What are some honorable mentions for great sounding records that are ideal for sound system testing?

Question

I am in the market for some records that should be given an honorable mention and they are also very good for testing sound systems. Can anyone suggest any?

Answer 1

The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’, Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’, AC/DC’s ‘Back in black’, Led Zeppelin’s ‘Led Zeppelin IV’ and Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s going on’ are also great sounding records that deserve an honorable mention on this list as suitable for a sound system test. These are records of high sound quality and always serve as the aids of sound lovers to test their equipment.

Comments

Ive always considered Dire Straits' "on Every Street" to be a sonic masterpiece, along with Sting's "Soul Cages", Joni's "Hejira", anything by 10CC, Beck's "Hyperspace", and of course, anything Pat Metheny's recorded, "If I Could" to name one. And Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years".

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EVERY SINGLE SONG from Tears for Fears' "Songs from the Big Chair" and Boston's debut are INCREDIBLE.
Sorry for the all-caps.

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Rick covered his passing a couple weeks back, but Jeff Beck's "Blow by Blow" is sonic ear candy for me. Obviously, Jeff's skills are paramount, but his sidemen (Max Middleton [k], Phil Chen [b] and Richard Bailey [d]) performed amazingly and the engineering/production of that album was just about as perfect a Steely Dan one. "Diamond Dust", with producer George Martin's string arrangements, is super sophisticated and dazzling and we all know the magical sensitivity of "Cause We Ended as Lovers".

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It may be because I had it on a half speed master back in the mid 70's, but Al Stewart "Year of the Cat" sounded amazing.

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I always considered Siamese Dream as an album that I think has just, incredible sound quality.