[Tyson]

When listening to new gear, what music do you guys (and gals?) listen to?  I'll start.  I break things up in to categories - female vocals, male vocals, dynamics, imaging, classical.

I'll try to pick disks that hit one or more of the categories above.  For example:

Female Vocals - usually Holly Cole or Natalie Merchant

Male Vocals - usually Johnny Cash, or David Bowie or Nine Inch Nails.

Dynamics - Nine Inch Nails or Kodo

Imaging - all the music above offers superior imaging, but Kodo is especially good.

Classical - Beethoven Violin Concerto (Hahn) or Brahms Piano Concerto #2 (Hough).

[azryan]

I agree NIN is recorded great.
FULL range, clean, tight, and while a lot is electronic there's usually some 'real' instruments in most songs. People dismiss NIN sometimes as being all electronic which isn't true at all.

And while Reznor's voice isn't the best in the world, it's a good 'typical' range, and recorded really well.

My main 'ref.' CD is Jeff Buckley's "Songs from My Sweetheart the Drunk".

I think I'd call this the very best sounding/recorded disc I own.

Fantastic recording, and fantastic music. If Robert Plant being in a band that's kinda/sorts like U2 or Sheryl Crow sounds cool to you I think you'll like this CD. Personally I love it.

Sad that is was finished after he died. He would have become very famous I bet.

His first CD "Grace" is also good, but not quite 'ref.' worthy.

Roger Waters' "Amused to Death" is excellent also. A perfect follow-up to "The Wall" (this one about the Gulf War as the Wall had much to do w/ WWII).
It's also recorded in Q-Sound and one of the best examples I've heard of how 2 speakers can sound like 5.1 (when sitting dead center).

Tori Amos's "Boys for Pele" is recorded great IMO too. Too bad her other CD's aren't recorded as well.

Great disc for female vocals w/ GREAT range and vocal dynamics and piano, etc...

Norah Jones and Diana Krall are recorded great, but IMO, they're kinda dull, and really not any kind of stress test for any system. If Tori Amos sounds great so will Diana and Norah, but not necc. vice versa.

I don't know much classical, and mostly listen to sountracks for that type of music. Of all of those Gladiator is one of the best IMO as a test ref.
Also the Princess Mononoke soundtrack, and the Red Violin. All great movies too.

[audioengr]

See my post on the Tunes thread.

[BlackCat]

Traffic - Low Spark of the High Heel Boys - Title track
     - Dynamics
Nirvana - Unplugged - Pennyroyal Tea
     - Imaging / Clarity
Bowie - Ziggy Stardust - Title track
     - How it handles a so-so recording
Roxy Music - Stranded - Both Ends Burning
     - Saxophone!
10000 Maniacs - In My Tribe - Hey Jack Kerouac
     - Female vocals
Camper Van Beethoven - Pictures of Matchstick Men
     - Fiddle, er, violin
Shania Twain - If You're Not In It for Love
     - Imaging, Bass response
Mary Chapin Carpenter - He Thinks He'll Keep Her
     - General
Staind - Fade & Outside
     - Dynamics, Bass
Ten Years After - My Baby Left Me
     - Great song, so-so recording again
Pearl Jam - Black
     - Male vocals

And about 20 others, but these are my "mainstays"

Yeah, I walk into the place with this big stack of CD's and tell the salesmoron to "Get lost for awhile", they usually do.

[dogberry]

Allan Gampel, Chopin:  Sonata for piano No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58, CT 203  (incredible piano; recorded by Mapleshade)
Sade, Broke My Heart Again from Lover's Rock (female voice, bass)
Sarah McLachlan, Do What You Have to Do from Surfacing (voice, piano, bass)
Porcupine Tree, Blackest Eyes from In Absentia (metal attack, dynamic range)
C.I. Williams, Misty from When Alto Was King (another killer Mapleshade recording)
Gladiator soundtrack, The Might of Rome (classical range, violins to bass drums)
Oscar Peterson, C Jam Blues from Night Train (remastered 60s jazz)
Days of the New, Weapon and The Wound from Days of the New 2 (well recorded acoustic guitar rock)

[/list:u]

[LordCloud]

Harry Connick Jr.: Songs I Heard and To See You, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio: Misty and Girl Talk, Clifford Jordan: Live at Ethells,  Fiona Apple: Tidal, Eric Clapton: Unplugged, Tin Hat Trio: Helium and Rodeo Eroded, Steve Green Trio: Acoustic Living, and a few others.

[John Casler]

Hi Tyson,

A few of my fav's below.  The list is growing.

RM40 Reference Recordings


•   Eric Clapton – UnPlugged
•   James Taylor – October Road
•   Wang Chung – Live and Die in LA
•   Sheffield DRIVE – compilation
•   Nora Jones – Come Away with Me
•   The Nature Company – 1995 Music Sampler
•   Madonna – Immaculate Collection (Q-Sound)
•   Star Tracks – Erich Kuznel / Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
•   Diana Krall – Love Scenes
•   Tears For Fears – Tears Roll Down – Greatest Hits
•   Stevie Ray Vaughn – Couldn’t Stand the Weather
•   Arthur Feidler -Night on Bald Mountain – “1812” Overture – The Sorcerers Apprentice  - Boston Pops
•   Roger Waters – Amused to Death (Q-Sound)
•   More to come

Regards,
 
John Casler
 
VMPS LA CA USA
SUMMIT Audio Video
800-320-6884
bioforce.inc@gte.net
http://my.register.com/summitaudiovideo.com/index.html