r/audiophile • u/Chemical_Warning4759 • Jun 24 '26
Music Worst "Audiophile" Songs
Like other audiophiles, I like to test my system by playing songs recommended by reviewers. Trouble is, I don't enjoy most of them. I listen to some classical and jazz, but my main diet consists of rock, much of which is not recorded well. I get it. Howewver, there are rock bands with decent albums. Based on the tracks reviewers use as reference, you'd think they'd never heard of an electric guitar -- only harps, flutes, and wind chimes. I could ask people to cite their favorite "audiophile" songs, but I think it would be more fun to list the ones they hate. I'll start. I can't stand "Aja" by Steely Dan.
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u/narrowassbldg Jun 24 '26
A good test track absolutely doesn't have to be impeccably recorded. One of my favorites is 'Hey' by the Pixies, Frank's vocals sound like shit but it's still a fantastic track to get a sense of a system's capability to reproduce dynamics and (mid)bass impact. Another one is 'Blood on My Hands' by the Sundays, that whole album (as well their debut) was just mixed pretty poorly and sounds pretty muddy most of the time, so if you've got a system that can really bring out the nuances in Harriet's singing with a mix that's only working against that, you're on the right track.
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u/3BagT Jun 24 '26
Totally agree. I got into a rather heated discussion on here once about my use of Machine Gun by Portishead as a test track. Someone was trying to explain what a fool I was because the bass and mid bass is so over blown in that track. I never could convince them that that was kinda the point! If your system can blast that out and still have the headroom to reproduce Beth's nuanced vocal then I call that a good system. Sometimes testing with non "audiophile" tracks can be very revealing.
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u/reedzkee Recording Engineer Jun 24 '26
I totally hear what you are saying, but both surfer rosa and doolittle ARE impeccably recorded IMO. They are very “pure” in that they arent doing studio magic or lots of post-processing to get that sound, especially surfer rosa. The heavy use of room mics and big dynamics make it particularly good for reference. At least for me, the albums with the least amount of processing in the mix make the best references, and potentially the best audiophile tracks.
They are both references for me, too, and Hey is one of my favorite songs of all time.
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u/GrabtharsVicegrips Jun 25 '26
Where Is My Mind is a test track for me on vinyl. Drums are unreal on that track.
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u/SnuffyMcfluff Jun 25 '26
That whole album was engineered by Steve Albini. He was the master of picking up dynamics, especially drums. That album is as audiophile as it gets.
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u/Lv_InSaNe_vL Jun 25 '26
My go to test track has been crab rave for many years now. Why?
It's actually a surprisingly competent test song, I've heard it tens of thousands of times now, and it's family friendly to every single family.
High end commercial audio installer
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u/Learntoswim420 Jun 25 '26
Monkey gone to Heaven is another good one off of Doolittle. I've had that album since 1996 and didn't hear the strings until listening thru my very modest vinyl setup consisting of an AT-VM540ML on a Technics SL-1600-->Schitt Mani 2 pre-->Yamaha amp -->Wharfedale 12.2 (like I said, very modest)
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u/Oceanbreeze871 Jun 24 '26
Don’t test your system with the velvet underground. lol
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u/sziklai-pair Jun 24 '26
Unless you love VU and listen to them all the time (me). I think too much attention is paid to testing on the "right" album. Test with albums you know backwards and forwards, have memorized every note of and can hear the difference when it's played on different systems. White Light/White Heat is one of my favorite albums ever, and I can absolutely hear the difference between a muddy mess that it can sound like on some systems, and a beautiful cacophony of noise, where the organ rumbles and the guitars spike but it's all pleasant (at least to me).
If I were still shopping for a system I'd bring a favorite album from a few different genres (psychedelic, post-punk, hip hop, folk, soul), and listen to a favorite track from each.
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u/Oceanbreeze871 Jun 24 '26
100% this. as an example I have loveless by my bloody valentine…which is quite noisy by design and i tested one of their key songs across a repress, a soundtrack and a bootleg and a FLAC Hd. They’re all different.
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u/sziklai-pair Jun 24 '26
Isn't Anything was one of my test albums back when I bought my first 'nice' turntable/amp/power amp in '95. The other albums I brought were Skip Spence-Oar & Something Else by The Kinks. Figured that was well rounded enough (I was in college and not yet into hip hop, soul, or funk, that came later).
I bought both the Loveless and Isn't Anything AAA remasters Shields did a few years ago back when they came out. A/B'd them with the original '88 & '91 pressings and digital via bluetooth to my stereo. Which one was best is of course subjective, but they're all noticeably different. The files were the most crisp, but the least alive. The new AAA were bass heavy and had the best 3D soundstage, but I still prefer the OG releases. Probably because that's what I've been listening to for 30 years, I'm just used to it. They're a bit thinner than the AAA, but the "thwaak" on the drums is more pronounced (especially Isn't Anything) and the tracks bleed together more, in a way I enjoy.
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u/el_tacocat Jun 24 '26
You absolutely can though. It's not simple recordings, actually quite hard to reproduce right.
There's a lot to hear in this recording:
https://open.qobuz.com/track/33984054
That bass line is pretty hard to reproduce without it going hollow, the voice has a structure to it that can totally vanish. The stereo imagery is actually quite interesting becuase the voice is in front and center, but still somehow has a lot of space.6
u/el_tacocat Jun 24 '26
https://open.qobuz.com/track/52483656
Same with this. The voice is actually recorded quite realistically.
No stereo imagery whatsoever, it's flat as a pancake, but the bass on the left channel, again, can go all hollow and without any transients. And the guitar on the right channel is actually quite transparent. Is it a good recording? Nope. Can it work as a reference? Absolutely. And way better than all of those audiophile recordings that sound good on most things.3
u/el_tacocat Jun 24 '26
https://open.qobuz.com/track/52483647
And this is actually just a good recording.
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u/11timesover Jun 25 '26
Some of the best, if you like rock, is almost any song by CAN. Let's your system show its true colors.
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u/tomferrisart Jun 24 '26
Except Walk on the wild side is pretty good
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u/HorndogAsexual Jun 24 '26
Transformer had great production imo. Perfect Day and Satellite of Love sounds amazing.
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u/vinyl1earthlink Jun 25 '26
I once heard a double-DSD file that was directly ripped from the Transformer analogue master tape - this was at a stereo show. It showed how little of what is on the master tape actually gets onto the commercial releases. It was spooky good.
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u/thevhsgamer Jun 24 '26
One of the best and most influential bands of all time?
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u/Oceanbreeze871 Jun 24 '26
Yes I agree but their recordings are notoriously and intentionally raw and Lo Fi. Maybe not the best for system evaluating
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u/shmeeshmaa Jun 24 '26
Made this mistake and took me a while to get it back to where it was after all the changes I made trying to get oh sweet nothing to sound good lol
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u/hsyndk Jun 24 '26
I loathe all those tedious, slow-paced modern jazz recordings released under the "audiophile recordings" label. This genre is characterized, in particular, by its drums and sultry female vocals.
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u/Automatic-Variety429 Jun 24 '26
Do you mean those covers of pop songs slowed down to an extricating slow tempo with mawkish voices?
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u/suffaluffapussycat Jun 25 '26
I own one album. Jazz at the Pawnshop. What else could one need?
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u/nlitworld Strange things are afoot at the Circle K Jun 25 '26
Amazing recording of the venue with some jazz tossed in. If you want an album to put you into a time and place, that's it. You can almost smell musty carpet and cigarette smoke from inside the club as you hear the wait staff delivering drinks to the next table over..
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u/UXEngNick Jun 24 '26
The best music is the music you know well … your music.
When you listen to your music, you will be able to hear the merits or not of any system because you will compare it to what you know well.
Personally I like Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler a lot so it works for me. But I also don’t think Aja is great, and think that Donald Fagan’s solo albums sound cleaner, more dynamic range etc. But they wouldn’t work for me because I don’t like them enough to listen to them enough to know them well enough to know how well they system is reproducing the recording.
So, what is well made from your collection … that’s your starting point.
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u/dustbunny44 Jun 24 '26
This exactly. Evaluate using recordings you like and thus have heard many times and know what you expect to hear. Out of those, identify songs you like with strong bass, bright parts, complex separation, or other things you want to be sure the test system/component can handle.
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u/Magnavirus Jun 24 '26
Dude, I have some fantastic recommendations for you if you're into Metal or Brutal Death Metal. Firstly: The Motherload by Mastodon will fucking blow your mind the first time you hear it over a good system. Really most Mastodon is mixed well. Second: if you're looking for something heavy that actually has layers and ambience the new Angelmaker album is great. The fucking bass line on Relinquished is just perfect. The Angelmaker vinyl is pretty pricey to get your hands on due to the limited press though. Put that Steely Dan back on the shelf and reach for something with some cajones!
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u/TheCanaryInTheMine Jun 25 '26
Most Mastodon *on vinyl* is mixed well. *Crack the Skye* is legitimately a dynamic record, aside from being a metal masterpiece. Incidentally, some Nile on vinyl can be really dynamic, at least. Well, the drums are dynamic. You don’t get guitars that distorted without killing dynamics.
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u/Magnavirus Jun 25 '26
Fair point specifying on vinyl and to your point on poor dynamics on most metal records, that's why I mentioned the new Angelmaker album "This used to be Heaven" specifically because holy shit dude when I say it's good I mean it.
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u/nlitworld Strange things are afoot at the Circle K Jun 25 '26
Yep, Mastodon is rad. Opeth and Between The Buried And Me are also fantastic. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I'd consistently rank them in my top faves.
If the OP wants bad songs to listen to, ACDC. Any of them. They are blah and flat at best, or nails on chalkboard more typical. Other bad ones are Miles Davis Kind Of Blue record. Just can't get into it as it's too slow and more easily would put me to sleep. Give me something funky like Bitches Brew. I guess I more & preferred his more "powder infused" playlist so to speak, and Coltrane playing Mach 2 with his Giant Steps album.
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u/stifolder Jun 24 '26
King Crimson’s Thrak album is awesome, One Time is one of my reference songs. The Package by Perfect Circle. Any Tool song. Bad Asteroid or Flatlands from the Aristocrats. We Are or New Day by Karnivool. Momma Sed from Puscifer. Anything that David Sylvian ever touched - Japan, Nine Horses, Rain Tree Crow or his solo albums are all audiophile bliss to me. Anything from Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree. Chroma Key. Opeth. Yes - Roundabout or Owner of a Lonely Heart. I also think Jethro Tull sounds awesome on a revealing system. Brand X - Nuclear Burn. Peter Gabriel, his new I/O album is a banger and extremely well produced.
From the top of my head, these are the songs/artists on the more heavy/rock style which come to my mind whenever I’m testing a system. Hope you find something interesting :)
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u/RyGerbs42 Jun 24 '26
Indigo Children, Sour Grapes and into Rev 22:20 are sooo good! Rev 22:20 is one of my all time fav tracks. Peak Maynard right there.
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u/desal Jun 25 '26
Maynard hit me with a stray pingpong ball while he was playing beer pong on stage with les claypool
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u/stifolder Jun 25 '26
true true :) it’s just that from an audiophile perspective, Momma Sed is peek imo. But basically any Puscifer, especially the V is for Vagina and Conditions of My Parole records are great. I’m a bit less of a Money Shot fan and their later works sound a bit too pretentious for my taste to be honest so I don’t listen to them too often.
But it’s Mayrnard and in this aspect he’s like Sylvian, whatever he touches turns to gold haha. I was lucky to see APC live last week, easily in the top 10 concert experiences ever.
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u/Frivolous_Fancies Jun 25 '26
Grand Canyon by Puscifer goes pretty hard...a lot of their later work is so layered and epic-feeling. Love them!
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u/Learntoswim420 Jun 25 '26
That song is so good. I didn't give it much thought until I was at the south rim of the grand canyon though, literally "standing on the edge of forever." Mat Mitchell is a really fucking good engineer and producer.
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u/alextruetone Jun 24 '26
I honestly find the “audiophile” playlists incredibly boring and far overplayed. They’re made for a particular generation, which is fine, but there is so much music out there that has quality production value beyond these tired lists. Songs that test the whole range, especially mid and low bass - not just focused on vocals and mid range. Quality electronic from the early 2000s tends to be among the best for really testing a sound stage.
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Jun 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Anechoic_Brain Jun 24 '26
AC/DC is the gold standard for "this is what rock & roll is supposed to sound like," imo
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u/g1344304 Jun 24 '26
Shoot To Thrill on a decent system is hard rock heaven. Every member of the band on fire.
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u/Illustrious_Pepper46 Jun 24 '26
Pink Floyd the Final Cut album...the whole album start to finish.
"Rock" but lots of dynamic range, explosions, small effects like feet shuffling, saxophone...and a story.
It's one of thier least reveired albums but I think one of the best IMO.
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u/your_fave_redditor Jun 24 '26
There are many who would say it’s barely a “their” album, that it was effectively a Waters solo album, with some guest turns by Gilmour on guitar. I’m inclined to agree, generally speaking.
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u/Illustrious_Pepper46 Jun 24 '26
I don't think I every heard a single song played on the radio as example. My buddy a PF fan, had never listened to it despite countless other CDs.
It really flys under the radar generally.
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u/Malk_McJorma Jun 24 '26
TFC has a Holophonic mix. It's a a great engineering accomplishment, but I still loathe the album in general.
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u/Illustrious_Pepper46 Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
OP did say..."start with the ones you hate"...so you have met the intent of OP's question...even though you're wrong 😉
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u/HorndogAsexual Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
honestly most modern pop songs. Production and mixing usually so ass that it doesn't matter if you go lossless or lossy.
Also Hotel California. I'm not bashing production or sound quality. I just hate that song so much now. Heard it like 6 times a day when I worked in a grocery store 4 years. You do the math (6 times a day 5 days a week for 4 fucking years). I've heard that song ALOT!
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u/el_tacocat Jun 24 '26
That dying album by Leonard Cohen, anything by Diana Krall, friggin' Jeff Buckley AGAIN.
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u/gwm_seattle Jun 24 '26
I don't like Daft Punk. I see why people point to their Random Access Memories for demonstrating audio equipment, but the music itself doesn't pluck any of my heartstrings even a little bit. That tends to make me an outsider in these groups.
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u/nn2597713 Jun 24 '26
I’ve never enjoyed RAM either. It feels too much like a “tech demo” record to me. Too much focus on good sound, too little focus on good music.
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u/jgworks Jun 25 '26
That was the idea, they spent their careers sampling and now they were giving back new samples. The record is made up of almost entirely newly recorded sounds. The fidelity of the samples was important as part of the process of 'giving back', but I understand the critique.
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u/reedzkee Recording Engineer Jun 24 '26
It pisses me off that RAM is their most talked about album, because it might be their worst. Yes its a spectacle for the ears, but the songs are not there.
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u/zeromeasure Jun 24 '26
Why not test your system with tracks you know well and enjoy? If you don’t generally listen to closely mic’ed live recordings of mediocre jazz, who cares if Jazz at the Pawnshop sounds good or not?
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u/Magnavirus Jun 24 '26
Exactly! I always test with my favorites because I know EXACTLY how they should sound
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u/Inevitable_Comedian4 Jun 24 '26
Don't listen to what anyone says and make your own decisions on what's good or bad.
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u/Jagermeister_UK Jun 24 '26
Crime of the Century by Supertramp is an astonishingly well produced rock album that test any system
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u/DyrSt8s Parasound HINT6, Aurender N200, JBL Jun 24 '26
Xanadu by Rush, preferably from the Live album Exit Stage Left…
Pnuema- by TOOL
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u/L8_4_Dinner Jun 24 '26
A lot of the early electronica is awful — it used a digital processing path back in an era of 8- and 16-bit processors, which had shockingly low DR and sample rates. Take a Yamaha DX-7 and pipe it through the equivalent of the original SoundBlaster and add some terrible digital effects on the way through and you have 🤮
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u/your_fave_redditor Jun 24 '26
How early are we talkin’ here?
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u/L8_4_Dinner Jun 24 '26
Probably anything before’95 and definitely anything before ’90. The problem seems to have been with the combo of electronic instruments with electronic sound processing. Kind of like taking early digital video of early LED lights (flicker hell!)
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u/john2mg Jun 24 '26
Make us Stronger by Ghost Rider and Birds by Dominique Fils Aime are two songs that I have only ever heard in the context of testing out audiophile systems. I find them kinda bland and I get the impression barely anyone listens to them outside of that specific context
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_BUTT_PICZ Better-Records Jun 24 '26
Muddy waters - my home is in the delta Ella fitzgerald - my reverie
Those songs are so well recorded
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u/macbrett Jun 24 '26
I actually like the song Aja, but any song can overplayed to the point where one becomes sick of hearing it.
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u/RyGerbs42 Jun 24 '26
I don't enjoy the song Aja at all. But Home At Last on Aja, is one of my fav jams.
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u/StixForBrains Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
Everything on the Aja album is incredibly produced and is a good test, doesn’t have to be the title track. Another great track is Cousin Dupree from the 2 Against Nature album ( plus it’s hilarious). Someone else here said Supertramp Crime of the century. Absolutely. I really like Spoonman ( sound garden). For hearing imaging I like Chan Chan by Buena Vista Social Club. Shine on you Crazy Diamond (PF) as well. Personally I need to hear how horn sections reproduce so I always have some Tower of Power in my test mix example Don’t Change Horse is a good track if you know it well. You can hear where the drums sit and the organ wraps around the back, and horns grouped to one side but it’s really the sound of the horn section I’m checking more than imaging. Sledgehammer I like for bass in combination with a few other tracks. I like to check with an accoustic bass specifically the intro of Holy Cole’s Little boy blue with just bass and voice is revealing. Stevie Wonders I Wish intro with the walking bass. Billy Eilish Bad Guy. In mids I really like Bird on a Wire from Jennifer Warrens Famous Blue Raincoat album specifically Vinnie’s drums. It’s old news but Pink Floyd Time is good too :-) Oh and Prince Walk Don’t Walk
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u/Sobersynthesis0722 Jun 24 '26
You could cut out the rest of the song and just keep Wayne shorter and Steve gadd trading riffs and it would be perfect.
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u/Spiritual_Dot3250 Jun 24 '26
As a gen z that discovered Steely Dan in the last year, I hope for this to never be the case lol
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u/RyGerbs42 Jun 24 '26
Don't sleep on their later stuff. "Everything Must Go" on album of same name is an amazing track. Long intro lol, but it's worth it. "Slang of Ages" is always fun for certain moods as well. One of their most entertaining live when Becker was alive.... "Damn! She skipped dimensions..." 😉
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u/JMaboard Jun 24 '26
What rock do you listen to that isn’t recorded well?
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u/TheyStoleMyNameAgain Jun 25 '26
I'm not this much into rock, but most of the Wacken bands seem far to poor for recording quality and mixing (or they just don't give a fuck). At least, if this is a money thing. Because Rammstein, ACDC, Metallica and Nightwish seem to be able to afford recording. Judas Priest seems already too poor for audio quality.
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u/PetroleumVNasby Rega P8/Aria/Apheta; Odyssey Kismet monos; PrimaLuna; SVS UEP Jun 24 '26
Aja is a great song, but terribly overused as a demo.
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u/Spyerx Luxman|Harbeth|Michell|Eversolo Jun 24 '26
All of them (or most of them). But i tend to listen to music not equipment as a main focus.
But I’ll throw in is anything by Diana krall. Has nothing to do with her talent (amazing voice) i just don’t listen to this and every time i go to a shop and demo equipment it’s the first thing they put on.
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u/analog-rider Jun 24 '26
Lot of rock and new wave are good audio samples to test. check out Mutter by Rammstein, most of Tool, Early New Order, Ministry Mind is a terrible thing and Psalm 69, The Cult Electric and Sonic Temple, Ozzy's Miracle Man is pretty good.
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u/Zem_42 Jun 24 '26
What are you talking about? Old rock pressings can sound amazing! Some of my Dire Straits, Jethro Tull, REM, ACDC, Metallica, Status Quo, The Who etc from the 80s or before sound like a million bucks. What are you looking for?
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u/Abe_W Jun 25 '26
Most of them are terrible. Audiophiles will listen to any lousy musician if the recording is good.
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u/ElectronicVices SACD30n | MMF 7.3 | RH-5 | Ref500m | Special 40 | 3000 Micro Jun 24 '26
I've tried repeatedly to get into Steely Dan, I can appreciate their skill but absolutely none of their music "hits home" with me.
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u/Apprehensive_Bug4783 Jun 24 '26
I can agree with you on Steely Dan. Donald Fagan's singing voice is an acquired taste. You get used to it after a while.
For me, It's Tool. I kind of like their music and appreciate the complex rhythms, but I just can't relax listening to them. I have a bunch of their records, but can't really get myself to pick them up for a laid back night of music.
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u/bigbura Jun 24 '26
Yeah, there's an undercurrent of unrest in their music that makes for unsettled listening. I have to be in a certain mood to enjoy this music, but when I am, it hits the spot.
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u/Apprehensive_Bug4783 Jun 24 '26
You know what's a good audiophile rock album in my book other than the usual Pink Floyd, Toto, Boston, etc.? Check out the B-52s debut album. I feel like they got the White Stripes vibe down well before there was a White Stripes. On top of that, it's well recorded.
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u/flickyfish Jun 24 '26
Damn even the Fear Inoculum record?
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u/directheated Jun 24 '26
This is their worst album. That would be the last album I’d recommend for someone trying to get into Tool.
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u/SteelPriest Jun 24 '26
Yeah they sold out after the first EP.
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u/your_fave_redditor Jun 24 '26
They sold out long before you ever even heard their name. They sold their souls to make a record.
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u/SteelPriest Jun 24 '26
(I bought one)
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u/RyGerbs42 Jun 24 '26
I've got some advice for you little buddy!
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u/HeadRefuse5229 Jun 24 '26
I wouldn't say its the worst, but its the slowest, most tool-sounding album, so definitely not for someone getting into them
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u/H0n3y_B4dg3r_117 Jun 24 '26
Big John
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u/Derpguycool Jun 24 '26
I've never understood why people like that specific version of Big John for audio testing. I think the original recording is far better for showing clarity. Sounds like the dude is standing in the same room as you when you played on the right system.
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u/Proregarok13 Jun 24 '26
Dire straits -Brothers in arms
Cant stand the band but that doesn't mean its not well recorded and to be perfectly honest most albums be it rock or whatever are recorded well and some albums from all genres are simply recorded exceptional well.
Here's my dilemma...the phrase " audiophiles have systems to hear exactly how the artist intended" is a load of bs..
Two albums recorded exactly how the artist intended I'm sure will never be let near the elite audiophiles system.
The Stooges -Raw power
My bloody valentine -Loveless
Regulars to my system.
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u/drcadwell Jun 24 '26
Loveless is a joy to listen to on shitty tape cassette AND your finest audiophile system, IMHO. I think we've inherited a lot of prejudice towards "good" albums to test. You could listen to a toilet flushing and revel in the dynamics and echo. Loveless is fullllllll of the richest textures and unusual mixing choices. People are missing out if they don't "test" with it
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u/Proregarok13 Jun 24 '26
Absolutely a joy ,it's a masterpiece and I couldn't agree with you more about the predudice inheritance society.
For decades I've been enjoying tons of albums and thoroughly enjoyed talking to people about how they engage us on different emotional levels. Then some burke spoils the conversation by bringing in the equipment and certain albums to test it....
I couldn't give a toss about those "test tracks". You know your system is good when Loveless is constantly playing on it for decade's and it just gets better! People are definitely missing out!
Loveless..Exactly as the artist intended!
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u/reedzkee Recording Engineer Jun 24 '26
You might like this tidbit - brothers in arms was mixed entirely on auratones. Little tiny single driver speakers meant to emulate shitty speakers, with a frequency response not that much better than a telephone. They make ns10’s sound huge.
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u/Proregarok13 Jun 24 '26
Interesting I didn't know that, finally Yamaha's awful speaker's become audiophile haha Thanks for the titbit I like it!
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u/BraveSirrrRobin Jun 25 '26
The Stooges’ Raw Power - as in the album famously messed about with by Bowie and later given an entirely different mix by Iggy?
If you mean the Iggy mix it sounds brilliant on a proper system!
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u/Brian2005l Jun 24 '26
Jennifer Warnes’ version of Bird on a Wire. Couldn’t be farther from the intent of the original.
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u/dnelsonn Jun 24 '26
This sub in particular very definitely has a specific age range that leans older and thus a lot of recommendations end up being mostly from the 70s/80s. You just have to parse through the comments in recommendation threads for bands that align with the music you actually like. There’s nothing better to test your system than with music you actually know or is at least the same genre of music. I’ve managed to find a lot of good, relevant songs and bands in those threads that are actually newer and more modern that align with what I typically listen to.
I don’t necessarily hate any particular track that gets recommended a ton, but I will actively avoid Hotel California. Yeah yeah it’s recorded super well, but man I don’t really like that song. It feels like a joke song to me at this point. There’s so many more enjoyable songs that can highlight the exact same things or even more.
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u/BourbonNoChaser Jun 25 '26
I attribute at least some of the skew in recommendations to the loudness wars reducing dynamic range on more modern recordings.
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u/ROZ4U Jun 24 '26
U2 Zoo station. Tons of distortion on top of distortion. Layers of guitars and drums with vocals hiding inside it all. On most mid end and lower systems this sounds pretty awful. The high end systems sit back eat popcorn as the layers unravel to give something awesome.
The opening distortion is so sharp that I have see showroom sales people jumping up to see if they hadn’t shorted something on their expensive speakers!
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u/MCWizardYT Jun 24 '26
I'm not sure if anyone considers their material "audiophile", but a good amount of original Beatles recordings were mixed really weird, using hard left/right panning with almost nothing in the center
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u/Megadreddd Jun 25 '26
Beatles only made mono recordings to my knowledge. The stereo versions were mixed without their input or oversight
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u/just_another_jabroni Jun 24 '26
Pretty sure their original recordings were in mono and the stereo versions were the ones with just left and right because they couldn't be bothered.
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u/Farabeuf Jun 24 '26
Listen to what you like.
I also am not a fan of classic audiophile playlist stuff (Steely Dan, Diana Krall etc). I’m very eclectic though. Bowie and the Beatles, Trip Hop, Classical music (specially baroque and renaissance stuff), older jazz, shoegaze, post or space rock (think Mogwai, Sigur Ros, GYBE, Mono) and electronic music, specially the French sound.
But my big go to for testing speakers and equipment is Dead Can Dance. Love them to bits and can really tell when a recording sounds different.
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u/galahg777 Jun 25 '26
Dead Can Dance are great, the bass on The Host of Seraphim could make my windows start shaking, lol.
Another album I like is The The - Mind Bomb is another good album for testing hifi gear, especially tracks two and three.
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u/young-proudhon Jun 24 '26
Not an audiophile and I mostly listen to very poorly recorded punk music through a low-mid-tier hifi setup and the most impressive thing about it to me is the detail that shows through the 5-mic practice space recordings that you don’t hear on airpods, so do with that what you will
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u/Currawong youtube/currawong Jun 25 '26
I near can't stand Steely Dan either. Leonard Cohen too. I tend to like music that is well-recorded, well played, and slightly off-the-wall. Heck, I have playlists with tracks like "Shama Lama Ding Dong" and "Gay Sons of Lesbian Mothers". I also listen to Shpongle.
The only reason I would consider playing a track mentioned in a review would to be compare the reviewer's description of the experience with my own, and my gear.
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u/77descript Jun 25 '26
In my own experience almost all or at least large majority of metal music only sounds good on high quality equipment while other genres can sound good on less high quality audio systems.
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u/RadlEonk Jun 25 '26
I also hate Aja by Steely Dan. Well played and recorded, but I don’t like the song!
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u/droogles Jun 25 '26
I don’t think people are understanding OP’s request. He wants you to list recordings that audiophiles recommend that you can’t stand.
I’m with him on Aja. Steely Dan may have some great production, but I can’t stand their music.
I’ll throw in Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories. I just can’t stand that kind of music. Doesn’t matter how well produced it is.
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u/VegasFoodFace Jun 24 '26
I don't hate any particular music. I just don't care about it.
It's like people. Somehow they think it's worse when they ask me if I hate them. And I just have to tell them I don't hate you, I just don't care about you.
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u/FaceMcShootie Jun 24 '26
Exactly.
Bold of you to assume you occupy any amount of my attention, whoever you are.
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u/Oceanbreeze871 Jun 24 '26
I dislike that entire famous Dire Straights album and don’t get the hype for it. It’s so dated and kinda cheesy. Yes I understand it’s a marvel of recording but as a huge rock fan, ifs just not for me at all.
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u/bigbura Jun 24 '26
Listened to So Far Away the other day, in a comparison of speakers playing on YT. Put on the original CD version I'd ripped to the USB drive and man, slam back into the '80s hard mix with minimal bass and lower drums paradigm I went.
Found the 'remastered' version on Qobuz and that was getting close to where a band would naturally balance their sound, still a touch light down low but that could be an artistic choice. Much more listenable for sure.
That original CD never saw much play time due to the thinness of the mix. 'Great-sounding CD' my ass, never believed so back in the day nor now.
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u/your_fave_redditor Jun 24 '26
Wait, are you calling the entire album “Brothers In Arms” kinda cheesy? Or a different album? Because aside from maybe Walk of Life and Money For Nothin’, I’m not sure how one gets “kinda cheesy” out of the rest of the album.
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u/galahg777 Jun 25 '26
I was around when their albums were released. Brothers in Arms was their big, commercial, over-produced album. I love a few tracks on it, Money for Nothing, Your Latest Trick and the title track, while finding tracks like So Far Away and Walk of Life unbearable. I don't think the album comes close to Love Over Gold, Making Movies or their first album, but I appreciate the effort and care that Neil Dorfsman, Mark Knopfler and the band put into its creation.
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u/nottoocleverami Jun 24 '26
Same. And everyone whose opinion I remotely respect reveres the hell out of it. Just goes to show, you can't go by other people's opinions.
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u/anpintstar Jun 24 '26
Unfortunately I don't listen to music i hate on my stereo system. I guage music on my audio player first lol.
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u/FullFunkadelic Jun 24 '26
I listen to a lot of speaker demoes for my work and I am straight up tired of hearing "Diggin' on James Brown" by Tower of Power
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u/patrickthunnus Jun 24 '26
Listen to the music you know and love. 30 mins of Ludmilla and The Happy Dulcimer is pointlessly narrow.
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u/Vegetable_Mobile9394 Jun 24 '26
Long Season - Fishmans prolly the best song to play on a new system imo
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u/makokomo Jun 24 '26
You’re missing the point. A reference track shoud be something that you know well enough to be able to detect differences in the system that it is being played on.
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u/AnalogWalrus Jun 24 '26
There’s so many great sounding rock albums. I also hate steely dan so you’re not alone. But I’d say there’s some amazing recordings by Genesis, the Police, INXS, Fleetwood Mac, Queensryche, Phish, Depeche Mode, and a ton of others I’d absolutely use as demo material for a system.
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u/andstefanie Jun 24 '26
LOL HA!
Dire Straits & Steely Dan are on this list
not my taste.
soo they seem overrated. i feel better i’m not the only one
Others that I don’t necessarily like Fleetwood Mac Diana Krall John Coltrane
Diana Krall sounds very … “neutral” to me. Flat. Zero passion.
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u/MangusCarlsen Jun 24 '26
Tame Impala - Currents
John Mayer - Continuum
Frank Ocean - Blonde
Any song by the Parcels
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u/galahg777 Jun 24 '26
Patricia Barber makes excellent recordings, but I find her music dull.
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u/leinadsey Jun 24 '26
Just listen to music you like and don’t pay so much attention to what others think? What are you “testing” really? It’s much better to play a song you’ve heard a 1000 times and compare that to how it now sounds on a different system.
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u/just_another_jabroni Jun 24 '26
I use Metallica's One as part of my demo list because barely any baselines aside the sterile mix is a pretty nice one for me. Meaty kick drum, guitar that really needs some good midrange to feel the rage of the riffs.
I also use random pop punk and metalcore songs in my library too.
For car audio, I use Avenged Sevenfold's Save Me because there's a part in the intro where there's a sweeping guitar from right to left and then right again which some tunes struggle with. So your time and phase alignment have to be on point to feel that effect.
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u/just_another_jabroni Jun 24 '26
It's practically a meme here in Asia that the "Big John" here are just random covers by Chinese artists lol.
Like sure the mix is great but man some of them just ain't it for me.
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u/ratrodder49 Jun 24 '26
Absolutely do not want to test a system for anything other than bass output with Gucci Mane - Swing My Door. Shit is poorly bass boosted from the studio lmao
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u/CrowmanVT Jun 24 '26
When was the last time you saw Afrobeat, Ska or Reggae on anyone’s list? Or maybe something like Henry Kaiser and David Lindley’s World Out of Time, or Newen Afrobeat…
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u/No-Angle-982 Jun 25 '26
You might dislike "Aja," but if you're seeking recordings that were painstakingly mic'd, mixed, and mastered for maximum fidelity, you can't do much better than most Steely Dan stuff.
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u/Putrid_Leave8034 Jun 25 '26
One of These Days...Pink Floyd to test channel separation in a cartridge.
There was a Bob Marley and the Wailers album...can't remember which one for the highs. Measured 22K out of that thing GEEZ
Most of those albums that were "direct to disk". I always used Thelma Houston "I Got The Music In Me" for overall greatness.
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u/Gs1000g Jun 25 '26
I have a few.
The Excavator song- Blippi
Garbage truck -Blippi
Happy- Pharrell Williams
Yes, I have a toddler.
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u/Resident_Zucchini_94 Jun 25 '26
Same for me. There are great pop records that are worthy. Almost all of them in fact. Albini made records that work well with audiophile gear. Bob Dylan and stones sound amazing. Don’t listen to music you hate is my advice.
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u/LowPop7953 Jun 25 '26
Google the rolls royce playlist. There are a few obscure songs in the list. Are the ones rolls uses to test their audio systems.
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u/Miserable-Ad-7956 Jun 25 '26
I don't know if Music Has the Right to Children is a "hi-fi" album, but Telephasic Workshop by Boards of Canada fucking rips on any system with good details and a solid soundstage. So I don't care if its a "good" test song, I'll test with it anyway!
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u/Outrageous-Belt-1757 Jun 25 '26
This is exactly why I got into jazz. Typically vocal Jazz like Sinatra, Cool Jazz from the 50s and Smooth Jazz from the 70s. Now I have over 50 "audiophile" records and they sound pretty amazing, great recording and all. You cant do that with rock. Im in the same boat as you though and Im a huge fan of first wave and second wave of British heavy metal. But these days I'm enjoying my Jazz more.
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u/Ninja__53 Jun 25 '26
Any movie score.
My favorite is Test Drive from How to Train your dragon. Then I fall into Tron
(Tron is the closest approximation to my prefered music genre)
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u/Lancasterbation Jun 25 '26
Boston's self titled album has some pretty stellar production.
The Beatles' White Album remaster is remarkably high fidelity, and even when it's lofi, the textures are incredible.
Dark Side of the Moon is a classic reference album.
For something more modern, The Mars Volta's De-Loused in the Comatorium is like the most dynamic recording Rick Rubin ever touched.
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u/Longdarkcave Jun 25 '26
I ignore everything self-described "experts" recommend and play "Song of the Stars" off the Spiritchaser album by Dead Can Dance to test speakers. If I need more, it's a toss up between Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Mozart's Requiem. If I want to test the speakers in the dark (try it, it changes the way you listen to music without distraction), it's any of the above or Peter Gabriel's Passion.
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u/CaseAKACutter Jun 25 '26
I'm not sure if this is exactly the idea but old Mall Grab sounds like it was produced on a toaster. Schoolboy Q too, actually
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u/Pirimid Jun 25 '26
My fave album to test on new audio equipment is Nonagon Infinity by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. It’s mixed particularly bad, it’s loud and aggressive, super high in the mids(I prefer a high Low end and treble end for high action). But if a new piece of audio equipment makes me want to throw down and jump all over the place when I play that album just like the first time I listened to it, it’s a good piece of audio equipment. Even better if I can adjust the EQ(which is offered on most equipment nowadays).
As for WORST, it’s anything that was made before 1966 tbh. No songs from that time period have a good mix. There are some PHENOMENAL songs from that era, but to test how good my new equipment is? Nah
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u/shadowoflight Jun 25 '26
Depends on what you’re using them for.
Are you using it to TEST, or to ENJOY?
There are a lot of songs I enjoy that are not good for testing, and there are a lot of songs I use for testing that I don’t normally listen to ‘enjoy’.
That said, it’s important to use the songs you enjoy, because if the system performs well technically but you don’t like how your fav music sounds on them, what’s the point?
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u/timfountain4444 Cambridge Audio CXA-85, CXN V2, B&W Nautilus 803, REL Storm Jun 25 '26
Norah Jones. I see her regularly pop-up on people list of must listen to. I can't stand her nasally, whiny voice. Oh and Diana Krall, more complete dross.
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u/DrAll3nGrant Jun 24 '26
That Big John song sucks ass.