Which CDs to test a component?

For what it's worth, I take at least four from this list(all are very well recorded):

1). Francis Dunnery - Tall Blond Helicopter. Best CD that no one knows about. Awesome guitar work, songwriting, vocals, dynamics, speed, and sunshine. If the component plays this one as it is meant to be played, you should buy it.

2). Dar Williams - Mortal City. The female voice, at its best. A terrific songwriter, with a beautiful, tender, lush, and mellow tone.

3). Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. A fabulous femal counterpart to "Tall Blond Helicopter", leaning a bit more to the bluesy/country side. I don't care how good a component does this or that, if it doesn't do justice to this disc, I DON'T WANT IT!!!

4). Steely Dan - Aja. Do I even need to explain this???

5). Sonny Rollins - Theme from the movie, "Alfie". One of THE best jazz albums of all time. Sonny paints every emotion there is in this CD with his sax. No one plays with more cojones.

6). The Cure - Mixed Up. This is just me, I don't expect a lot of audiophiles to understand. But, handling this disc will guarantee that no one will EVER come over and say, "That's nice, but you should hear my friend's Bose!" Good house mixes of some of The Cure's finest.

7). Bjork - Debut. See my comments on The Cure. A lot of people don't care for her, then again, some say Bjork is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. "Violently Happy" can be hynoptic.

Music that you enjoy and are familir with. I always bring a variety from all genres and ages of recordings I enjoy most. Vocals, orchestral and of course Jazz. Bring the music that you are the most excited about listening to.
Have fun.

I agree with Chelillingworth I always use things that are famaliar to me, ie things I have been listening to lately. I tend to use male and female vocals, we hear them all day long and any inaccuracy is easily heard, nothing is more ear piercing then a shreeking female vocal that shouldn't sound bad. Always real piano recordings, they sound much better then digital/electric piano's(preferably a steinway), listen for the real sound of the piano, make sure it sounds linear at all frequencies. The ultimate test is if it(a piece of music) gets your foot tapping at home, it should to the same to what ever your listening to, or keep moving.

As others have already mentioned it is important to use CDs that you are very familiar with. A great piece of advise that someone gave me was to listen to each CD that you bring with you to the audio store right before you leave your house so that you can have some idea of how it sounds in your system. As always, attempt to have a setup that includes as many of the components that you have at home.

Unlike many of us, I think that it is important to test components with great and poorly recorded material. It is not hard for a component to sound good when it is given quality recordings. The majority of music is not well recorded and that does not stop us from listening to it, well it does not stop most of us from listening to it. It is also important, IMHO, to bring along different kinds of music. Rock, jazz, folk, and classical are always part of my music mix when auditioning equipment.

dire straits"private investigations" off love over gold