Songs you use when auditioning gear

I have been using this playlist lately.   Has a variety of music, vocals, bass, separation, and imaging.

I just listened to Welcome To The World by Ben Harper and there’s a couple of cuts on the album that are going on my list.

Not so much specific songs if you're talking about auditioning. I'll grab three or four cd's and make sure they have the following combination: A horn, piano, human voice, and acoustic guitar, and a drum solo.

I don't listen to songs I enjoy, I listen to what's really hard to get right. Borderline bad recordings. You would think that Jeff Lynne was a perfectionist but I find that maybe he aimed too high in the 70s and the technology just wasn't there. His catchy, rich and sweet melodies sound good on the radio but on high-level equipment, it's more like too many kids in the choir and some out of tune. Maybe I have yet to hear it on real good gear   

I make my own recordings and play them back. I record metal, water, wood, ceramic, voice, animals, guitar. These are the elements which all musical instruments are based on.

Using produced music to tune a system is a recipe for disaster. It’s like trying to drive a car while looking through a kaleidoscope.