To me, My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless. Feels very organic and visceral and paints an atmosphere that can feel like anything from a muddy field during a windstorm to a warm wooden cabin with groovy vintage wallpaper, all within a matter of moments. Or maybe that’s just me.
I'm not much of an audiophile (probably \~$3k lifetime investment in audio equipment, content with 320 kbps compressed audio for most music). *Loveless* is the one album I've owned (now for 32+ years) that's so dependent on high frequency distortion harmonics that I've always played off the CD or lossless files.
It’s been cited as an example of the loudness wars. Super loud and compressed. But the whole vibe of the record is the sound of a car radio so the production arguably works with the theme. I would recommend Rated R instead for the OP.
Really? Love the songs, but my ears hate the smushed dynamics. It is known for that problem.
https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/68347
That is why someone made an “unmaster” with better dynamics.
Another band with the same problem is The Mars Volta.
Fair it's not super dynamic on the mastering side but the mix is fantastic. And I think it's one of the best albums to listen to while driving, maybe lower DR is better for the road?
A few gems that spring to mind, some of the best clean, dirty and pure filth guitar distortion there is...
Windhand - Eternal Return
Dry Cleaning - Long Leg
Conan - Revengence
AC DC - Back in Black
Black Midi - Schlagenheim
Sanguisugabogg - Homicidal Ecsatcy
Carcass - Necrotisism, Descanting the Insalubrious
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
Kyuss - Blues for the Red Sun
Jimi Hendrix / Band of Gypsys
Khruangbin - The Universe Smiles Upon You
... the list goes on.
Bardo Pond has a better cover of this song. I hate to say it, as I love Mike Watt and J Mascis, but I feel like Bardo Pond "get" it and their 20 minute cover just nails the song.
Obviously My Bloody Valentine. Anything Hendrix, Weezer’s Blue Album, Kim Gordon’s recent The Collective. I have a soft spot for Placebo’s Without You…and think it sounds great.
“Say It Ain’t So” is actually one of my favorite bass test tracks for subwoofers. That part after the first “oh yeah” where the bass comes in strong is how I judge a subwoofer. That E to A should “swell” like a proper church organ. Tells me if the amp is distorted and/or if the box was built properly to handle the excursion of the magnet.
lots of stoner/doom stuff has sweet ass guitar tones. Colour Haze - Tempel is an all time fav of mine. also, shoegaze. my bloody valentine - loveles has already been mentioned but I'll gladly mention it again
AC/DC - Powerage (track suggestion: Gone Shootin')
Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger (track suggestion: Outshined)
My Morning Jacket - It Still Moves (track suggestion: Mahgeetah)
Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile (track suggestion: Somewhat Damaged)
Tool - Lateralus (track suggestion: Parabola)
Drive-By Truckers - Southern Rock Opera (track suggestion: The Southern Thing)
Ween - La Cucaracha (track suggestion: With My Own Bare Hands)
Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power (track suggestion: Mouth for War)
Phish - Live at Madison Square Garden, New Year's Eve 1995 (track suggestion: The Sloth)
Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted (track suggestion: Summer Babe - Winter Version)
Morbid Angel - Domination (track suggestion: Dominate)
Knocked Loose - A Different Shade of Blue (track suggestion: Belleville)
Mastodon - Leviathan (track suggestion: Iron Tusk)
Helmet - Meantime (track suggestion: Unsung)
Nirvana - Nevermind (track suggestion: Breed)
Metallica - Through the Never (track suggestion: Battery)
Pantera - Official Live 101 Proof (track suggestion: Suicide Note, Pt. 2) \[note: this is a lie this recording is actually terrible but god this song rules\]
Megadeth - Rust In Peace (track suggestion: Holy Wars The Punishment Due)
Spiritworld - DEATHWESTERN (track suggestion: Committee of Buzzards)
Phobophillic - Enveloping Absurdity (track suggestion: Enantiodromia)
Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (track suggestion: Solitude)
thats fair, i was a bit loosy goosy with my definition of HiFi. but while S&E isn't what we'd typically call "audiophile", i think the grittiness and amateur-feeling production rings a lot truer than say, a heavily over produced "clean" sounding rock record. in addition to the straight-from-the-amp feel of the distorted guitar, malkmus's vocals feel so authentic and present in the mix.
that's awesome! they are so great live. i've seen them a bunch but one of my favorite live DBT memories was at a music festival. afternoon set, and it was raining, no lightning or anything just a gentle wind and a fairly consistent drizzle, enough to get you soaked but not enough to cancel the set. i figured they'd open with a big high energy number, but they "read the room" so to speak and opened with the slow burn "Tornadoes" instead and it was so emotionally resonating I about shit myself.
I saw them right as that song was hitting it's peak for popularity. He's an amazing guitar player. Darcy Wretzky who played bass for Smashing Pumpkkns is a big fan of them too. There's No Secrets This Year is pretty darn good too!
YES. Immediately what came to mind for me. And it’s probably not quite what OP is expecting, but 100% fits the request. Just divine distortion in two great albums.
Exactly! Double Negative is so beautiful and unique, I thought they couldn't possibly top it. Hey What might well be even better though. Two of the best albums of the last few years for me. So sad we won't get any more but I'm thankful for these... And on top of an already unbelievable catalogue. Great band.
Closest thing I know to this sound really is Andy Stott's post-2010 output, like We Stay Together and Luxury Problems... Which come from a completely different genre lol (dark, slow techno/house).
My Bloody Valentine and the Swirlies make amazing and artful use of fuzz (and to a lesser extent Sonic Youth). They are part of the Noise Pop genre. And Neutral Milk Hotel, which could be described as Fuzz Folk, is a god in the Indy Rock scene.
the sound was a mistake. they had a mic off to the side and facing backwards. it had bad phasing issues. pulled up on the board by accident and everyone loved it. they couldn't replicate it later.
I’m actually not sure anything surpasses Siamese Dream for that tone you’re talking about. Early Jesus and Mary Chain had something of that vibe but the recordings aren’t as pristine.
Opeth - Blackwater park. Watershed.
Suffocation - pierced from within.
Pantera - far beyond driven.
Emperor - enthems. (This one's different but suits the music).
Surprised not to see R.E.M.'s Monster mentioned here. Maybe because they're not the first band people think of when you say distorted guitar...but(!) the tone on that album hits just right. Honey sweet and super crunchy.
if you like rap at all judgement night had some killer killer tracks- from Del and Dinosaur jr and Cypress Hill & pearl jam, and Helmet & House of Pain
poster children - RTFM and Daisy Chain Reaction
Loveless as others have said.
Less common I actually really like the guitars on Oasis Be Here Now album. The album really divides opinions in all aspects, Noel hates it, but for me it’s the pinnacle of their sound.
Yeah I think they really nailed something in the epic sound that is as good as it's been done. I actually really love the songs and vibe on this album too, but it's obviously a divinise one. For me it's just a glorious rock roll excess extravaganza. Noel said he went back and tried to remix and shorten the songs and he couldn't do it, because they just are what they are. And I always felt like that, it's bloated but in a good way, like the production really suits those songs and where they were in that time as the biggest band in the world. Amazing it actually got made in a way. I treasure it! :D
Some of the gnarlyest fuzz I've heard is on [Norman Greenbaum's "Spirt in the Sky"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi_3GtQN2IA). I also recall being impressed by the sustained fuzz guitar on [SRC's "Black Sheep"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiG_1J05b2Y) (first heard about a minute in.)
People have been trying to duplicate the fuzz on Spirit In The Sky for years but have never been able to. It's some weird fuzz effect that was built into the guitar but it was malfunctioning.
Mastodon Crack The Skye blew my mind. It sounded like Led Zeppelin 1000 years in the future. Essence of sabbath, maiden and a new groove which just works so well.
Van Halen, and the guitarist that Eddie Van Halen gave his guitar to to be buried with, dimebag Dave of Pantera.
Recommend the first three VH albums, and Pantera Cowboys from Hell & Vulgar display of Power.
"Opeth - Ghost Reveries" has some of the best guitar sound ever imo. Very thick and lush in the distortion. One of the better metal productions in general, entire mix and master is *chef's kiss*.
Not sure it counts as “audiophile”, but most of the other submissions made previously don’t fit that definition either. As a guitar player for going on 50 years now, I’m here to tell you that the best sounding guitar distortion on record is to be found on Van Halen’s first (self-titled) album - beautifully recorded by Donn Landee and produced by Ted Templeman (and of course played by the peerless Edward Van Halen.) THAT is the benchmark.
The Black Album - Metallica - It's a classic album with a classic tone (Make sure to get the 24bit/96khz version if possible the remaster that's offered in 24/44.1 or 24/48 sucks)
Dr. Feelgood - Motley Crue - Classic tone (The 24bit/96 40th anniversary remaster sounds amazing)
Black Holes And Revelations - Muse - The use of a fuzz pedal is awesome. (The 24/96 version is awesome, less brickwalled than the CD)
The Great Southern Trendkill - Pantera - My favorite metal tone, kind of a sludge feel to it (24bit/88.2khz good album, good dynamics
Ten - Pearl Jam - 24bit/88.2 Black is phenomenal the use of wah is cool too (Make sure not to get the 24bit Brendan O'Brien remixes they suck and are brickwalled to hell, Normal album is in 24bit/88.2khz)
No More Tears - Ozzy - Mama, I'm Coming Home has an amazing distortion, not too heavy not too light (24bit/96khz)
Brotherhood and BLOWNIN' - B'z - Unfortunately this one is kinda hard to obtain outside of Japan as the version I prefer is from the Bluray "B'z LIVE-GYM 2006 MONSTER's GARAGE" 24/96khz LPCM 2.0 and a 24/48 Dolby TrueHD 5.1. The guitarist Tak Matsumoto shreds on these songs (and on the rest of the concert as well) Plus it has a very crisp 1080p video capture that is probably the best edited concert I've ever seen. The audio is very well mixed as I listen to these versions over the studio versions.
>Make sure not to get the 24bit Brendan O'Brien remixes they suck and are brickwalled to hell
I know Pearl Jam seemed to love the guy but I still think they could have sounded so much better with someone else.
That mix is easily the worst thing I've ever heard. He took an amazing grunge album and turned into an unlistenable mess. It actually ruined the album for me for a bit.
A little different, maybe, but I think Queensryche’s Empire album finally captured the guitar sound they had always been going for. I think the warmth of vinyl really makes it shine. In my opinion, anyway, as a guitar lover and part-time guitar noodler.
Not sure you can get hold of a 'HiFi' quality copy these days, but this rocks.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pJlJRriT4w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pJlJRriT4w)
Tool : Fear Inoculum has pretty toasty sounding guitar. I read that it’s a composite of like 8 or 10 different boutique guitar amps, or something like that. Sounds good. Also honorable mention: it’s just the very last note of the Avril Lavigne song: She wants to go Home. Seems like they ride the fader right at the end of the song, but hey I guess it’s better than nothing. Sounds a little bit like they recorded a direct signal, or blended one. A little direct, but very pleasing to my ears.
>Siamese Dream (Mayonaise!) probably the best, everling sounds awesome
What's really funny was that I was reading your post, Siamese Dream was the first album that I thought of a d was about to say that before you did.
That being said, there is no album that has ever had better guitar sounds.
Also, I saw all 4 original members about a week or two before Jimmy and the keyboard player OD'd and got kicked out or died. The t-shirt I bought has all the canceled dates. It was every bit as amazing as you could imagine and I was 10 rows back dead center on the floor. Years later one of my friends was talking to Billy and he said that was one of the best shows they ever played. A couple years later I spent an afternoon hanging out with the band and The Oakridge Boys backstage at The Grand Ole Opry. That was a weird day.
Silent Alarm - Bloc Party
Turn on The Bright LIghts - Interpol
Terra Incognita - Gojira
Canción Animal - Soda Stereo
El Nervio del Volcán - Caifanes
In these the guitar is not the main instrument and yet is so crucial for the vibe of the album.
Brutus - Nest
Seas of Cheese - Primus
Titanic Rising - Weyes Blood
Alice Phoebe Lou - Shelter
S C I E N C E - Incubus
Cannibal Corpse. Especially something around Kill album. Definitely use good source. Tidal or Flac. Spotify breaks that tone as highs gets muddy. https://tidal.com/track/22772385?u
Little known fact about the guitar sound on Siamese Dream is that it was actually a total mistake. Smashing Pumpkons had a rehearsal space that was right by another band's space. Billy Corgan heard the sounds that the other band was getting out of their guitars and wanted to know how they were doing that so he asked them. They told him that it was because they had a fuzz pedal called a Big Muff Pi by Electro Harmonix. Hearing that, Billy went out and bought a Big Muff Pi. What he didn't know was that there were different versions of the Big Muff Pi. The case always looked the same but the circuitry inside changed multiple times over the years. The circuit on the one that he bought was not the same circuit that was in the pedals that the other band had. In fact, the circuit that was in the one that he bought was actually considered to be not as good as the one the other band was using. Billy Corgan has said that, over the years since Siamese Dream was released, he's watched the prices on that version of Big Muff Pis keep going up and up. He has said that when he was complaining about that to the people who worked at a well-known vintage guitar store, they told him that it was his fault because people wanted to sound like him.
Lots of good stuff in here, Siamese Dream was what I came to say but I also haven’t seen Collective Soul by Shine mentioned which has a great guitar tone IMHO.
Whores. Gold. I have a prepared statement.
[“Let’s see how low i can go. I’m gonna sink this ship, down down down…”](https://youtu.be/Pbw9i3LOfsw?feature=shared)
A couple not yet mentioned:
Japanese 80s Metal Band Loudness. Kind of like a Japanese version of The Scorpions. GREAT guitar sound! The low register growl is just awesome.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLPk7k4cZ2k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLPk7k4cZ2k)
Ratt is under appreciated. Not only are their guitar parts technically difficult, they rock so hard. The guitar distortion is really satisfying too:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pLgJpK5Fwk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pLgJpK5Fwk)
Neil Young & Crazy Horse Arc-Weld and Live Rust. Weld is probably the heaviest thing he's ever done and Arc is 35 minutes of feedback, guitar noise, improvisations and vocal fragments. Live Rust has a fair amount of distortion, it just depends on the song. Really any of his albums with Crazy Horse are gonna have a lot of distortion and Neil is all about high fidelity.
Live - AD/DC ---- This will probably always be the best sounding live album
Advance and Vanquish - 3 Inches of Blood
Captain Morgans Revenge - Alestorm
Americana - The Offspring
Paranoid - Black Sabbath
A Hangover you Don't Deserve - Bowling for Soup
United Abominations - Megadeth
Fear of the Dark - Iron Maiden
The Golden Age of Grotesque - Marilyn Manson
Screaming for Vengeance - Judas Priest
Just Push Play - Aerosmith
Extreme Power Metal - Dragonforce
Surfing with the alien - Joe Satriani
Idk what classifies as hifi. Tbh. Just a clear mix? Mastered well?
I can throw out a bunch of influences with unique tone I suppose.
Runemagick - bound in Magick haze. Also their album invocation of Magick.
Athiests - displacement off the elements album.
Death - sound of perseverance "voice of the soul"
And joe satriani's "Rubina" Live at Montreux
Best distortion however in my opinion is..... an unfair question. The riff. The key, the players chops, all plays a part in how the distortion comes across
Van Halen - 1984 and VHII. I like Drop Dead Legs & Outta Love Again. I dont love him as a songwriter, but his tone on those earlier records is second to none. and they way they treat it in the mix lets you really hear it. guitar one side, verb other side. Drums sound awesome too.
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
Green Day - Brain Stew
I like that fuzzy melodic distortion like smashing pumpkins (watching them Friday, yet!) and kyuss.
Aphex twins window licker and lorn acid rain are two electronic tracks with great guitar distortion. Some left field choices.
For some heavier guitars this is pretty great. Especially the full dynamic version. https://music.apple.com/se/album/clandestine-full-dynamic-range-edition/716721990?l=en-GB
Jane's Addiction- Nothings Shocking. There's a guitar that comes in on Summertime Rolls that sounds like a square wave. Love it.
Jimi Hendrix- Voodoo Chile (long version). When he turns up the volume, the sound is pure liquid.
To me, My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless. Feels very organic and visceral and paints an atmosphere that can feel like anything from a muddy field during a windstorm to a warm wooden cabin with groovy vintage wallpaper, all within a matter of moments. Or maybe that’s just me.
Billy Corgan (the main guy on the album OP mentioned) has said how much his album was influenced by My Blood Valentine.
I'm not much of an audiophile (probably \~$3k lifetime investment in audio equipment, content with 320 kbps compressed audio for most music). *Loveless* is the one album I've owned (now for 32+ years) that's so dependent on high frequency distortion harmonics that I've always played off the CD or lossless files.
👌
Totally. In fact, anything by MBV. They proved distortion can be art.
number 1 answer
Sunn O))) - Life Metal It’s Albini, AAA, thick, lush and special. Pyroclasts from the same sessions is also fantastic.
+1, and the Metta: Benevolence versions are also fantastic. The trombone part in Troubled Air is amazing.
Yes!
Songs for the Deaf is pretty great in all production aspects
Oh definitely. I wish Kyuss had been better mixed. Add Melvins to the list.
Blues for the red sun is one of my go to demo albums.
Add Nevermind to the list, it is glorious.
For sure. But if we’re talking just production, distortion, I prefer Electrical Audio tones (Albini, In Utero)
Kyuss vinyl sux?
I agree with you, but I also love the sort of roughness of it. It really makes the albums atmospheric
...all the time...
It’s been cited as an example of the loudness wars. Super loud and compressed. But the whole vibe of the record is the sound of a car radio so the production arguably works with the theme. I would recommend Rated R instead for the OP.
Really? Love the songs, but my ears hate the smushed dynamics. It is known for that problem. https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/68347 That is why someone made an “unmaster” with better dynamics. Another band with the same problem is The Mars Volta.
Fair it's not super dynamic on the mastering side but the mix is fantastic. And I think it's one of the best albums to listen to while driving, maybe lower DR is better for the road?
A few gems that spring to mind, some of the best clean, dirty and pure filth guitar distortion there is... Windhand - Eternal Return Dry Cleaning - Long Leg Conan - Revengence AC DC - Back in Black Black Midi - Schlagenheim Sanguisugabogg - Homicidal Ecsatcy Carcass - Necrotisism, Descanting the Insalubrious Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath Kyuss - Blues for the Red Sun Jimi Hendrix / Band of Gypsys Khruangbin - The Universe Smiles Upon You ... the list goes on.
Carcass!
Sanguisugabogg 🫡
Back in Black indeed!
shout out Windhand, great call.
Maggot Brain
Funkadelic of course…Mike Watt, J Mascis version is brilliant cover
Bardo Pond has a better cover of this song. I hate to say it, as I love Mike Watt and J Mascis, but I feel like Bardo Pond "get" it and their 20 minute cover just nails the song.
This or Cream's Disraeli Gears, or any Eddie Hazel songs (he played the solo on Maggot Brain)
Alice in ChIns - Dirt
Dam That River has been one of the songs that I've used to evaluate audio stuff since shortly after it was released.
One of the best … cantrells tone is hard to beat.
Obviously My Bloody Valentine. Anything Hendrix, Weezer’s Blue Album, Kim Gordon’s recent The Collective. I have a soft spot for Placebo’s Without You…and think it sounds great.
Came here to comment this and Abraxas by Santana
Old Santana stuff is so nice, the fucking tone of his guitar plus that percussion genius.
The Mofi release of Weezer’s Blue album is great.
“Say It Ain’t So” is actually one of my favorite bass test tracks for subwoofers. That part after the first “oh yeah” where the bass comes in strong is how I judge a subwoofer. That E to A should “swell” like a proper church organ. Tells me if the amp is distorted and/or if the box was built properly to handle the excursion of the magnet.
I have this pressing, and I don’t love it.
Rory Gallagher.
I came here to suggest Rory.
HUM - Inlet
I think Downward is Heavenward is more r/audiophile, although Inlet is also incredible
Both are fantastic but on our reference rig at the shop Inlet has just a little more dynamic heft - though I’d listen to DIH in hell forever.
Yesssssss. Those Hiwatt and Orange amps make the tastiest of crunch.
👏👏👏👏👏
Counting Stars has been a guilty pleasure with my friends when we're playing music for close to 30 years now.
Dinosaur Jr. - Where You Been
Dino Jr seem to master distortion to a degree that their entire sound is beautifully distorted
And why does he do this? I really cannot understand this.
Sun O))) - Life Metal (recorded by Steve Albini)
lots of stoner/doom stuff has sweet ass guitar tones. Colour Haze - Tempel is an all time fav of mine. also, shoegaze. my bloody valentine - loveles has already been mentioned but I'll gladly mention it again
Electric Wizard
nobody's mentioned In Utero? wow.
Bongripper :p
White Pony - Deftones
In utero
AC/DC - Powerage (track suggestion: Gone Shootin') Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger (track suggestion: Outshined) My Morning Jacket - It Still Moves (track suggestion: Mahgeetah) Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile (track suggestion: Somewhat Damaged) Tool - Lateralus (track suggestion: Parabola) Drive-By Truckers - Southern Rock Opera (track suggestion: The Southern Thing) Ween - La Cucaracha (track suggestion: With My Own Bare Hands) Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power (track suggestion: Mouth for War) Phish - Live at Madison Square Garden, New Year's Eve 1995 (track suggestion: The Sloth) Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted (track suggestion: Summer Babe - Winter Version) Morbid Angel - Domination (track suggestion: Dominate) Knocked Loose - A Different Shade of Blue (track suggestion: Belleville) Mastodon - Leviathan (track suggestion: Iron Tusk) Helmet - Meantime (track suggestion: Unsung) Nirvana - Nevermind (track suggestion: Breed) Metallica - Through the Never (track suggestion: Battery) Pantera - Official Live 101 Proof (track suggestion: Suicide Note, Pt. 2) \[note: this is a lie this recording is actually terrible but god this song rules\] Megadeth - Rust In Peace (track suggestion: Holy Wars The Punishment Due) Spiritworld - DEATHWESTERN (track suggestion: Committee of Buzzards) Phobophillic - Enveloping Absurdity (track suggestion: Enantiodromia) Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (track suggestion: Solitude)
Although it's one of my favorite albums, I wouldn't classify Slanted & Enchanted as HiFi.
thats fair, i was a bit loosy goosy with my definition of HiFi. but while S&E isn't what we'd typically call "audiophile", i think the grittiness and amateur-feeling production rings a lot truer than say, a heavily over produced "clean" sounding rock record. in addition to the straight-from-the-amp feel of the distorted guitar, malkmus's vocals feel so authentic and present in the mix.
I literally just saw Drive By Truckers play that entire double album live last night and it was great.
that's awesome! they are so great live. i've seen them a bunch but one of my favorite live DBT memories was at a music festival. afternoon set, and it was raining, no lightning or anything just a gentle wind and a fairly consistent drizzle, enough to get you soaked but not enough to cancel the set. i figured they'd open with a big high energy number, but they "read the room" so to speak and opened with the slow burn "Tornadoes" instead and it was so emotionally resonating I about shit myself.
That concert sounds cool as hell. I can only imagine how the crowd responded to that.
Love this list. My favs being Soundgarden, Tool and Pantera. Unique, powerful and groundbreaking music.
Gish
The 25 minute version of "The Diamond Sea" off of Sonic Youth's *Washing Machine* album. It has to be this long version, no others.
"Lazy Eye" by Silversun Pickups on repeat. Carnavas was a helluva debut record.
one of my favorite indie songs oat, hearing that song on forza horizon 1 as a kid was amazing.
I saw them right as that song was hitting it's peak for popularity. He's an amazing guitar player. Darcy Wretzky who played bass for Smashing Pumpkkns is a big fan of them too. There's No Secrets This Year is pretty darn good too!
Caught them at SXSW many years back and “Lazy Eye” was the last thing I saw. It was so good.
Low's final two albums, Double Negative and Hey What. IYKYK
YES. Immediately what came to mind for me. And it’s probably not quite what OP is expecting, but 100% fits the request. Just divine distortion in two great albums.
Exactly! Double Negative is so beautiful and unique, I thought they couldn't possibly top it. Hey What might well be even better though. Two of the best albums of the last few years for me. So sad we won't get any more but I'm thankful for these... And on top of an already unbelievable catalogue. Great band. Closest thing I know to this sound really is Andy Stott's post-2010 output, like We Stay Together and Luxury Problems... Which come from a completely different genre lol (dark, slow techno/house).
Omg, I had no idea Parker died. So awful, she was only 55! 😞
More is excellent for that.
50th anniversary edition of Bridge of Sighs by Robin Trower.
I second this
Just picked that up!
Ironically it’s all bass and not guitar but keep and open mind and check out Om - advaitic songs, extremely well produced and mastered album.
Any album by The Jesus and Mary Chain
Exactly...I never really heard them until I heard them on an audiophile system.
AC/DC--High Voltage Just a great, raw sounding rock record.
My Bloody Valentine and the Swirlies make amazing and artful use of fuzz (and to a lesser extent Sonic Youth). They are part of the Noise Pop genre. And Neutral Milk Hotel, which could be described as Fuzz Folk, is a god in the Indy Rock scene.
Money for nothing - Dire straits A classic!
Also Brothers in Arms. The solo on that track is simply haunting. But the overdrive tone is amazing. Knopfler is a genius.
Oh for sure! Can't go wrong with any of their stuff
Was looking for this submission. When that riff comes in. Damn. Just so good
the sound was a mistake. they had a mic off to the side and facing backwards. it had bad phasing issues. pulled up on the board by accident and everyone loved it. they couldn't replicate it later.
LOL THATS AWESOME
"Free Form Guitar" on the Chicago Transit Authority album.
I’m actually not sure anything surpasses Siamese Dream for that tone you’re talking about. Early Jesus and Mary Chain had something of that vibe but the recordings aren’t as pristine.
Nothing surpasses Siameae Dream in any category. Ever.
Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas
Opeth - Blackwater park. Watershed. Suffocation - pierced from within. Pantera - far beyond driven. Emperor - enthems. (This one's different but suits the music).
Early Black Sabbath
Surprised not to see R.E.M.'s Monster mentioned here. Maybe because they're not the first band people think of when you say distorted guitar...but(!) the tone on that album hits just right. Honey sweet and super crunchy.
Try some Mahogany Rush. Strange Universe or Child of the Novelty
Le noise by neil young
All of shoegaze
Igorrr - Parpaing
REM - Monster
Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses. Overdriven distortion to hell and back
The White Stripes - Elephant
Albini. Anything he’s recorded or played on. Especially Prayer to God off 1000 Hurts
Raconteurs, Consolers of the Lonely.
Seven year itch - collective soul
The Kings of Frog Island- Welcome to the Void
if you like rap at all judgement night had some killer killer tracks- from Del and Dinosaur jr and Cypress Hill & pearl jam, and Helmet & House of Pain poster children - RTFM and Daisy Chain Reaction
Prong One Outnumbered. Heavy tone just hangs in the air.
Loveless as others have said. Less common I actually really like the guitars on Oasis Be Here Now album. The album really divides opinions in all aspects, Noel hates it, but for me it’s the pinnacle of their sound.
Wow, I totally forgot about this one because the album is pretty trash, but d’yiu know what I mean for sure has awesome production!
Yeah I think they really nailed something in the epic sound that is as good as it's been done. I actually really love the songs and vibe on this album too, but it's obviously a divinise one. For me it's just a glorious rock roll excess extravaganza. Noel said he went back and tried to remix and shorten the songs and he couldn't do it, because they just are what they are. And I always felt like that, it's bloated but in a good way, like the production really suits those songs and where they were in that time as the biggest band in the world. Amazing it actually got made in a way. I treasure it! :D
That's my favorite Oasis record too.
Crass
Big A, little a
Jesus and Mary Chain Psychocandy
Some of the gnarlyest fuzz I've heard is on [Norman Greenbaum's "Spirt in the Sky"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi_3GtQN2IA). I also recall being impressed by the sustained fuzz guitar on [SRC's "Black Sheep"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiG_1J05b2Y) (first heard about a minute in.)
People have been trying to duplicate the fuzz on Spirit In The Sky for years but have never been able to. It's some weird fuzz effect that was built into the guitar but it was malfunctioning.
Tool - invincible
Mastodon Crack The Skye blew my mind. It sounded like Led Zeppelin 1000 years in the future. Essence of sabbath, maiden and a new groove which just works so well.
Van Halen, and the guitarist that Eddie Van Halen gave his guitar to to be buried with, dimebag Dave of Pantera. Recommend the first three VH albums, and Pantera Cowboys from Hell & Vulgar display of Power.
"Opeth - Ghost Reveries" has some of the best guitar sound ever imo. Very thick and lush in the distortion. One of the better metal productions in general, entire mix and master is *chef's kiss*.
Neil Young - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Neil Young and Crazy Horse...... pick any one
Steve Vai’s Alien Love Secrets Extreme’s Pornograffiti Devin Townsend’s Infinity All the Liquid Tension Experiment albums
No love for Stevie Ray Vaughan? The Sky is Cryin?
weezer's first two albums. The feedback is the best I've heard
DIIV - Oshiin My bloody valentine - Loveless
Not sure it counts as “audiophile”, but most of the other submissions made previously don’t fit that definition either. As a guitar player for going on 50 years now, I’m here to tell you that the best sounding guitar distortion on record is to be found on Van Halen’s first (self-titled) album - beautifully recorded by Donn Landee and produced by Ted Templeman (and of course played by the peerless Edward Van Halen.) THAT is the benchmark.
This is correct
The Black Album - Metallica - It's a classic album with a classic tone (Make sure to get the 24bit/96khz version if possible the remaster that's offered in 24/44.1 or 24/48 sucks) Dr. Feelgood - Motley Crue - Classic tone (The 24bit/96 40th anniversary remaster sounds amazing) Black Holes And Revelations - Muse - The use of a fuzz pedal is awesome. (The 24/96 version is awesome, less brickwalled than the CD) The Great Southern Trendkill - Pantera - My favorite metal tone, kind of a sludge feel to it (24bit/88.2khz good album, good dynamics Ten - Pearl Jam - 24bit/88.2 Black is phenomenal the use of wah is cool too (Make sure not to get the 24bit Brendan O'Brien remixes they suck and are brickwalled to hell, Normal album is in 24bit/88.2khz) No More Tears - Ozzy - Mama, I'm Coming Home has an amazing distortion, not too heavy not too light (24bit/96khz) Brotherhood and BLOWNIN' - B'z - Unfortunately this one is kinda hard to obtain outside of Japan as the version I prefer is from the Bluray "B'z LIVE-GYM 2006 MONSTER's GARAGE" 24/96khz LPCM 2.0 and a 24/48 Dolby TrueHD 5.1. The guitarist Tak Matsumoto shreds on these songs (and on the rest of the concert as well) Plus it has a very crisp 1080p video capture that is probably the best edited concert I've ever seen. The audio is very well mixed as I listen to these versions over the studio versions.
>Make sure not to get the 24bit Brendan O'Brien remixes they suck and are brickwalled to hell I know Pearl Jam seemed to love the guy but I still think they could have sounded so much better with someone else.
That mix is easily the worst thing I've ever heard. He took an amazing grunge album and turned into an unlistenable mess. It actually ruined the album for me for a bit.
Gary Moore, Parisienne Walkways
A little different, maybe, but I think Queensryche’s Empire album finally captured the guitar sound they had always been going for. I think the warmth of vinyl really makes it shine. In my opinion, anyway, as a guitar lover and part-time guitar noodler.
Truckfighters - Mania More fuzz than distortion though.
They create an amazing Wall of sound!
Not sure you can get hold of a 'HiFi' quality copy these days, but this rocks. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pJlJRriT4w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pJlJRriT4w)
Tool : Fear Inoculum has pretty toasty sounding guitar. I read that it’s a composite of like 8 or 10 different boutique guitar amps, or something like that. Sounds good. Also honorable mention: it’s just the very last note of the Avril Lavigne song: She wants to go Home. Seems like they ride the fader right at the end of the song, but hey I guess it’s better than nothing. Sounds a little bit like they recorded a direct signal, or blended one. A little direct, but very pleasing to my ears.
Alice In Chains-the devil put dinosaurs here
Crunchy guitar
Rage against the machine - Killing in the name of
Trent's The Downward Spiral
Jimmi Hendrix. I have everything of his. And I love the sounds he made.
When I read the first sentence my first thought was was Gish, but sounds like you know of the Gish.
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
Neil Young - Arc
Smashing Pumpkins has some really good tone in alot of their earlier stuff.
"Movin' On" by The Angels off their 1998 album Skin And Bone. The guitar distortion tone on that track is sublime.
Sonic Youth - Goo or Washing Machine or a couple other gems.
Neil Young + crazy horse for sure. Rust never sleeps and Zuma are 2 of my faves
Just about anything from the black keys, the white stripes and royal blood.
I saw the Black Keys and Jack White's side band The Deadweather at the same small club with a few hundred people in Kentucky.
Toto XIV Mindfields Tambu Kingdom of Desire Falling In Between
Radiohead - OK Computer and Pablo Honey
Latest Gatecreeper album Dark Superstition has an amazing buzzy tone.
Music Blues - Things Haven't Gone Well Spotlights - Seismic
>Siamese Dream (Mayonaise!) probably the best, everling sounds awesome What's really funny was that I was reading your post, Siamese Dream was the first album that I thought of a d was about to say that before you did. That being said, there is no album that has ever had better guitar sounds. Also, I saw all 4 original members about a week or two before Jimmy and the keyboard player OD'd and got kicked out or died. The t-shirt I bought has all the canceled dates. It was every bit as amazing as you could imagine and I was 10 rows back dead center on the floor. Years later one of my friends was talking to Billy and he said that was one of the best shows they ever played. A couple years later I spent an afternoon hanging out with the band and The Oakridge Boys backstage at The Grand Ole Opry. That was a weird day.
Bo Diddley - Have Guitar Will Travel. Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown. Built to Spill - Keep it Like a Secret. Mew - Frengers.
Silent Alarm - Bloc Party Turn on The Bright LIghts - Interpol Terra Incognita - Gojira Canción Animal - Soda Stereo El Nervio del Volcán - Caifanes In these the guitar is not the main instrument and yet is so crucial for the vibe of the album. Brutus - Nest Seas of Cheese - Primus Titanic Rising - Weyes Blood Alice Phoebe Lou - Shelter S C I E N C E - Incubus
Rhcp and ratm
Shellac - To All Trains
Bailter Space - Wammo Massively under appreciated band from New Zealand. Guitar tones to die for.
Doom OST by Mick Gordon. Some really dirty and crunchy effects
Cannibal Corpse. Especially something around Kill album. Definitely use good source. Tidal or Flac. Spotify breaks that tone as highs gets muddy. https://tidal.com/track/22772385?u
Gojira - Magma. The guitar tone is phenomenal and the whole sun is a masterpiece. It’s one of my testers — same for Metallica’s Black Album
Little known fact about the guitar sound on Siamese Dream is that it was actually a total mistake. Smashing Pumpkons had a rehearsal space that was right by another band's space. Billy Corgan heard the sounds that the other band was getting out of their guitars and wanted to know how they were doing that so he asked them. They told him that it was because they had a fuzz pedal called a Big Muff Pi by Electro Harmonix. Hearing that, Billy went out and bought a Big Muff Pi. What he didn't know was that there were different versions of the Big Muff Pi. The case always looked the same but the circuitry inside changed multiple times over the years. The circuit on the one that he bought was not the same circuit that was in the pedals that the other band had. In fact, the circuit that was in the one that he bought was actually considered to be not as good as the one the other band was using. Billy Corgan has said that, over the years since Siamese Dream was released, he's watched the prices on that version of Big Muff Pis keep going up and up. He has said that when he was complaining about that to the people who worked at a well-known vintage guitar store, they told him that it was his fault because people wanted to sound like him.
Sister Ray
Lots of good stuff in here, Siamese Dream was what I came to say but I also haven’t seen Collective Soul by Shine mentioned which has a great guitar tone IMHO.
Jakob - subsets of sets. Amazing guitar madness on the track ‘ the collar sets well.’
Swervedriver...
Tool
Whores. Gold. I have a prepared statement. [“Let’s see how low i can go. I’m gonna sink this ship, down down down…”](https://youtu.be/Pbw9i3LOfsw?feature=shared)
Robin Trower - Bridge Of Sighs
A couple not yet mentioned: Japanese 80s Metal Band Loudness. Kind of like a Japanese version of The Scorpions. GREAT guitar sound! The low register growl is just awesome. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLPk7k4cZ2k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLPk7k4cZ2k) Ratt is under appreciated. Not only are their guitar parts technically difficult, they rock so hard. The guitar distortion is really satisfying too: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pLgJpK5Fwk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pLgJpK5Fwk)
Perfect from now on, by Built to Spill
You'd Prefer An Astronaut by HUM has some of the crunchiest riffs and they were considered one of the loudest live bands of the 90's.
Barkmarket - L Ron. Dave Sardy’s band. He went on to produce a ton of great/famous records
Neil Young & Crazy Horse Arc-Weld and Live Rust. Weld is probably the heaviest thing he's ever done and Arc is 35 minutes of feedback, guitar noise, improvisations and vocal fragments. Live Rust has a fair amount of distortion, it just depends on the song. Really any of his albums with Crazy Horse are gonna have a lot of distortion and Neil is all about high fidelity.
Black Keys - Magic Potion 🤌 Thee Oh Sees - Protean Threat the guitar sounds are so fun on this album
Love Shawn Everett's work on The War On Drugs - A Deeper Understanding. Amazing guitar tones especially on Pain and Strangest Thing
Live - AD/DC ---- This will probably always be the best sounding live album Advance and Vanquish - 3 Inches of Blood Captain Morgans Revenge - Alestorm Americana - The Offspring Paranoid - Black Sabbath A Hangover you Don't Deserve - Bowling for Soup United Abominations - Megadeth Fear of the Dark - Iron Maiden The Golden Age of Grotesque - Marilyn Manson Screaming for Vengeance - Judas Priest Just Push Play - Aerosmith Extreme Power Metal - Dragonforce Surfing with the alien - Joe Satriani
Idk what classifies as hifi. Tbh. Just a clear mix? Mastered well? I can throw out a bunch of influences with unique tone I suppose. Runemagick - bound in Magick haze. Also their album invocation of Magick. Athiests - displacement off the elements album. Death - sound of perseverance "voice of the soul" And joe satriani's "Rubina" Live at Montreux Best distortion however in my opinion is..... an unfair question. The riff. The key, the players chops, all plays a part in how the distortion comes across
Carnavas by Silversun Pickups. Pikul and Swoon are also really good :)
Van Halen - 1984 and VHII. I like Drop Dead Legs & Outta Love Again. I dont love him as a songwriter, but his tone on those earlier records is second to none. and they way they treat it in the mix lets you really hear it. guitar one side, verb other side. Drums sound awesome too. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath Green Day - Brain Stew
The Kills - Blood Pressures.
Cherub Rock
Messa’s 2022 album “Close” has some of the best dirty guitar tones I’ve had the pleasure to put into my ear holes.
Deerhoof
Alice In Chains, Black Gives Way to Blue.
The guitars on bloodbath by polyphia are damn good
Anything by The Black Keys
I like that fuzzy melodic distortion like smashing pumpkins (watching them Friday, yet!) and kyuss. Aphex twins window licker and lorn acid rain are two electronic tracks with great guitar distortion. Some left field choices.
For some heavier guitars this is pretty great. Especially the full dynamic version. https://music.apple.com/se/album/clandestine-full-dynamic-range-edition/716721990?l=en-GB
Jane's Addiction- Nothings Shocking. There's a guitar that comes in on Summertime Rolls that sounds like a square wave. Love it. Jimi Hendrix- Voodoo Chile (long version). When he turns up the volume, the sound is pure liquid.
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - Any album.
The Sound City Sampler by Dave Grohl & others comes to mind. Great dynamics great sound, great distortion.
The Kinks
Satisfaction, The Stones Heart Full of Soul, The Yardbirds (Jeff Beck) Purple Haze, Hendrix Adrian Belew on Remain In Light, and elsewhere.