Looking for reference quality recordings...

[spandex man]

Allow me to add to the pop, rock category:

Pop Rock-
Paramore - Riot!
The Used - Lies for the Liars
Anberlin - Cities

Metal/Hard Rock
Mastodon - Crack the Skye
King's X - Dogman
Winger - Pull
Underoath - Lost in the Sound of Separation
Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown
Tonic - Tonic (i think)

Pop
Taylor Swift - Fearless
Anything Britney Spears
Shania Twain - Come on Over

You pretty much cant go wrong referening Brendan O'Brien (Mastodon, King's X, Incubus, Soundgarden) or David Bendeth (Paramore, Underoath, Breaking Benjamin) mixes/productions. For the pop stuff, Dr.Luke is doing most of the dancier stuff (Katy Perry's hits like Teenage Dream, Hot and Cold, Kesha, Miley Cyrus, Pink), mostly mixed by Serbin Gehna. Its all really well done, but there arent alot of standout mixes in my opinion. I also LOVE alot of Chris Lord Alge stuff, he mixed 'The Used' album i listed above. Some of his stuff is better than others though, he did the latest Paramore album which although its grown on me, it doesnt compare to 'Riot' in my opinion.

Anyway, depends what you like. Im a big fan of production, the stuff i listed above is music i listen to all the time and what i think are stand outs. Most of the time though it just comes down to good songs.

[Pete]

For an excellent example of great hardcore:

Converge - Axe to Fall (check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS6rCAGGpEI sort of good youtube quality)

Kurt Ballou is the guitarist and also a great recording engineer.

[jon.l.hunter]

Listening to some of that Mark Hollis record thanks Mark - does sound good

Heres some I feel sound particularly good in that the recording plays a complimentry role to the music
Help - The Beatles - rock/pop
White Light / White Heat - The Velvet Underground - rock
Hot Buttered Soul - Issac Hayes - soul
Curtis - Curtis Mayfield - soul
In The Wee Small Hours - Frank Sinatra - sad Ballady jazz pop?
The Modern Dance - Pere Ubu - Punk
Bo Didley - Bo Didley - rock
The Early singles of John Lee Hooker - Blues (from 1948)

[walding]

Listening to some of that Mark Hollis record thanks Mark - does sound good

Indeed it does, 2 U49s tis all.

One of my favourite recordings of all time.

[geofflee]

The Mark Hollis...I got it when it first came out and am listening to it now. It's beautiful, but the hiss! Shoulda been recorded to digital - or at least switched on the Dolby!

[audioio]

I had a copy but lost it a couple of years ago. Just got a new re-mastered one on ebay:

Rain Tree Crow (self-titled)

The members of Japan reformed for one album and promptly split over creative "differences".

It's a startlingly beautiful record.