52nd Street is Billy Joel's sixth studio album and the first to reach #1 on the Billboard. The 1978 release contains some essential American pop songs including the three Top 40 hits, "My Life," "Big Shot" and "Honesty."

The sophisticated and somewhat jazzy album is conceptualized like a musical, a showcase of masterful writing and musicianship. Joel interjects rock, soul and Latin rhythms along with the jazz. The music flows together smoothly, thanks to Phil Ramone's seamless production and Joel's melodic craftsmanship.

The jazz influences come through most strongly on "Zanzibar," featuring Freddie Hubbard's trumpet solos," as well as "Stiletto" and the title track. The album's standout is the gorgeously layered love song "Until the Night." 52nd Street was also the first Sony album to be released on CD in 1982.  

Featuring stellar mastering by iconic engineer Steve Hoffman, Audio Fidelity's 24K + Gold edition of this Stevie Wonder masterwork bests all prior editions. The audiophile label specializes in deluxe packaging with see-through slip cases and beautifully reproduced original graphics. As always, the original master tape was played back on a specially constructed vintage tube playback deck, with the analog masters put through the new "Kensei Audio Transformer," a process that adds even more life to the music.