Anyone else thought about this?

Sure, all mainstream artists have a crazy budget to work through, but that doesn't mean it always ends up sounding immaculate. And a lot of small projects are well produced but do the best with what they have. Ignore lyric quality and think about only how it sounds.

I'm thinking of stuff like Thriller, Pet Sounds, Revolver, IYRTITL, Yeezus, The Chronic, Doggystyle. These are just a few examples.

What do you listen to and think: "damn, this s*** sounds expensive?

MBDTF

Random Access Memories

Pet Sounds had a recording budget of a million (the equivalent of that in 1966), right?

Yeah, there's not many albums touching that.

Teflon don

watch the throne

Sgt Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band

Rick Ross discog

teenage emotions

Victory Lap

the 96khz version sounds like the most expansive s*** ever

plastic beach

Late registration

why does the chronic sound expensive?

Majority of Kanye albums

ask Martin Shkreli about that Wu Tang album

According to this article, the budget was 70k, which was unheard of for the time.

rollingstone.com/music/music-news/beach-boys-pet-sounds-15-things-you-didnt-know-186297

Rick Ross discog

Still Striving

Damn, the album sounds like it was even more expensive than that.

What is the 2020 equivalent of that ?

the last bird flew the copue