Adele (3) – 21

I also have an RJ pressing, and it's dead quiet with regards to surface noise. The most revealing thing about the pressing when I first dropped the needle was Adele's voice. It sounded subdued, as if she was being amplified by a radio whereas the instrumentation enveloped around my ears. The production gets better by track A4 (Don't You ) with a discernable low-end. An often unspoken gem of a pop record from the 2010s, at least in the circles I am a part of.

My audio chain is 'Ortofon 2M Red > Pro-Ject Debut III > Onkyo TX-NR636 > Technics SH-8020 > Yamaha MX-35 > 2x Design Acoustics PS-10s' and i know fully well that 21 was meant to be heard on an iPod with period correct Apple earbuds.

bought my copy when this just came out and almost every record store had it on display in their window. mine has sterling RJ in the deadwax. my only complaint is the surface noise. tried cleaning several times but to no avail. but the mastering is pretty top notch by ray janos(im sure everyone at sterling knows what they are doing). i listen to "lovesong" originally done by the cure a lot and when the drums come in at the beginning its just so natural sounding with lots of low end even though im listening to this LP on my 80s rogers ls35a bookshelf speakers

Bought my copy back in 2011/12 when the album was first released. Maybe listened once or twice on a 3 in one player. Pulled out to listen on my current set up after almost 10 years and surprised how good it sounded after reading these reviews. Not thin or quiet like most people complain- I have the RJ version. Decent sound stage, decent separation of instruments, good punchy bass- I think most of the sound issues come from the mix being intended for digital as opposed to analog. Not an audiophile pressing by any means but not as terrible as most have said. Personally I think A6 would’ve been better as B1 given the last 3 songs on side B are somewhat quiet but nothing sounds super compressed or muddy. Quite enjoyed my listen- if a bit of surface noise bothers you vinyl isn’t for you pal.

Bought new some time ago. Sound is ok. Mastering is a tad hot but side B is unlistenable. B3 B4 and B5 have pops and skips severe enough to make the point moot. Looks great and is pretty flat with no particular visible issues but will not play nice. I have tried on 3 different tables with Ortofon 2M Blue, Denon DL103-R and ZYX R100. This pressing is suspect. Audition first is a must if you come across one. Side A while not incredible, sounds very good.

Sounds pretty great to me. The vinyl is really clear and sounds nice. I also like the artwork that was included on the inner sleeves. Adele’s vocals are amazing as always.

If you can get past the constant pops this record sounds great!

My copy SUCKS! It is badly warped to the point where it won’t stop skipping. It doesn’t even should like I’m listening to music. If anyone has a better sounding copy please let me know.

Bought one of these today. "WG" in deadwax. Low Volume and clipped vocals abound. Side A sounds worse than B, which leads me to believe there is also an issue with the pressing. It is a shame, as I was looking forward to this album. Such a characteristic and beautiful voice wasted on terrible production/distribution. I should have come here to read reviews before I made the purchase.

Recently purchased one new (Dec 2018) with "WG/NRP" in the deadwax. Volume is low and music sounds heavily compressed. Very disappointed in this pressing.

21 by Adele is probably my favorite album of the 21st century all the songs on the record are amazing (and appropriate). I personally prefer this album over her new one 25. The thing that make this album stand out is the likability of the songs. You may have only listened to a few of the songs on this album and enjoyed them but the rest of the songs are amazing as well. Adele herself is also an amazing artist with a very distinct deep voice and here songs are a perfect match with her voice type making the songs even more beautiful. In the end I would highly suggest you get this album if you like soft (and appropriate) love songs.