Songs used for Imaging and Sound Staging Tests?

"Deep Forest" by Deep Forest. Their first CD from 1992. Track #6 "Savanah Dance" begins with tribal drums starting from behind and outside the right front speaker and travel in a 360 circle around and behind you and end up at your left channel speaker.Friends swear sound is coming from my home theater surround speakers!

If the balance or imaging is off, you won't get a smooth 360 rotation of the drums circling around you.

Cut 5. (Who's Singing Now) from David Gray's album Foundling.

Yello Goldrush

"Before the Deluge" by Jackson Browne. When the chorus comes in, it's spread high, deep and very wide along the soundstage.

there are many many that come to mind.

but one that is amazing is from the Classic Records 45rpm Lp box set of The Weavers, Reunion at Carneige Hall--1963....."Guantanamera".

great live recording, the 7 members are arrayed across the soundstage, you hear depth to the stage, and height and size of the various instruments. you get the feeling of the presence and the relative size of the singers, and a full bodied sound. each singer is has their unique sound, yet you also get the feeling of the whole ensamble together, as well as the size of the hall, and of the presence of the audience.

it's also so vivid it's spooky, and it's not eq'd or mucked up.

i have an original pressing, as well as a couple of 33 reissues, and a very good gold cd too. in this case, the 45 smokes any other version.