I think this is totally dependent on the genre you are using. My answers for my preferred music genre are not going to be of any use to you. But you are wise to ask for good samples in your genre once you identify it for us. You are also wise to use this technique when mixing and mastering.

Now, it's also helpful to specify the historical period you want to use as your reference. Was it during the heyday of Autotune? And especially, was it during the recently somewhat-completed loudness wars?


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