FIVE OF THE BEST-SOUNDING VINYL RECORDS

These records sound so good on vinyl that we can’t help but spin them every time

In The Wee Small Hours Frank Sinatra

A failed suicide attempt, a divorce and the messy end of his most significant affair brought Frank Sinatra to the point where only a magnificently unhappy album about loneliness, failure and depression would do. It has the sort of vocal eloquence and immediacy that can make the hair on your head stand to attention.

Mingus Ah Um Charles Mingus

Between 1950 and 1960, Charles Mingus released at least 23 albums. But it’s

Mingus Ah Um that is the most consistently dazzling. Those who know will tell you Mingus Ah Um is a post-bop jazz record; but all the rest of us need to know is that it’s elegantly played by virtuosos and recorded by people who care.

Spirit Of Eden Talk Talk

Unless you’d paid close attention, Talk Talk’s place in the public consciousness as a pop group – a sort of unsexy Duran Duran – seemed pretty reasonable. But Spirit Of Eden, the band’s fourth album, is about as far from chartfriendly pop as it gets. Want to know where the idea of post-rock gained traction? Give this a spin.

A Humdrum Star Gogo Penguin

A Humdrum Star is an exquisitely recorded album, more than capable of putting your system through its paces. Attack and decay, dynamism, texture and tonality all come under the microscope - and once the analysis is over, you’re left with an album that reveals a little more of itself with every listen.

Sixteen Oceans Four Tet

We still weren’t fully prepared for a summer spent indoors when

Sixteen Oceans was released in March 2020, and its infectious, airy house beats seemed to beckon us into the fields. It no doubt soundtracked many a garden party nonetheless, and stands tall today despite some heavy rotation.