I find absolutely anything by the artist Burnt Friedman and the many bands he has created always sound stunning. I have at least 50 titles he has put out and I sometimes just play all of them, song by song randomly. I never get bored. I also feel this way about an artist named Fink and an artist named Felix Laband. These fellas pour everything they have into each piece, Felix has a weird sense of humor. Burnt and Fink are more serious.
I have a few Fink albums in my favorites, and the SQ is excellent. I am not familiar with Burnt Friedman and will listen later when I am allowed to turn on the system. My wife still has a jetlag even though there was no time difference. 
A ton of Japanese Jazz bands from the old days all sound excellent, but too much work to name them since no one named John. I probably have more Japanese SACDs than anything else.
Another instance of “label over artist” are the Three Blind Mice jazz releases. Not always the most innovative music, but their sound and pressings can hardly be beat anywhere in my opinion.
Burnt Friedman is new to me as well. I’d heard of Fink, but can’t remember much about them.
To be honest, I think Wilson’s remixing has been more interesting for me than his solo work or Porcupine Tree, but I haven’t listened to his original work that much. Speaking of King Crimson, back in the late 90s, my younger brother’s wife’s cousin married Adrian Belew of King Crimson, Frank Zappa fame. We got the chance to spend an afternoon with him at his home studio in Nashville. Fascinating guy, and probably belongs on the list of artists interested in high-fidelity. He had fantastic things to say about Frank Zappa. I had to scroll up and make sure Zappa was on my list. His output was so vast that not every recording reached “audiophile” status, but a lot sure did.
In case you want to further tap into Steven Wilson’s artistry, conceptual- and musical-creativity as well as production-quality, here’s a link to his most recent venture:
But I use speakers - will my ears get just as dusty? Seriously, are they mixes intended for headphones? Some of the Audiophile Society (Dave Chesky) releases offer headphone and speaker mixes.
. Wilson bundles a variety of ‘mixes’ into each release, the Binaural (headphones) being just one of them. For most offerings, you will find the Stereo, 5.1, and Atmos mixes in the ‘Definitive’ package, often accompanied by the various bonus material, instrumentals, alternative-versions etc. True to Form, superbly recorded and mixed (I listen to Stereo only), and in my system the digital version is almost on par with the quality of the Bluray version (via Oppo BDP-103 transport).
Thanks for taking the time to compile your list, Jon. I might add a few of my favorites, imho…
Elton John
Los Lobos
Jethro Tull
Bruce Hornsby
Sting/The Police
The Doobie Brothers
Bruce Cockburn
Genesis
Tori Amos
Boston
Heart
America
Fleetwood Mac
Eagles
Al Di Meola
Pat Metheny
Rush
Hey, those are some great additions. But could I ask a huge favor? Sure I can, and you can always refuse and not lose any respect.
How about adding an album or two with as many as you want where you feel the audio is particularly good? For instance, I don’t think of Elton John’s recordings as standing out as audiophile, so prove me wrong! I’ll do a few:
The Doobie Brothers: I really like The Captain & Me and Minute by Minute. “What a Fool Believes” is incredible to my ears.
Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes has long been a go-to for me when it comes to great recordings. The strings in “Winter” are powerfully recorded. “Happy Phantom” is one where the recording quality really adds a lot.
Eagles - LOTS. But I recently used the version of “Hotel California” on their live album “Hell Freezes Over” as a good subwoofer test.
I was just reminded of Little River Band. Their recording of “Happy Anniversary” from Diamantina Cocktail always impresses the heck out of me as a killer recording. I should listen to more of their non-hit stuff.
Sure!
Elton John–Elton John, Tumbleweed Connection. Madman Across the Water, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, Blue Moves
Los Lobos – Kiko, This Time
Jethro Tull – Songs from the Wood, Heavy Horses, Broadsword and the Beast, Crest of a Knave
Bruce Hornsby – Harbor Lights, Spirit Trail
Sting/The Police – Syncronicity, Dream of the Blue Turtles, …Nothing Like the Sun
The Doobie Brothers – Toulouse Street, The Captain and Me, What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits
Bruce Cockburn – Dancing in the Dragon’s Jaws, Humans, Inner City Front
Genesis-- Genesis, Invisible Touch
Tori Amos - Under the Pink, Night of Hunters
Boston - first 4
Heart - Dreamboat Annie, Dog & Butterfly
America - America, Homecoming
Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac, Rumours
Eagles – One of These Nights, Hotel California
Al Di Meola – Elegant Gypsy, Casino, Consequence of Chaos
Pat Metheny – First Circle, Still Life (Talking), Imaginary Day
Rush – Moving Pictures, Snakes and Arrows
YMMV!
Jon, check this track out if you get a chance (the Bruce Hornsby one)https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/feel-the-pain-fast-car-bruce-hornsby-jamila-woods/p3zbdiceg5q7a
Wholeheartedly agree with Joe Jackson. His latest is also very good, amazing for as old as he is now!
I despise the Eagles, but the Live songs on Hell Freezes Over are as good as good gets. My oh my! There are even songs from Jackson Browne I will listen to just for the great sound. Can’t stand the guy otherwise. I am amused by these sad truths.
Thankfully there are NO SUPERTRAMP SONGS that fall into this category. Steely Dan is playing through Maestro on my system at this moment. I need to remove any and all Steely Dan from my collection. Sure it’s great recordings, but after hearing each song 2.5 billion times I am over it.
Nice, Santana - Singing Winds, Crying Beast just started! I’m out.
I loved Eagles when I was a youngster, and was looking for Hotel California on the map. But Hell Freezes Over maybe their only great sounding CD. I bought a SACD or H2D version from Japan that sounds so good. I just need to find it
Yeah, when I started this topic, I was aware that there were going to be some WAY OVERPLAYED artists that would come up. Once in a while, though, after hearing the same song 2.5 billion times, when I first listen to it on my improved system in my audio room, it can sound like a totally different thing altogether. The one notable exception, referring to an artist that has made it into this topic, is Jethro Tull’s Aqualung album. I bought a remastering of it, on vinyl, and it’s not improved, not even really changed very much. I mean, I like the album, and think the original recording was fine, but you can’t make audiophile out of something that wasn’t really put together audiophile.
I don’t despise the Eagles. But as a GROUP, I don’t care nearly as much about them in performance as for their songwriting. They had a powerful way of connecting with their generation (mine). I saw a documentary about them a few years ago and was amazed how they ever got ANYTHING done, as much as they appeared to hate each other. Very strange phenomenon.
Unmentioned (I think), and less mainstream: Flim and the BBs. Not everyone’s cup of tea: Mannheim Steamroller
Another artist is Dominique Fils-Aimé.
One exemplar is ‘Nameless’:
F&BBs - YES! In the early days of digital, they were the GO-TO band for a great sound. Even my analog vinyl-is-the-only-format brother said the Flim CDs were good. I guess Mannheim Steamroller is the one not my cup of tea, especially that insipid Carol of the Bells played 946 times on average every December.
Now THAT’S what I’m talking about!! Added to my list of recordings I’ll never get to all of before I die. Thanks!!!