Best-produced Albums '10-'20
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Top 10s and lists
Forum Description: List all your favourites here
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=125402
Printed Date: August 15 2025 at 19:29
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Topic: Best-produced Albums '10-'20
Posted By: Tasartir
Subject: Best-produced Albums '10-'20
Date Posted: February 09 2021 at 00:50
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Hey everyone, There's obviously going to be a lot of debate as to what "production" means or what constitutes an album with "the best production"; however, in your opinion, what are the best-produced albums between 2010 and 2020? I'm talking about those albums that you just have to play through high quality headphones or sound systems. Maybe even the albums that you use to test out those high quality headphones or sound systems to see how good they are. Looking forward to your answers! ------------- ...Histoires Sans Paroles... |
Replies:
Posted By: A Crimson Mellotron
Date Posted: February 09 2021 at 02:40
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On top of my head is 'Hand Cannot Erase' by Steve Wilson. Arguably the best album released this century. Honorable mentions would be the previous two records he released. |
Posted By: Flower King Gizzard
Date Posted: February 09 2021 at 04:11
| All steven wilson solo albums Are produced amazing, the production on his new album "the future bites" is absolutely genius. |
Posted By: dougmcauliffe
Date Posted: February 09 2021 at 07:34
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In the prog sphere, my favorites are Hand. Cannot. Erase. From Silence to Somewhere Terraformer Virus A Drop of Light Pale Communion The Road of Bones I'm in Your Mind Fuzz ------------- The sun has left the sky... ...Now you can close your eyes |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: February 09 2021 at 08:59
Albums I own that sound brilliant due to excellent production, meaning mix and mastering as well pristine pressing (I am 95% LPs) are as follows: Most of these will be cut and pressed by Optimal Media GmbH, one of the best. The Pineapple Thief: The last 3 albums, Steve Kitch is an excellent engineer. Steven Wilson: HCE and TtB, the latter is a 45RPM version, amazing. Riverside: L,F&TTM, mastered at Serakos Studios, Magda and Robert do an excellent job there. David Gilmour: Live At Pompeii...holy smokes, this one is magnificent, stunning. The sound stage on this one is massive in my room. The Tangent: Proxy, mix by Andy Tillison Bent Knee: You Know What They Mean, surprisingly very good pressing. Anything released by BlueNote in the past couple years, simply stunning to hear jazz like this. The Tone Poet Series as well the 80 Series are all mastered and cut by Kevin Gray, pressed at Optimal and RTI. This series of reissues has to easily be the best thing to happen to music and especially jazz of the past 20yrs. They are all analog from the original master tapes recorded by Rudy Van Gelder back in the day. I'm not going to list the titles I have as it's pretty much all of them.....  -------------   
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Tasartir wrote:Posted By: Manuel
Date Posted: February 09 2021 at 10:21
| Steve Hackett's albums are superb in terms of production, even the live ones, which are always harder to work with. |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: February 09 2021 at 10:33
Let me see. 1. Steven Wilson 2. Wobbler 3. Drawing a blank (no, that's not the name of the band) (TYS maybe) 4. Haken 5. Drawing a blank again 6. Opeth 7. IQ 7. Drawing a blank yet again
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Posted By: JD
Date Posted: February 09 2021 at 10:52
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First question... Why the 10 year time frame? Outside of that restriction: Any Thomas Dolby album is absolute heaven for production, they truly put Alan Parson's to shame IMHO. Likewise with Peter Gabriel, stellar. ------------- Thank you for supporting independently produced music |
Posted By: Grumpyprogfan
Date Posted: February 09 2021 at 13:10
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Helmet of Gnats - Travelogue Pat Metheny - From this Place Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase Thieves' Kitchen - Genuis Loci French TV - Stories Without Fingerprints Transatlantic- The Absolute Universe Antoine Fafard - Proto Mundi Wobbler - Dwellers of the Deep Izz - Don't Panic Big Big Train - English Electric Part I All Traps on Earth - A Drop of Light Hiromi - Spark Sanguine Hum - Now We Have Light |
Posted By: dougmcauliffe
Date Posted: February 09 2021 at 16:14
You're correct on Thank You Scientist, the other two are All Traps on Earth and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard ------------- The sun has left the sky... ...Now you can close your eyes |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: February 09 2021 at 16:21
| No idea, these days I mostly listen to music on my phone using ten dollar earbuds (on sale, mind you). My favourite album of the decade is probably Bowie's Blackstar (Prog enough to me), but I have no idea how well-produced it is. |
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: February 09 2021 at 16:51
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Honestly, I would not even know how to judge a production. Being a musician myself what counts for me is the music. What's the use of a great production, whatever that is, if the music is crap? I'd rather listen to a sh*tty cassette tape with great music on it than a so-called "great production" with a load of hollow BS on it. -------------  BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: Tasartir
Date Posted: February 09 2021 at 18:52
In answer to your question: I wanted to limit the choices a little. Also, I'm curious about the last decade and wonder what people consider good production now. ------------- ...Histoires Sans Paroles... |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: February 09 2021 at 20:11
Thanks. ATOE I figured out later. I should have known that one but forgot the name of their one album and so wasn't sure right away. The KGATLW makes sense because I know you are big into them.
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Posted By: Tasartir
Date Posted: February 09 2021 at 21:23
I expected a comment like this! Not that it's a bad thing at all. I play the guitar myself and rarely used to focus on production values, but recently I've gotten into how albums sound and why they sound that way. Hopefully our choices reveal a mix of excellent music and production values. ------------- ...Histoires Sans Paroles... |
Posted By: Guldbamsen
Date Posted: February 10 2021 at 01:37
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I agree about Steven Wilson...perhaps not that odd seeing as he has become somewhat of a speed-dial producer whenever X classic album needs an update. Personally though I’m much more enthralled by the warmer sound of bands/musicians merely playing it live in the studio...together with a couple of well-placed mics. That’s really all you ever need...but some times musicians aren’t good enough to externalise their own ideas, so they need to go ‘click’ with the click machine and opt for some headphones and a stool in a booth. Wobbler’s two latest albums are prime examples of ‘live in the studio’-like production..which is one of the biggest selling point methinks. 90% of all folks who buy these albums are absolutely over the moon that they’re able to buy new music that sounds like the stuff they span back in high school. Dungen sounds like a live in the studio kind of band too...just like Elephant9, Hooffoot, Agusa, My Brother The Wind as well as a slew of other bands and artist from Scandinavia. In fact..if you want great old school production..go for Scandinavia  ------------- “The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” - Douglas Adams |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: February 10 2021 at 01:52
| Anything by Wobbler , Wolf People or Astra. I love that 'retro' analog type sound. |
Posted By: Tasartir
Date Posted: February 10 2021 at 05:18
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Thanks for all your recommendations, everyone. I'm looking into lots of these at the moment! ------------- ...Histoires Sans Paroles... |
Posted By: miamiscot
Date Posted: February 10 2021 at 08:16
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I'm a Guided By Voices fan so I can not a bit for production values and sonic perfection. It's about passion!!! Yezda Urfa's Boris is way better than Sacred Baboon, for example. ------------- The Prog Corner |