And the winner is: 2001 30th Anniversary remaster, with reservations. Although the 1986 CD has the better mastering levels, it has some things working against it. For starters, it sounds like it's a couple of generations removed from the original master tapes. It also shows the irritating - yet at the time common - practice of U.S. releases of British LPs moving the singles to the front, disrupting the intended flow of the album. When you're used to the original British track order, this is very annoying. As for the remaster, the high end (as usual) suffers a bit compared to the 1986 release due to the peak limiting, but to be honest it's likely that most listeners aren't as discriminating as I am when it comes to that. The "crack" of the snare attack is reduced, but it's still light years ahead of any of today's hyper compressed, super loud rock recordings. The bass levels are much better on the remaster, and the basslines on songs like "Breaking the Law" and "Grinder" frankly sound fantastic. Overall, I think the remaster is a solid release, and the better packaging and included bonus materials put it over the top.