It's a thought-provoking thread - if a little arrogant,which of course gets people's backs up.But it got me thinking about this, as I'm planning a new album. I've recorded an album with the famous Bill Leader,and lots of other people, and also done some self-recorded projects.Usually I have no interest whatsoever in my past recordings, but for the sake of this argument, I listened and compared professionally-made recordings with ones I'd done myself.
It seems to me that the difference lies in the quality of vocal recording and reverbs mainly.Professional tube vocal mikes,like Neumanns,cost serious money, as do good reverb units.Home recordists cant usually justify forking out for them - why would you? Rode and so on are nearly as good, and are a tenth of the price.
Another factor, maybe the main one,is experience.It takes AGES to get your head round music production software, as well as engineering techniques.People do apprenticeships in this kind of thing - watching and learning over months and years.
Finally, in my experience - most reviewers of cds havent a clue about all this stuff.They dont know the first thing about recording, let alone playing an instrument, or singing.They merely relate what they hear to preconceived ideas about what is good or bad.I did an album of traditional music with an electronic basis some years ago - sent it out deliberately without letting on how it had been done.Not one reviewer (though I had good reviews) ventured to say how the sound had been created.The reason being - they hadnt the foggiest idea.Anyway, as we all know - reviews are irrelevant for the most part - they dont affect your sales or success very much at all.Probably a really bad one would be more helpful than most of the " this is nice, buy it" kind of thing.I love a really bad review - it makes me want to check the artist out.
I agree with some here who say that the material,the music itself,is what counts.I'm sure Oasis have had the best of every recording technique lavished on them - compressed to buggery so the sound pins you to the wall, but its still mindless pap. Give me Joseph Taylor, or Robert Johnson over them any day, for all the lack of studio trickery.