Best CD tracks used to compare equipment?

I would highly suggest using material that you are VERY familiar with. Regardless of the type or artist, if you are absolutely familiar with the track, you should be able to hear the difference.

That said, I usually use some very familiar live recordings. These live recordings have various different details in them that become more obvious on higher resolution systems and in a really good system you get a feeling of actually sitting in the audience. On high resolution systems you can actually hear conversations going on in the audience and you get a real sense of the room dimentions of the venue.

I generally use Eva Cassidy's "Live at Blues Alley" and Patricia Barber's "Companion". I also like some cuts on Indigo Girls "1200 Curfews". Obviously, I'm a fan of female vocals!

Again I would highly suggest using the most familiar recordings you know. If you don't have any familiar music, I would highly suggest getting familiar with something before you start auditioning. If you like classical, choose classical. Large scale classical pieces seem to me to be particularly difficult to recreate with a stereo rig.

Whatever you do, don't let the audio store people choose your music. Every store will have different favorites and you won't get any consistency.

Enjoy,

TIC

Track 8 from Little Feat's "Chinese Work Songs", song title "Tattoo Heart". Janis Ian's "Breaking Silence" Analogue Productions gold disc. Mark Knopfler's "Sailing to Philadelphia" and "The Ragpicker's Dream". Bela Fleck and the Flecktones "Left of Cool".

In this case familiarity does not breed contempt. Listen to the music you like and recordings you know. Hopefully, you like a variety of music so that you will be able to ascertain a components full range. I hold a singular opinion that you should develop a set list and adhere to it to limit variables in all your auditioning and that you should do it in a known acoustic environment (preferably your own listening room) while changing only one component at a time. In the end, since most amplifiers are more than competent these days, whatever strikes your subjective fancy will be the winner, so why fret. So called "classical" music is still the best IMHO, but if you can't stand it what is the point? Human singing voice, both male and female, human speaking voice, both male and female, strings (violin, viola, cello) will provide various cues, percussion, bass (and 1812 cannon shot if you like those, ah!) should round it out, small ensembles and large orchestras. Strangely enough. listening to a couple of poor recordings can set a kind of baseline in your ear/mind, helping you hear the better ones by contrast. Don't overwhelm your ear/brain processor with too extensive a listening session.