Top 5 Best audiophile tracks to test equipment

Beethoven's 9th by Karajan (1961-62) (Tone, male voice, imaging, congestion)

Brahms' Violin Concerto by Szeryng (Violin tone, separation of woodwinds)

Train Song by Holly Cole (Low-mid frequency balance, imaging and ambient detail)

Something by Eva Cassidy (Female voice, clarity)

Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto by Michelangeli (Piano detail)

Respighi's Pines of Rome, Reference Recording (Very low frequency organ notes)

Distingue by Billy Holiday (Tone, imaging, ambience and dynamics)

Show Biz Kids by Rickie Lee Jones (High frequency triangle, dynamics, articulation and detail)

In no particular order, I like:

"Moonlight Seranade" LP, Laurindo Almeida/Ray Brown. Almeida plays Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" on the guitar while Ray Brown weaves "Around Midnight" in and out on the bowed bass. (Detail, dynamics, low frequency articulation and information)

"Yulunga" Dead Can Dance CD (Percussion, vocals, image placement)

"Savitri" Gustav Holst/Purcell Singers LP (Remarkable LP on the Argo lable. Great test of the ability of your system to reproduce the female voice of Janet Baker, as well as soundstage. The male voice starts way in the rear and moves forward and to the right, then across the front of the soundstage as the piece progresses)

"Hebrides Overture (Fingal's Cave)" Mendelssohn. Maag/LSO 45rpm Speakers Corner reissue of the original Decca LP(Full orchestral work with a wide, deep soundstage)

"Firebird" Stravinsky. Leinsdorf/Los Angeles LP from Sheffield. (Enormous dynamic swings, subtle inner details, large loud percussive sections.) Performance is not quite a forward and well executed as the famous Dorati/London mercury release, but still a mighty fine test of a systems overall dynamic capabilities.

Hats off to Twl. I've been using Woody and Dutch on the Slow Train to Peking, on the RLJ "Pirates" album since it's release. Some others are the first song on Terence Trent D'Arby's "Introducing..." album and "Human Nature" off Michael Jackson's "Thriller". My ultimate test is Joni Mitchells "Court and Spark" album. The target pattern pressing. It's far better then anything else I own. Including the vinyl, SACD, DVD-A, and DTS pressing I have of other contenders.

The original Chesky Demo disk is great, except that it seems to be recorded at an unusually low volume, so if the power is marginal in the system, this demo disk will exacerbate the power problem.

What's great about this disk is the wide range of music, it seems to test just about everything I seek to test, all in one disk so I can shake out a component or system fairly quickly.

Art

Uncle Tupelo, Moonshiner on March 16th - 20th
Uncle Tupelo, Sandusky on March 16th - 20th
Wilco, I'm trying to break your heart on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
The new Nine Inch Nails album
Mark Knoplfer 5:15AM on Shangri La
and some Norah Jones to check out female vocals.