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Your auditioning music?

So I'm gearing up to purchase some new gear and curious what sort of music (digital or analogue) you use for auditioning. I'm looking at some integrated amps to mate with my system and while I have my favorite discs, I'm always curious what others use to audition. I listen to a variety of music, but guess I listen to more Jazz, rock (classic and indie), and folk/singer-songwriter. I'm also partial to guitar/strings.

I've been using these discs lately:

Grant Green: Green Street--an intimate, simple recording with nice
Manitas de Plata: Feria Gitana--very revealing for treble
Beck: Sea Change--own sacd & RB. Broad spectrum orchestral pop
Radiohead: Kid A--great for bass response, and quick dynamic changes
Enon: Hocus Pocus--great variety of acoustic, electric, and digital rock
Donald Byrd: At the Half Note Cafe--a nice live recording i know very well
Cat Stevens: Footsteps in the dark--remastered and seriously great sound
Michael Gordon: Weather--nice for strings but good for everything
Iron and WIne: Our Endless Numbered Days--another intimate recording
John Coltrane: Giant Steps--need I say more?
The Notwist: Neon Golden--have LP & CD, both give good dynamic conrasts
Parkening, Christopher & Brandon, David: Virtouso Duets--great guitars
The Roots: Things fall apart--nicely engineered and good for bottom end
The Rosenberg Trio: Live At The North Sea Jazz Festival--great live guitar
The Shins: Cutes too narrow--just fun
Shuggie Otis: Inspiration information--used for vinyl/cd comparison...lovely
Sufjan Stevens: Greetings From Michigan-The Great Lakes State

These all represent music I not only love, but I know well and have heard both in a variety of systems, and for the most part, have heard played live. Not sure how helpful this all will be, but also curious what people feel they HAVE to hear on something they'd buy

So what are you using and why?
mimberman
14 responses Add your response
plinko
254 posts
 
Nice selection of music there as I have most of those. :-) I try to pick a well recorded selection from various genres.

I like to compare any vinyl copy vs cd. It's great fun.
Post removed 
mt10425
1,138 posts
 
Plinko- The last time I did that was compare a MOFI Cd of Dave Mason's "Alone Together" with the multicolored vinyl. The vinyl sounds better.
One of my favorite audition LP's is Paul Simon's "Graceland"
but there's always the Cowboy Junkies' "Trinity Sessions" Or Led Zep II which sounded great yesterday in spite of not being a pristine copy.
snickelfritz
42 posts
 
Here's a few that I find sonically pleasing and revealing of system performance, and are also just plain good music.

• Govi: Guitar Odyssey
• Mars Lasar: Eleventh Hour
• Dire Straights: Dire Straights
• Paul Simon: Graceland
seditious3
184 posts
 
Paul Simon - Graceland, Negotiations and Love Songs (greatest hits)
Steve Miller - Born to be Blue
kd lang - Absolute Torch and Twang
Rickie Lee Jones - Pop Pop
Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense

And whatever else happens to be in my rotation.
timrhu
2,779 posts
 
I don't see any female vocals on your list so I'll make a suggestion.
Jane Siberry -- When I Was a Boy. The track titled Calling all Angels is a duet with kd Lang. Because their voices are somehat similar, if I can hear two distinct voices singing side by side then I know things are right.
For male vocals I like The Nitty Gritty Dirt Bands, Will the Circle be Unbroken II. First cut is Johnny Cash, followed by John Prine, followed by Levon Helm, followed by Ricky Scaggs followed by John Denver.... you get the idea.
Just two for you.
hbarrel's avatar
hbarrel
342 posts
 
I just (last night) put a Blue Circle NSCS integrated into my system.

"Lsst of the Good Straight Girls" - Susan Werner
"Crusin Deuces" - Danny Gatton
"Peace Beyond Passion" - Me'Shell Ndegeocello
"Across The Borderline" - Willie Nelson
"The Gershwin Connection" - Dave Grusin
rockvirgo
587 posts
 
Rather than take favorite audio candy like Badalamenti's Sountrack to Twin Peaks or CJ's Trinity Sessions to confirm how sweet they sound I audition with difficult pieces to hear how musical they can be. In particular, the flow of Keith Jarrett Trio's Live at the Blue Note III's first cut Autumn Leaves is difficult to resolve. For naturalness, Cecilia Bartoli's If You Love Me is simple voice and piano that can sound either flat and boring or lifelife and realistic depending on the system. Call it contrarian, but taking in the stuff that already sounds fantastic doesn't put the component under review to the test for me.
texasdave
144 posts
 
Can't wait to get that Pat Boone recording--sounds like the one I've been waiting for. Thanks, Viridian.
joeylawn36111
574 posts
 
......Sammy "The Bull" Gravano Sings the HITS......
texasdave
144 posts
 
Hey Viridian, that Pat Boone recording you give such a glowing testimonial to, wasn't that in the same series as Sinatra Sings Ted Nugent, Rap Classics by Bing Crosby, and Perry Como Sings Hip-Hop Hits? I've been looking for those too. I've got a lovely old LP of Anthony Perkins singing romantic ballads that I'll bet you'd like.
snickelfritz
42 posts
 
Also:
Blue Man Group
Flim and the BBs
Enya: Watermark (this is a toughy; very revealing of lower midrange resonances and deep bass extension)
Post removed 
texasdave
144 posts
 
Viridian, mea culpa, I take it all back: I was sure you were putting us on with that Pat Boone "In a Metal Mood" record, but my God, you're not, it's not a joke, it ACTUALLY EXISTS! Positively scary! Ought to make a good party record when everyone has had too much to drink. He must be about a hundred years old (I remember he sang the title song to the movie "Friendly Persuasion" in 1956). What a hoot!
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