It seems I was mistaken, rechecked my notes now: it was Larry McKeever's narration of Asimov that I listened to, and which definitely sounds like it was recorded in the 80s (Goodreads says that I guessed the decade right).

McKeever apparently was no small name too: “was an actor, narrator, and recording artist. He narrated hundreds of books. For more than 15 years, he contributed monthly to Braille Monitor, the leading publication of the National Federation of the Blind, and became known as the “voice of the blind.”