I think there has been no improvement in recording quality since the fifties.
Listen to old brubeck and davis recordings, listen to old classical recordings.
They sound just brilliant. And I don't mean warmer or some crap like that, I mean crisp, transparent, clear, just like modern day recordings.
I do admit that making quality recordings has become a lot more convenient with digital media, but people tend to abuse digital audio. There's a sort of "You can do whatever you want, it's digital" mentality.
Thing is, slight tape distortion and compression or tube distortion isn't such a bad thing. Yes it's a pity when a recording gets distorted, but it's still enjoyable. Whereas digital distortion or compression sounds just awful. There's no headroom at all.
The best recordings I know are all done analog.
I have a tape of Brubecks "Jazz impressions of eurasia" on my tapedeck right now.
I made a copy from a friends' Record as I'm still searching for it myself (I found this one for him, now that he's got it I want it too ;D) and it sounds incredibly good. 1958 and it's pure audiophile quality.
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