What Are Your Reference Discs? or Specific Reference Tracks


Looking for new gems!  My reference discs are: Graceland, Paul Simon  Avalon, Roxy Music  Brothers in Arms, Dire Straits  So, Peter Gabriel  Ten Summoner's Tales, Sting 

What are yours?

wweiss
Here are a few of my go-to recordings for evaluating a new tweek or equipment upgrade. I also find myself listening to these recordings all the way through for pure musical enjoyment:

Jo Stafford "Ballad of The Blues." (original six-eye Columbia stereo)

Norman Luboff Choir "But Beautiful" (original six-eye Columbia stereo)

Dave Brubeck: "Jazz Impressions of The USA" (Mono - never released in stereo.)

Sue Raney - "Sings the Music of Johnny Mandel." With the Bob Florence Trio. "Discovery Records."

JOHN WILLIAMS-Paganini Guitar Trio & Haydn Guitar Quartet Columbia1968

Frank



I listen to a lot of things, but in the spirit of your "new gems" search, two tracks that I've been testing with as I've been moving my system around various apartments this year are 
1.) "Afterglow" by Lydia Ainsworth (from Darling of the Afterglow) (Tidal HiFi) It has these amazing bass synth swoops that are either killer or missing depending on whether I've got the placement and decoupling right, and her layered vocal and stray percussion accents are so forward that it's a great show of mid-high balance.
2.) "If You Could Read My Mind," by Gordon Lightfoot (Tidal Master) goes all the way opposite with natural, close mic'd guitars, baritone voice, string orchestra. Lots of separation of instruments. 
Enjoy!
I usually take 4 or 5 CD's with me when I audition equipment.  The main one that I always take is "Another Lifetime" by Simon Phillips.  It is well written, well played, and very well recorded.  It is also very representative of the type of music that I mostly listen to.  A few years ago at Capital Audiofest, I got them to play it in the SVS room.  In the five minutes that it was playing, three different people walked over and picked-up the case to look at it.  I'm about to go on another speaker quest and it will be with me.  My current speakers just don't move me anymore.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmyhVCG8Pes&list=PL0B4E1E95A6E1B81F
I use a range of well-loved/memorized music tracks to get a quick sonic understanding of any new audio gear (though longer, more leisurely exposure is more definitive IMO). This includes some well recorded rock, blues, reggae, Afropop, jazz, and classical.

2 essential rock tunes for this purpose are "Morph the Cat" and "Mary Shut the Garden Door" from Donald Fagen's MORPH THE CAT. The 1st cut opens with an explosive block chord played by many instruments--the entire tune, like that chord, is powerful yet nuanced. The 2nd has some extremely well played & recorded bass work anchoring the tune.
You are able to evaluate using only certain tracks? Fascinating!

Not at all.

Here's my question? What recordings sound absolutely exquisite on top end systems and and are a joy to hear? Maybe I could express it this way: What have you got that is going to blow my mind?