There are several types of surround material. I can understand that, if you bought an SACD and found that it was only a stereo recording you'd be disappointed. (For example, the recent Sam Cooke reissues are mainly 2.0 except for the "Live at the Copa" SACD which is 5.1.) One type of 5.1 recording has "discrete" channel information like "Dark Side" or Beck or James Taylor (October Road). Musical information comes from a specific speaker. The "Dr. Chesky Amazing Sound Show" is an interesting example of this type, too. Another type yields "space" like what you'd hear in a concert hall. The Telarc orchestral SACDs illustrate this type. IMHO, you can't go wrong with Steely Dan/Donald Fagin recordings...he/they recorded them orignally at a high level so their music translates well to SACD/DVD-A.

I read "The Absolute Sound" journal which has descriptive, valid reviews of "high-end" recordings.

Jay