Your Go to CD to Impress

If I can't get a specific song, artist or genre, I like to ask whether they want to hear something they may of heard before or something that they've probably never heard before. Surprise me could get you the Kamikaze Ground Crew, Danny Gatton, or maybe the Amazos. 

All- excellent suggestions- add;
Jamie Cullum- Twentysomething (2004) Verve (CD or SACD)
Stone Temple Pilots- Core (CD or DVD-Audio)
Nirvana- Unplugged, Live in NY (CD)
Pearl Jam- Ten  (CD)

Real good tread for sharing new high quality recordings. Thanks Styxtrekr.
I will go with The Ancient Muse by Loreena McKennitt, and Solar Echoes by Nigel Stanford.
If the recording is engineered very poorly, regardless of the content I'm always left with the feeling I wasted my time.

Uhh, thread

Usually, one's musical taste tends to be rather selective and/or esoteric when it comes to something impressive since it tends to serve YOUR tastes.

What I do to demonstrate is to try something dynamic that is also familiar which is usually the soundtrack to Breaking Bad. It grabs their attention immediately since it's so recognizable and allows them to wallow in it's majesty and intricacies. After that, it's pretty much up to you to show them how it handles different styles of music. Then you can break out that piece that makes their eyes glaze over.

If it is a real audiophile, I'll put on Sotho Blue for starters.

All the best,
Nonoise