Recommendations for really well-recorded music for high-end audio system demo


I’m using my system to give some local high-end audio demos for fun, and although I have a good selection of tracks I can always use more and am sure you guys have some great ones out there.  First and foremost I’m looking for really well-recorded material that shows off what a good system can do — you know, the “wow your friends” tracks we all have, and if it happens to be good/fun music as well that’s a nice bonus although not necessarily a requirement.  I’d recommend listing the artist, album, and track so it’s easier to find the right version, and if you feel like elaborating on anything notable that makes it particularly good for a demo that’d be helpful/interesting but not necessary.  As an example…

  • Patricia Barber, Companion, “Like JT” — Great live jazz club vibe, fun instrumental with excellent imaging/depth/3D soundstage.

Thanks for anything ya got!

soix

I think Fleetwood Mac Rumours is one of the best recorded albums of all time.

k.d. lang Ingenue is also a well recorded album

IMHO the 3 following recordings by Donald Fagan, regardless of media, are outstanding

Nightfly

Morph The Cat

Kamakiriad

 

Anything by Chantal Chamberland, preferably heard on SACD.

I'm a bit surprised at the number of early digital recordings that have featured in the posts so far - Brothers in Arms, Body and Soul, and the Nightfly, all of which IMHO, show up the fairly severe limitations of the digital recording technology of the time. Admittedly, Body and Soul is superbly engineered, but would have been so much better if it had been recorded to 30 ips analogue.