First Time Owning Mono Vinyl

I have never owned a mono album in my entire life. This is about to change, and the reason for my thread.

One of the first mono albums on my list is Duke Ellington's Masterpieces by Ellington. What are some of the others that you consider to be must haves. I'll be looking for Jazz, Blues, and some Classic Rock. I am already aware of the Beatles having lots of mono. I would like to hear/read about others you would consider owning.

Also, how would you describe your first impressions and thoughts about mono recordings. Is there much difference between stereo and mono?

As always, your help will be greatly appreciated!

The Rolling Stones. Their early catalog was recorded in mono. I will defer to Ken in DC as to what pressings sound best although my go too pressing is a Decca mono for Aftermath.
Also The Beatles have a Mono box set that is well priced if you shop around. It includes everything up to The White Album.
On 2015 record day I bought a mono pressing of Heavy by Iron Butterfly and it sounds fantastic.
Most of your Early Blue Note Van Gelder's are in Mono and sound great. I was listening to a Classic Records 180 gram re- issue of Horacescope a swingin affair by Horace Silver last week.and the recording is so well done it sounds like it's stereo.

Thank you Qdrone for your insight and recommendations. I am hoping more members will respond so I can have a nice collection of mono.

Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys is a must have mono record.

I listened to the Mono pressing of The Beatles Srgnt Pepper from the recent box set last night,what a treat! To describe the sound well consider your two speakers as side walls and eminating from the space between them is the music.

4Play said:

I have never owned a mono album in my entire life. This is about to change, and the reason for my thread.

One of the first mono albums on my list is Duke Ellington's Masterpieces by Ellington. What are some of the others that you consider to be must haves. I'll be looking for Jazz, Blues, and some Classic Rock. I am already aware of the Beatles having lots of mono. I would like to hear/read about others you would consider owning.

Also, how would you describe your first impressions and thoughts about mono recordings. Is there much difference between stereo and mono?

As always, your help will be greatly appreciated!

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The perceptions about mono are always funny to me. I can tell you that the further I go in my listening, the more I prefer mono. That said, there are some amazing stereo recordings. Overall, I prefer rock in stereo but there are some exceptions like Dylan and The Beatles.

If you research the old jazz originals, you will see that the original mono copies are the ones which sell for upwards of $1000 . The reason is that they were recorded with 2 mics, for the purpose of mono. And if you're ever able to listen to one such record, you will find the soundstage is deep and cavernous. The separation between the instruments is clear and defined. Its this type of recording that will make you question the need for stereo with certain albums.

There are some stereo recordings which are downright bad. What makes it bad, in my opinion, is the hard panning of the instruments. Too much separation and distance. The last stereo reissues of The Beatles were for me, unlistenable. It was like a video game in its scope.

So overall I am generalizing, but hopefully there is some wisdom you can take out of my comment. If I haven't been clear please ask me.

my biggest regret

I came to jazz quite late in life,it was not a genre I enjoyed seriously until my mid thirties. A friend of mine Randy introduced me jazz and guided me until I went off on my own.
When Cds became the flavor of the month and vendors were dumping vinyl I in earnest started buying whatever I enjoyed. One morning a list of jazz vinyl landed in my mailbox from where I don't know. A dentist in the mid west had bought the entire warehouse of vinyl from the distributer. The labels housed in the warehouse were among others Milestone,Prestige, Ojc, Fantasy and more and the price was 2.99 a record.
To say I did some serious damage to my bank account would be an understatement and I must have bought over 300 albums but because the flyer was so thick I took a black marker and drew a line over any album that was recorded in MONO. Mono was old,Mono wasnt hip Mono didn't sound as good as stereo at least that's what I was told and these were the same people who said the CD medium sounded better than vinyl.
That was my biggest regret that I missed out on some fantastic recordings. Mono can sound awesome and you don't need an exclusive Mono cartridge or a Mono button on your eguipment you just need a recording that was done right. Now a days CD'S in done right rivals analog which doesn't bother me because I collect both. To the OP I OWN HUNDREDS OF FIRST GENERATION BLUE NOTES ON CD IN BOTH MONO AND STEREO AND I DON'T HAVE ONE THAT SOUNDS BAD. When CD'S were introduced the voice in the recordings along with violins in classical music is where people complained in regards to sound. Most jazz does not feature vocals or violin.Dont be afraid to pick up early mono jazz Cds on Blue Note and other labels.