June 2017

• Penguin Cafe - The Imperfect Sea (2017,S) ★★★★☆
• Lindsay Buckingham & Christine McVie - Self Titled (2017,LP) ★★★★☆
• Tom Petty - Into the Great Wide Open (1991,2017 RM LP) ★★★★☆
• Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever (1989,2017 RM LP) ★★★★☆
• Elton John - Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player (1971,LP) ★★★★☆
• Tame Impala - Currents (2015,LP) ★★★★★
• The Carpenters - The Singles: 1969-1973 (1973,LP) ★★★★★
• Pixies - Doolittle (1989,LP) ★★★★☆
• Weezer - Pinkerton (1996,LP) ★★★☆☆
• The Smiths - Hateful of Hollow (1984,LP) ★★★★★
• Dan Auerbach - Waiting on a Song (2017,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (1975,LP) ★★★★★
• Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger (1991,LP) ★★★☆☆
  • RIP Chris Cornell 5-18-17
• Roger Waters - Is This What We Really Want? (2017,S) ★★★★☆
• Fripp & Eno - No Pussyfooting (1973,S) ★★★★☆
• The Beatles - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967,50th Ann. 2017 5.1 DVD)
  • Performance ★★★★★ Sonics ★★★★☆
• Peter Tosh - Legalize It! (1976,2017 RSD LP) ★★★★☆

17

Chuck's Rating Scale

• Classic / Essential (Tops) 4.4 to 5.0 ★★★★★
• Must Listen (Great) 3.4 to 4.3 ★★★★☆
• Worthy Effort (Maybe to Good) 2.4 to 3.3 ★★★☆☆
• Below Expectations (Bad) 1.4 to 2.3 ★★☆☆☆
• Avoid (Awful) 0 to 1.3 ★☆☆☆☆

Playback:

• VPI Scout JMW9 Tonearm w/Nordost Wiring, Ortofon 2M Black Cartridge
• Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum Integrated Tube Amp (KT-120 Tubes)
• Klipsch RF-3s, RC-3, RS-3s, KSW-15 Sub
• Pioneer Elite BDP-62FD Blu-Ray/SACD/DVD Audio Player / Polk LSi M Bookshelf
• Digital: Apple iMac "Core i3" 3.2 21.5in / J River Media Center 21 / Cambridge SoundWorks
• VPI 16.5 RCM

My initial impressions (and ratings) may change after repeated plays. Albums that grab my attention on the first listen are great, but many others take several listens to truly appreciate and ratings may be updated accordingly. My top rating for greatest hit compilations is four stars.

This list is chronological with the top album being the most recently played. Sound quality ratings are included for some releases, such as multichannel mixes and audiophile labels.

Vinyl is my preferred and typical method for playback, but I occasionally listen to SACD, DVD-Audio, Blu-ray and (less likely) Redbook CD. For titles I don't own, especially for exploration and discovery, Spotify and YouTube are my go-to online resources. Music streaming is noted with an 'S'. For music on the road with by CD, iPhone or iPad and Spotify, playback will be noted with an 'SR'. Sometimes for convenience I will stream music to my Amazon Echo, noted with an 'SE'.

Last month's listening log can be found below.

Older lists are saved in the archive folder.