I am a big fan of the ECM and MA Records labels. I have found most of the recordings from these labels have great music detail and mixing, especially anything Todd mixes over at MA Records is exceptional in sonic quality. My dilemma is that both labels are very deep in talent and have many CDs available and I am reluctant to just randomly pick CDs without knowing what I am getting. Both labels have an eclectic roster of talent but some of it is just a little bit out there for me at this point and I would rather not buy a CD just to have to wait a while for it to grow on me. Any recommendations? What artists have you purchased and liked?

The ECM Music for 18 Musicians is the best I've heard.

Interesting conglomeration, what style of music would you say? Thanks I will give it a try.

Reich would not be happy at me calling it "minimalist" but that's the genre it fits under. Wikipedia or something can probably do a better explanation, but it's definitely one of the greatest compositions ever.

Actually, a great start into the ECM catalog is the Rarum series. They have them in two box sets on the ECM site.