The Good CD Guide 1993 (1992) — Christopher Pollard

Gramophone | ISBN: 9780902470385 | Condition: Near Fine | Sold by Crappy Old Books

Before Spotify playlists, before algorithmic “Discover Weekly,” before the existential dread of a 10,000-track MP3 folder you never curated—there was the CD. Shiny, circular, mysteriously indestructible until you sneezed near it, and best appreciated with a copy of The Good CD Guide 1993 propped on your knee.

Edited by Christopher Pollard and published by Gramophone in 1992, this guide is a glorious time capsule of the digital dawn. Inside you’ll find reviews, recommendations, and the kind of reassuring authority that only critics armed with bow ties, fountain pens, and very strong opinions about Mahler symphonies could provide. From Karajan’s endless Beethoven cycles to obscure chamber recordings of music you didn’t know existed, this book is like a Michelin guide for your hi-fi rack.

Why this copy?

• Condition: Near Fine. Practically pristine, as if it’s been sitting politely on a shelf waiting for its moment to shine again. The pages are crisp, the spine uncreased—clearly treated with the reverence due to a CD-era oracle.

• Gramophone stamp of approval. If you wanted to know in 1992 which recording of Elgar’s Enigma Variations would impress your neighbour’s golden retriever, this was the book you turned to.

• From Crappy Old Books. We don’t just flog medieval chronicles and forgotten thrillers; sometimes we rescue reference works that smell faintly of hi-fi shops and velvet listening rooms.

Specs at a glance

• Author/Editor: Christopher Pollard

• Title: The Good CD Guide 1993

• Publisher: Gramophone, 1992

• ISBN: 9780902470385

• Condition: Near Fine

This isn’t just a guide—it’s a backstage pass to the classical music world of the early ‘90s, when the compact disc was king and everyone thought “remastered” meant sonic perfection. Dip in and you’ll hear the faint echo of a hi-fi salesman insisting that your life won’t be complete without a separate DAC.

Warning: prolonged browsing may cause sudden urges to reorganise your CD collection alphabetically, or to haunt charity shops in search of a long-deleted Philips box set.

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