What you're referring to is sometimes known as "mic'ed" recordings, where the recording comes through microphones into the mixing board (and hopefully not altered, ... much), then committed to the master.
Most recordings (including live) come through many cables and RF from microphones and instruments, some digital and some analog. Older of course entirely analog, but still many tracks.
The Engineer(s) then take this multi-track and create what sounds to them like they feel it should sound to you when you are listening at home or in your car (etc.). This will usually involve creating some "imaging" that is artificial, a slightly out-of-phase (delayed) decay from one channel to the other (which is what your brain uses to locate sound: the time delay and attenuation from the first-arrival sound to the second-arrival sound), they will put different instruments and voices where they feel they sound best, create delays, increase parts of the music frequency band to compensate for your system and listening level, compress the dynamic range so that you will hear all of the music even at low volume, etc., etc.
Now your system: If you play vinyl, you are creating an artificial soundstage with the out-of-phase cross-talk that is inherent in the single pointy thing in a molded groove playing two channels. If you are listening to dipolar speakers the reflected sound from the rear of the speakers creates a soundstage that isn't real, if you're playing any speakers in a room other than an anechoic room you have reflections.
Some vintage stereo gear (and some new) has "concert hall" modes etc. that manipulate the music to increase this soundstage (usually switchable).
Most people will change things around, move speakers, change equipment, and presume that the wider and more obvious the soundstage is, the better the system. Not necessarily true (and usually false).
So what does this mean to you? A lot, and nothing. What matters to most of us is what sounds good. I have friends with very good stereos set up badly, very mediocre stereos with the bass and treble pegged, friends who have dedicated listening rooms set up (almost) perfectly, and the happiest ones are those who don't worry about anyone else's opinion.
I like mic'ed classical as much as I do classic rock and jazz. For this I try to stay pure and flat, which should allow me to hear the music as the Engineer (or artist) intended it to sound. This is what I enjoy, if there isn't much "sound stage" in the original material then my system doesn't add any. If there is, I can hear instruments across the stage, beyond the width of the speakers' placement. To me this is imaging: reproduction of only what is in the recording. I can make this sound wider with a surround processor or with a nice set of Magnepan (or other), which is a pleasant sound, but it's not my flavor.
Imaging is created in the mixing board in almost all popular music, not real, how you want to hear it is up to you. Find a good mic'ed recording and start moving your equipment around until you like how it sounds. Some things will affect this negatively, speaker placement and listener position are probably the two most critical things, you will get better imaging from a decent pair of speakers placed properly than a great pair of speakers placed poorly.
I was bi-amping using 2 tube amps with some nice Energy RC 10 Connoisseur, I was nearfield..maybe 2' away, the artist was Hol Bauman.
