Garfish, I mirror your opionions exactly. I usually let people choose from what I have. But, if they insist on me picking, I either take the title track of Lucinda Williams "Car Wheels On a Gravel Road", or one of many cuts from Southern Culture On the Skids "Dirt Track Date". Usually, people want to be blown away, as they equate power, bass, and loudness to sound quality. Most people don't spend enough time there listening for esoteric things such as microdynamics, low noise floor, soundtaging, detail, etc.(all the stuff we revel in). If you don't play something that rocks, you will often receive a comment such as, "Ah man, c'mon. All that money for that?!? My JBL's blow the doors off your $10K speakers! You really should check out my JBLs, I think they're the best speakers out there."
Which track do you demo to your friends?
You know when a friend arrives at your house, sees your stereo and says "how much did all this cost". You tell him/her the $$$ and they say "are you mad?" Of course, the next step is to justify it by playing something that will make their jaw hit the floor. Which track do you play? Me, I play a track called "Spanish Harlem" by Rebecca Pidgeon off an album called "The Raven". Works every time :-) Their jaw hits the floor, and no-one speaks till the song is over. Then they something along the lines of "Oh, I see what you mean". Follow up/alternate demo tracks for me would include "Fire and Roses" by Mimi Goese and "Ordinary Life" by Christen Barry. What track do you play in this most demanding of moments?