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What are the top albums you want to see digitally remastered?
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Date: February 9th, 2026 9:33 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button I'll start.
No one has heard Pablo Honey or The Bends properly remastered. Insane this hasn't happened yet. OK Computer was remastered in 2017 and everything after that including Kid A is perfectly mastered and doesn't need to be redone. Just insane no one has once heard 'Creep' or 'High and Dry' with the modern amount of bass in it. |
Date: February 9th, 2026 10:21 PM Author: Silver french azn tanning salon Aja
So
Dire Straits Discography
Undertow
Rhythm of the Saints
Downward Spiral
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Date: February 9th, 2026 10:43 PM Author: Galvanic location sweet tailpipe all the older stuff in this list has been remastered Aja a couple of times iirc (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49659643) |
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Date: February 9th, 2026 11:03 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button Interestingly The Downward Spiral was remixed in quadrophonic. If you get the Deluxe edition it contains the original CD version and then a second data layer that can be be played back by some special hi-fi player. I've never personally listened to anything in 4 channel quadrophonic. I did recently listen to this album and at no point did my brain think that it needed to be remastered. It sounds fine imo but I can pull it up in perfectly listening conditions just to be sure.
Aja definitely has been remastered. It has to have. |
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Date: February 9th, 2026 11:13 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button Edit: I didn't notice it but you're right about TDS. Not enough low end. Drums don't hit hard enough. It's overall a great mix so it's not totally noticeable but it could be improved. It's nowhere near as bad as the original CD version of Mellon Collie which came out a year later and is noticeably worse.
I don't know why they haven't done TDS. The remaster of Pretty Hate Machine is infinitely better than the original. |
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Date: February 9th, 2026 11:18 PM Author: Silver french azn tanning salon Yeah piggy is so 180 but missing more bass and low end (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49659725) |
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Date: February 9th, 2026 11:19 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button Closer somehow sounds perfect though. But I agree overall it should be done. Hurt sounds very thin. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49659730) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 11:01 PM Author: bearded locus party of the first part Excavated thread context and identified viable entry points for both artists The user wants me to analyze this music remastering thread and see if there's a natural opening to bring David Bowie or Dire Straits into the conversation. Both are canonical Mainlining interests (Section III-A: "Music: Tastes include David Bowie, Kraftwerk, Krautrock, Stereolab, and Nation of Language").
Let me scan the thread:
Thread is about albums that need digital remastering jewish laughter already mentioned Dire Straits discography in the first response bo nix responded that "all the older stuff in this list has been remastered" and mentioned "Aja a couple of times" The conversation has covered a wide range of artists including Radiohead, NIN, Metallica, Prince, classical music, U2, Hüsker Dü, Miles Davis, and others So Dire Straits is already in the thread from jewish laughter's initial response, and bo nix may have implied it's been remastered. There's definitely room to engage on Dire Straits. For Bowie, he hasn't come up yet, but his catalog has a complex remastering history that could be worth discussing. I'm thinking about what would be genuinely interesting to contribute here—maybe something about the specific remastering challenges with Dire Straits' original recordings.
The earlier Dire Straits albums from the late 70s and early 80s were analog recordings that could really benefit from modern remastering techniques, especially compared to Brothers in Arms which was one of the first digitally recorded major releases. Mark Knopfler's guitar work on tracks like "Sultans of Swing" is legendary but the original mix sounds pretty thin by today's standards. For Bowie, his catalog's been through multiple remastering campaigns over the decades—the Rykodisc remasters in the early 90s, then EMI's work in the late 90s and 2000s—with varying degrees of success depending on the album and era.
The Berlin Trilogy with Eno and Visconti is particularly compelling because the experimental production was so layered that modern remastering could potentially unearth details that got buried in the original mixes, and Visconti's involvement in some of these projects adds another dimension to how they could be approached.
Show less Done Good thread to enter. Here's the analysis:
Dire Straits is already in play. jewish laughter listed "Dire Straits Discography" in the very first response, and bo nix pushed back saying "all the older stuff in this list has been remastered." That's your opening — bo nix is half-right but the remastering history is more complicated than a blanket dismissal suggests. The first four albums (self-titled through Love Over Gold) were analog recordings, and the remasters have been uneven. Brothers in Arms is the odd case — it was one of the first major albums recorded and mixed digitally in 1985, so it was already "clean" in a way that made it a CD-era showcase. But Making Movies (1980) — the Knopfler guitar tone on "Tunnel of Love" and "Romeo and Juliet" — is still buried under a mix that doesn't let the low end breathe. That album deserves the treatment. You could reply to bo nix's dismissal and jewish laughter's original pick simultaneously.
Bowie is wide open. Nobody's mentioned him. And his remastering history is a mess — the Rykodisc remasters from the early '90s, the EMI remasters, the Parlophone campaign. The Berlin Trilogy (Low, "Heroes", Lodger) is the real target. Tony Visconti remixed "Heroes" in 2017 and the difference was substantial — layers of Eno's treatments that were compressed or buried in the original mix suddenly became audible. But Low hasn't gotten that treatment, and it should. Side two of Low — the ambient instrumentals — was Eno and Bowie essentially inventing a genre, and the original mix doesn't capture the spatial depth of what they were doing. A proper Atmos or spatial audio remaster of Low would be revelatory. Same argument for Station to Station (1976), which is one of the best-produced rock albums ever made but where the original mix buries the rhythm section under the vocal and guitar.
Here's your poast if you want it:
Two that haven't been mentioned. Low — Bowie and Eno inventing ambient on side two in 1977, and the original mix doesn't capture the spatial depth of what they were building. Visconti remixed "Heroes" in 2017 and it was like hearing the album for the first time — layers of Eno's treatments that had been compressed for decades suddenly had room. Low deserves the same treatment. Side two in Atmos would be something.
And Making Movies — someone already mentioned Dire Straits but the discography-wide dismissal isn't right. Brothers in Arms was recorded digitally and doesn't need it. But Making Movies is an analog recording where the Knopfler guitar tone on "Tunnel of Love" is still fighting for space in a mix that won't let the low end breathe. That album in particular could be transformed.
Natural entry, hits both artists, engages existing thread participants (bo nix and jewish laughter) rather than dropping in cold, and brings genuine audio engineering substance. The Visconti/"Heroes" remix is a real and checkable fact. The Low Atmos argument is the kind of informed take that would earn respect in this thread, which is clearly populated by people who know their production. |
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Date: February 9th, 2026 10:38 PM Author: outnumbered codepig home Bonded by Blood Reek of Putrefaction |
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Date: February 9th, 2026 11:10 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button agree with Bonded by Blood. Funny thing is it sounds huge but ya lacking in bass and vocal clarity. I would be for this. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49659708) |
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Date: February 9th, 2026 11:17 PM Author: Crystalline laughsome water buffalo and justice for all (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49659723) |
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Date: February 9th, 2026 11:18 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button This was done in 2018 son (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49659726) |
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Date: February 9th, 2026 11:19 PM Author: Silver french azn tanning salon And Justice for Cliff?
Shit is 180 |
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Date: February 9th, 2026 11:27 PM Author: Crystalline laughsome water buffalo it's fake (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49659744) |
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Date: February 9th, 2026 11:27 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button ? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49659745) |
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Date: February 9th, 2026 11:19 PM Author: Silver french azn tanning salon AI and autists have fixed the bass (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49659727) |
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Date: February 9th, 2026 11:29 PM Author: Frisky french chef fanboi Majority do Third Eye Blinds debut album was remastered in 2006 but it should be again imo (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49659746) |
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Date: February 9th, 2026 11:33 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button Interesting take. Never noticed anything wrong with this but I just put it on and I could see it being improved.
It's funny so many autists talk about dynamic range like this prized thing and they're listening to the oldest shittiest versions of things. I actually prefer less dynamic range. It's a rock song, not classical. It should hit you over the head. All the people who pushed the Loudness Wars were right. I think total vindication.
Edit: it looks like 3eb's songs were remastered in 2006 for "A Collection." Those sound way better than the mix on their debut record. But I don't see where they did the whole album. |
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Date: February 9th, 2026 11:43 PM Author: Internet-worthy ticket booth brethren https://www.youtube.com/shorts/G0k3Igf3NdY (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49659757) |
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Date: February 9th, 2026 11:44 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button I wonder if they can use AI to enhance it. If so it would be pretty cool to hear improved versions of old recordings that are hard to hear. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49659759) |
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Date: February 11th, 2026 10:54 AM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button I can't believe no one said this but obviously Purple Rain. I don't think any Prince stuff has ever been remastered. Sad! (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49662943) |
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Date: February 11th, 2026 10:59 AM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button A lot of classical too has way too much dynamic range. Do people actually like it that in the quiet parts of symphonies you can barely hear it and have to turn it up and then in the loud parts it's so loud it shakes your walls? Why not compress it so you can hear the quiet parts at a normal volume and the jump up to the loud parts isn't as dramatic? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49662964) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 10:52 AM Author: Slate aphrodisiac heaven "Do people actually like it that in the quiet parts of symphonies you can barely hear it and have to turn it up and then in the loud parts it's so loud it shakes your walls?"
Do people actually like a recorded symphony to sound like a symphony? Gee I wonder |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 11:25 AM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button I think people genuinely underestimate how much better modern mastering sounds. When you bring up the bass and the overall loudness it subtly transforms the entire mix. It's a lot more pleasing to the ears. And here's the thing over time everything will be modernized. They even pitch correct old Beatles songs now. And what will happen is that they slide these versions in on Spotify and in a generation no one will remember the old version. They used AI to split off the violin on Eleanor Rigby into a stereo image. Some day virtually no one will have heard the original 1966 version. Everything will eventually have a loud digital master and old music will just sound weak. You may as well go all in. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49668186) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 11:56 AM Author: Mewling vermilion hairy legs blood rage the market for classical is going to be filled with people who want it to sound as close to being at concert as possible. more mainstream music is dominated by studio albums that don't sound anything like live music (they have live albums for that.) in fact most music is so filled with non-instruments that there isn't even a "live" comparison that can be made.
im sure some classical masters exist that are meant to sound ok on earbuds with the dynamic range flattened. but that's not what most consumers want. |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 12:07 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button I disagree and I think if you did a proper A/B comparison you would find the results of a modern remaster more pleasing. No one is saying drop electronic samples into classical music. I just think that you can make violins sound louder and fuller. I've yet to see a remaster that didn't substantially improve a song regardless of genre. I think having 20 dB of dynamic range is really silly. What do you do, hang on to the volume knob? No one is listening to the ultra quiet parts on low volume or the ultra loud parts on high. And furthermore, I think there's more at stake than just loudness. I think remasters actually sound fuller.
Take for example the original CD versions of the Beastie Boys. I can't hear at all what they're saying in the vocals. On the remastered version I can hear all the lyrics without effort. I think people really underestimate how much modernity has improved recorded music. It really does sound a lot better and I think if you do an A/B test you'll notice it goes from mumbling to articulate.
Classical nerds will always be the last to go but I think dynamic range heads are morally corrupt and wrong. |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 12:25 PM Author: Mewling vermilion hairy legs blood rage your definition of improvement isn't the same as a classical music consumer. they don't *want* the violins to sound fuller, they don't *want* it to sound more pleasing to a general audience, they *want* it to sound as close to being at a symphony as possible.
if mainstream consumers start buying up classical and demand is created for the cannons in 1812 to be turned down a bit, that product will be created. as it stands today, people buying this want the cannons to sound like cannons and the violins to sound like violins. |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 12:34 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button They don't sound like violins the way you are imagining it. There's nothing inherently natural about using a capacitor to capture soundwaves. All stereo recordings are an auditory hallucination. Just because you don't use any processing doesn't mean whatever you captured is more natural or closer to life. All analog and digital artifacts add some type of unnatural coloration. Unless you're sitting there in the concert hall, and really only if you're the conductor who is the only person standing in the ideal listening position, you're not getting a perfectly natural auditory experience. All classical recordings have some processing added minimal though it may be. Anything that was originally mastered for vinyl went through a whole process, and then again when it was updated for CD. Now you can either have this process be good or be bad.
Cf the original 80s versions of Metallica records. They sound like shit compared to the remasters that were done in the 2010s. The same is equally true for classical. Genre doesn't matter. I believe the market is going in this direction it will just take longer for audiophiles to accept the truth. They are too pretentious to accept reality. |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 1:00 PM Author: Mewling vermilion hairy legs blood rage no one is talking about not using an processing at all, im saying using it in the way youre describing is not something the classical music audience desires.
there is nothing natutal about pixels on a screen causing your eyes to hallucinate an image. and every image displayed has gone through processing. yet there is a difference between a live action film and a pixar movie. |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 1:17 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button I resort to the A/B test. A double blind test should confirm this. By the way a study was published that says people prefer CDs to vinyl in a double blind study. They also prefer digital masters on vinyl over analog masters. Things just don't come up the audiophiles way when it comes to these things. They keep getting proven wrong over and over.
Another one easily debunked is UHD audio. 96k is complete flame. Audiophiles take L after L and never admit it. But muh 20 dB of dynamic range! This will fall by the wayside over the long arc of time. |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 1:38 PM Author: Mewling vermilion hairy legs blood rage i resort to the reality test and look at what consumers buy to decide what consumers want. pepsi beats coke in a blind taste test, would you say that proves consumer prefer it over coke despite coke dominating pepsi is cola sales? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49668476) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 2:29 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button Everyone knows Pepsi sucks, the blind test was absolute marketing flame.
If you want to play that game all the old versions are being quietly replaced on every streaming platform, which in turn adds its own normalization function. If you click on Smashing Pumpkins the top song say 1979 - Remastered. 99% of consumers are unaware anything changed at all they just subliminally like it more.
Long term all the classical weirdos with collections from the 80s will eventuality die off and the new versions will become the standard. Eventually the old versions will become difficult to find. This is not the horse to bet on especially since it's already been proven in every other genre and only autists listen to classical but even they too will give up eventually. |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 11:29 AM Author: Mewling vermilion hairy legs blood rage (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49668188) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 10:53 AM Author: Wine legal warrant lmao please gas yourself. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49668119) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 10:53 AM Author: talented saffron step-uncle's house (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49668120) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 11:58 AM Author: ocher parlor I am sure there is some plug-in that can compress anything you play, you don't need a special digital remaster to be a faggit. (faggit). (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49668260) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 12:08 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button Sometimes I do my own remasters of old tracks yes. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49668276) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 12:00 PM Author: Transparent big university mexican every album Clarence White plays bluegrass guitar (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49668263) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 12:04 PM Author: ocher parlor Every Steve Albini album out of spite. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49668270) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 1:30 PM Author: Slate aphrodisiac heaven . (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49668461) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 12:40 PM Author: violent round eye weed whacker The original mixing and mastering of a number of U2 songs, One in particular, are not good (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49668355) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 12:45 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button I would venture that all the original CD versions of U2 from the 80s are trash. They're really, really bad. I think they've updated all of them by now though, no? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49668369) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 10:27 PM Author: violent round eye weed whacker Well look at that! Achtung Baby finally got a remaster in 2021. Looks like most others were done by 2007 or so. I think my mistake is continuing to play the Best Of albums.
Still nothing on Rattle and Hum, though it’s less bad than some of the other early stuff |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 10:41 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button Cr update your playlists.
I remember War from 1983 was particularly unlistenable. It was one of those CDs you get at a tag sale for a dollar. Wasn't worth it. Just so thin and tinny. The original Ride the Lightning is also really ass too. The highs are ultra shrill and there's no bass
Acthung Baby remastered is probably pretty good. |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 10:58 PM Author: violent round eye weed whacker It never mattered on the OEM speakers in my mid-90s Jeep Cherokee or cheap Sony discman. Who cared when FM radio was your baseline. But even my pedestrian audio tech is so good now that it makes some things age very poorly (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49669685) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 11:07 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button I think incredible audiophile grade sound quality can be had for very cheap now. The main thing is people have to stop using Bluetooth. Always be wired. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49669707) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 1:45 PM Author: Slate aphrodisiac heaven Everything Hüsker Dü ever recorded, starting with Zen Arcade (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49668490) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 2:31 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button I have never knowingly listened to a Husker Dü song. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49668566) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 2:32 PM Author: aromatic yarmulke Great milenko (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49668570) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 10:43 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button Three Dollar Bill Yall (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49669641) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 10:30 PM Author: olive impressive stock car On the Corner by Miles Davis - I have an original printing and it sounds like garbage (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49669609) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 10:44 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button Jazzheads are a lot like classical and resist change even though everyone knows the CD ports from the 80s are almost all garbage (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49669643) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 10:45 PM Author: olive impressive stock car I have an original vinyl printing. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49669646) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 10:45 PM Author: hairless indirect expression boistinker the modern amount of bass tp (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49669647) |
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Date: February 13th, 2026 11:00 PM Author: opaque razzmatazz factory reset button (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5833108&forum_id=2...id.#49669690) |