Billy Joel - The Stranger

I wanted some Billy Joel on vinyl and this album came up as “Amazon’s Choice.” I have always liked Billy Joel as an artist. I recently got back into vinyl after having been away for a while. I love this album. I think it deserves to be described as a masterpiece. Listening to this on a Sunday morning ( or any other time) is a totally enchanting and relaxing experience. I have since added four other vinyls from Billy Joel to my collection ( including “Piano Man”). They are great and very satisfying but I think “The Stranger” is still my favorite. Also, the man understands song cycles…something I first learned about in a music appreciation course in college. I highly recommend this album. Update 09/24/22: this album is like a tried and true best friend to me. It never fails to put me in a good mood. No matter the day of the week, it’s always Sunday morning when I put this on. I don’t know if I just got a great pressing or what, but this vinyl always plays beautifully start to finish. No skips, pops or cracks. Again this is a favorite. Buy this. You won’t regret it.

This was my introduction to Billy Joel’s music and I have to say it’s amazing. Every song in the album is memorable, especially my personal favorite Vienna. Overall, amazing album.

Came in good packaging, and sounds great but there are more scuffs then I expected.

This record came in right on time. Great packaging. Plays great. 10/10

this one is great

I love it!!! Sounds great 😍

Okay, I have a 5.1 version of THE STRANGER and it is a wonder to behold. Music enlopes you from every pocket and if you are sitting in the middle of the "sweet spot" you'd think Billy was performing just for you. However, these reviews seem to mix up A - the live CD offered as part of THE STRANGER ANNIVERSARY REISSUE, B - a non 5.1 SACD version of THE STRANGER - so while I was ready to purchase, I have NO IDEA of what exactly I am buying. But I think AMAZON, the greatest store on earth - might need to hire a full-time staff to monitor the reviews. There are many different versions of classic CDS and MOVIES so the PRODUCT DETAIL needs to be very accurate and the reviews should only ocme from people who have bought that particular product. And not only are the wrong reviews from different version carried over, but people POST the wrong reviews as well, so this needs monitoring. If I knew for a fact this was the SACD 5.1 THE STRANGER I would buy it - but I need DETAILS!!!!!!!!! A FEW WEEKS LATER: I went and bought the STRANGER ANNIVERSARY SET and it's a keeper. Less than 20 bucks - you get a remastered STRANGER DISC (in 2 channel stereo) - that frankly, does not sound like the best incarnation of the CD, but it's ok - just not great. You get a great live CD that doesn't have a whole show, but enough of essential songs with string backgrounds to make it worth it - then a DVD with a MAKING OF THE STRANGER, some promo videos AND a one hour show from the 70s where he sings a GREAT SET? This is a no-brainer set. Just not the best version of THE STRANGER but non-audiophiles will probably not know the difference. UPDATE: 12.9.2013 Okay, I have now bought the BILLY JOEL COLLECTION (a 2011 set offered by BillyJoel.com and here at Amazon - that has been remastered by Ted Jensen (he usually masters most of Billy's stuff.) BTW - I have not recieved that item yet - what I HAVE gotten is the NEW 2 - channel Ted Jensen remastered SACD that went on sale recently. I have now heard this so many times I'm probably a little punch-drunk, but - it sounds fantastic with all kinds of little details I didn't hear the first time around - in in some ways - this is better than the 5.1 SACD - mainly because on that 5.1 sacd they put a huge echo on Billy's main vocal that was annoying and this simply reminds me of a great version of the CD - all that said - it's a shame they didn't put the 5.1 on here as well as another option - but I have no idea how that works because I'm just glad I have both. But yes, if you have an SACD player, this is a wonderful new way to enjoy the record and hear all the details.

I love this album so much it’s amazing! Package came secured and without a dent!