, most people don't hate the songs, they're a fine soundtrack for when you're in a large group. On the list I just looked at, The Wall actually stands out a lot to me. That's a weird fucking album. I like it a lot, but that's not a record that people are gonna sing along to most of the songs.

I think the fact that so many of the top-selling albums of all time are greatest hits kinda signals that wide appeal sells.
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Yeah people who aren’t huge music fans like singles to sing along too. See also Queen’s greatest hits being the UKs biggest selling album by a vast margin.
 
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Joe Mac said:
Yeah people who aren’t huge music fans like singles to sing along too. See also Queen’s greatest hits being the UKs biggest seeking album by a vast margin.
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This was my parents to a T. They tended to listen to the more popular albums/songs from The Beatles, Stones, Queen, Zeppelin, Elton John and Billy Joel. My dad wasn't an Eagles fan per se, but he had their Greatest Hits cd that got a lot of burn on long car trips. He also bought all the Grammy Nominee compilation albums to play in the car haha.
 
MikeH said:
This was my parents to a T. They tended to listen to the more popular albums/songs from The Beatles, Stones, Queen, Zeppelin, Elton John and Billy Joel. My dad wasn't an Eagles fan per se, but he had their Greatest Hits cd that got a lot of burn on long car trips. He also bought all the Grammy Nominee compilation albums to play in the car haha.
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You had CDs in the car? I thought were similar ages? It was cassette decks in cars until I was well into my teens 😂
 
MikeH said:
They still have a pretty large following especially in the main demographic that is shelling out $125 for an album. Based on the reactions I have seen on a lot of MoFi groups/pages, I'm guessing these (especially Hotel California) will sell out pretty quickly. A lot of us are guilty of trying to chase the best sounding pressing of something (myself included), so when it's such a popular band in terms of sales, I don't doubt that people will be trying to chase the best sound of these albums.
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It's so hard to account for timing where 'commitment' to music is concerned. When Hotel California was released, there was something very unique and appealing about it, and while I can see how/why it might not stand the test of time, who knows what listeners 30 years from now will think of Wilco or The National or other bands that are super popular today? There aren't many albums that withstand the ravages of time, and when you think about bands like Pink Floyd, who are still selling tons of records, how much of that is because their music is great, and how much because generation after generation are convinced that Pink Floyd is where it's at? All of this would be easier to understand if there were a way to track why people buy the music they buy and consider only those purchases that are about the music exclusively.

But I still can't believe that the Eagles are revered, by sales standards, more than the Stones, Zeppelin, etc. (But in part I think that only because the Stones, Zep, and the like are bandied about as so much more 'worthy,' to which many will want to shout: "They are!!" so what's the standard?)
 
BjorgenFjorgen said:
Eh, I don't really agree. Not sure what the tracklist on their Greatest Hits is, but it's inoffensive, catchy country-rock music that I'm sure generations of families have kept a copy of in the car for road trips, at the cottage for lake weekends, etc. Everyone knows the songs, most people don't hate the songs, they're a fine soundtrack for when you're in a large group. On the list I just looked at, The Wall actually stands out a lot to me. That's a weird fucking album. I like it a lot, but that's not a record that people are gonna sing along to most of the songs.

I think the fact that so many of the top-selling albums of all time are greatest hits kinda signals that wide appeal sells.
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But more appeal than like Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits or Bruce Springsteen’s Greatest hits? I get it’s mass appeal from the fact that it’s inoffensive and the songs are catchy but based on sales that is the defining album of the Rock & Roll era?
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
But more appeal than like Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits or Bruce Springsteen’s Greatest hits? I get it’s mass appeal from the fact that it’s inoffensive and the songs are catchy but bast on sales that is the defining album of the Rock & Roll era?
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I don't think greatest selling means it's the defining album, nor would I even classify a greatest hits as an album. AC/DC is super high on that list and I can't stand that band. I also don't like Billy Joel and am lukewarm on Springsteen, so I can definitely see the Eagles having more widespread appeal than those artists, sure.
 
Joe Mac said:
I was born in 1983 lmao!
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i'm not far off from ya. I was born in 1987. So I think I was maybe around 10 when CD players in cars started becoming a common thing here? I don't have a pinpointed date but I do remember my dad playing the 1998 grammy nominees album all the time. talk about a strange tracklist...
www.discogs.com

Various - 1998 Grammy Nominees

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1998 CD release of "1998 Grammy Nominees" on Discogs.
www.discogs.com www.discogs.com
 
MikeH said:
i'm not far off from ya. I was born in 1987. So I think I was maybe around 10 when CD players in cars started becoming a common thing here? I don't have a pinpointed date but I do remember my dad playing the 1998 grammy nominees album all the time. talk about a strange tracklist...
www.discogs.com

Various - 1998 Grammy Nominees

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1998 CD release of "1998 Grammy Nominees" on Discogs.
www.discogs.com www.discogs.com
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Yeah I think mine got a discman with a bit that went into the tape in like 97/98.

The first proper CD one was in 01 and it had a 6 CD cassette changer next to the wheel arch in the boot.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
But more appeal than like Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits or Bruce Springsteen’s Greatest hits? I get it’s mass appeal from the fact that it’s inoffensive and the songs are catchy but based on sales that is the defining album of the Rock & Roll era?
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Sales are one thing, but I think part of the puzzle is who you're asking. Are you asking the general FM listening, road trip, music lover or the actual MUSIC LOVER. Even within this group, there's a different degree of where you sit as it pertains to classics, must haves and so on..........all based on where their love of music resides.
 
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