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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
plinko
256 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.
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.
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