What Are Your Reference Discs? or Specific Reference Tracks

Although I have several "go to" test tracks for new equipment, the following are at the top of my list:

Patricia Barber Companion XRCD - "Use Me". Terrific live recording with excellent stand-up bass intro, and some Hammond organ highs that will show smooth top end or screechy.

Pink Floyd  Dark Side of The Moon - Blu-Ray 24/96K

Arne Domnerus - Jazz at the Pawnshop - 30th Anniversary Edition - Limehouse Blues

Shakti - Joy - Just an awesomely recorded live album

Bill Evans - Sunday at the Village Vanguard

+1 for Sting's "Ten Summoners Tales".  A stellar collection of well-written, well-played and well-produced music.
+1 for Lyle Lovett's "Joshua Judges Ruth" (esp. "Church").
+1 for "Jazz at the Pawnshop" (3-SACD 30th Anniversary edition)
"Getz/Gilberto" (2020 Verve SACD)
"Live" Alison Kraus and Union Station

My "testing" playlist is really just tracks that I enjoy and know well in my system.  So, if I stop by a hif-fi store I'll bring a thumb drive with a few such tracks.  After I break in a new wire, say, I'll play these and listen for certain things (e.g., bass on bridge on first cut below).  These are not necessarily very well recorded.  A few of these are:

"Out All Night", The Pietasters
"King of the Mountain", Midnight Oil  
"Last Laugh", Dancehall Crashers
"Swamp Thang", Hipster Daddy-O and the Hand Grenades
"And She Was", Talking Heads

There is a difference between a Demo and a Reference track.

One of my reference tracks is a nostalgic favourite of mine but sounds lousy on most systems, even very expensive ones. 10CC's I'm not in love. Great performance but just seems to have a high noise floor with poor dynamics. When I hear it rendered in a way that makes it at least passable soundwise then I know the system is working.

Another reference is the album from Christina Pluhar, Los Imposibles. One of the best recordings I own. It's a beautiful recording capturing the size of the acoustic space and revealing great purity of tone.

I do not bother with the above for demo, my weird friends have different tastes. When I ask someone what they would like to hear they mostly say ' just play anything' so I put on Patricia Barber and play a couple of tracks, certainly not the whole album, she wears thin very quickly.

Reference and Demo, is it possible? YesChuck Mangione: Children of Sanchez (explosive dynamics, outstanding performance) Play loud
Mighty Sam McClain: Give it up to love, track 2, too proud ( won many awards such as blues album of the month) Play louder
Osamu Kitajima: I don't think this album has a name but the track of interest is called 'yesterday and karma'  When I first heard it I thought I was hearing a synthesizer but it turned out to be Minnie Ripperton's incredible voice, WOW! When the tune was written Osamu could not find a Japanese girl who could hit these notes so Ms Ripperton was called upon. This is serious goosebumps territory and if you do not react/respond to this then perhaps your system is wanting. All his stuff is interesting

Hotel California, Mark Knopfler, Pink Floyd Pulse