If you could only choose one...

I much prefer Gareth Gates. 

Eva Cassidy - Eva by Heart in High Res

Or any winner of the X factor 

Queen - The Game. Perfect for demonstrating P.R.a.T.

Andy

Is it April 1st already?

Come on all lets answer the question

Dire Straits  Brothers In Arms or Tracy Chapman are both excellent

Or even David Bowie the Laughing Gnome (Sorry couldn't resist)

Ok then, I'd ask my friend what he/she wanted to listen to!

I think some are missing the point it's not who your favourite artist is or what your friends would like to listen to but what artists track or album shows off your system in its best light!

i was hoping to take on board other peoples thoughts and to try them on my own system.

other peoples thoughts would be of great interest

regards

stimmy

The best is the music that moves you. For me listening is never a technical exercise.

I never 'show off' my system. People generally are not in the slightest bit interested. If they knew how much it cost they'd just roll their eyes. I do love sharing music though-which is not the same thing at all.

I enjoy every penny of it, so does my wife. That is all we need.

Bruce

Wouldn't show of my system, but interesting discs would be:

* Me and my only thrill - Melody Gardot

* Sonatas & Partitas - Isabelle Faust

* Scenes of a memory - Dream Theater (not a good audiophile disc, but it sounds great as it's complex

Seriously, this one.

Recently discovered mixture of British folk with an infusion of blues and a little African. Great male voice, atmospheric, brilliantly paced and superb production making it almost crystal clear.

Very highly recommended.

Jason.

Here is a review I found......

            "This is an unusual album with incredibly powerful, mainly acoustic guitar playing, on twelve songs that seem to encompass English and American folk music. There is also a strong bluesy feel with what at times has a strange haunting almost avant garde edge, even sometimes including a middle eastern feel, much of that often in the space of one song! It is almost impossible to categorise but most of the above probably qualify it as ‘roots music’ although an incredibly sparse and highly original version of it. Perhaps alt. folk/roots? Marc gets a beautiful sound from his mainly acoustic guitar playing with the quality of that playing at times being quite extraordinary. His 
vocals have a pleasant warmth with a strong huskiness that manages to imbue the songs with a powerful atmosphere, so this is definitely not your standard acoustic folk music! "

I fully take on board your point Bruce but I talk quite passionately about my music and system to friends non of which have heard of naim so when they ask to have a listen I like to play something that  demonstrates its clarity or prat, mine is an entry level system so it's not about showing off and saying how much it's worth, I hope to share my passion 

just googled Marc o'reilly and sounds very interesting, cheers Jason 

I was thinking that perhaps people were taking your question a little too formally.

Perhaps 'demonstrate your systems abilities' nothing wrong with that if people are interested.

Jason.

Just listened to the track lighthouse on sonos and liked what I heard

Whilst I have some sympathy for the 'whatever s/he wants to listen to' idea, I think stimmy has asked a perfectly fair question. Here are some suggestions which hopefully are slightly off the beaten track without being ridiculously hard to get hold of and/or stupefyingly pretentious:

1) John Williams: Hook (film soundtrack, 1991). Track 1 is 90 seconds of musical and sonic orchestral delight. The bass drum thumps at the end will show off what your bits and pieces can do. Track 3 is a fun piece of light jazz, recorded with fantastic balance and clarity.

2) John Williams - Far and Away (film soundtrack, 1992). Execrable film, excellent music. Track 15 is a delight - exciting and inspiring. Has some more wonderfully beefy orchestral bass drum thumps to savour.

3) Vangelis - Direct (1988), track 2. Very atmospheric and melodic, more bass rumbling. Yummy.

4) David Benoit - Jazz for Peanuts (2008). Delightful jazz pieces from the Snoopy cartoons. Beautifully clear natural recording.

5) Oscar Peterson Trio - Live at the Blue Note (1990). Telarc's recording quality is right up there with the best, and Peterson et al. were on fire that night.

6) Thomas Dolby - The Sole Inhabitant (2006). Greatest hits live, basically. Some wonderful basslines which are so deep you'll only really hear them on a good system. Makes me smile.

Enjoy...

Mark

In the spirit of the thread; Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan 'Night Song'. Otherwordly voice, a great RealWorld production. Breathtakingly different for the uninitiated.

Bruce

Foremost, I'd play an all-analogue recording on vinyl from the mid 1970's to early 1980's. Artists that consistently produced LPs with top-notch sound quality in that era I'd select from include Joe Walsh (But Seriously Folks), Neil Young (Comes A Time), Paul Simon (Paul Simon), Dire Straits (Love Over Gold), Steely Dan (Aja), Eagles (Hotel California), Fleetwood Mac (Fleetwood Mac), and Pink Floyd (DSOTM). I'm fortunate to have nice quality pressings of these that happen to synergize especially well with my system and room.

Ha-ha-ha !!  I've gotta admit that this was the first thing that entered my head when reading the post.

But hey, whatever floats some peoples boats, I say 

Just jesting  Seriously now, my choice would be...............

Seriously now, maybe this :

Hi wugged woy he doesn't float my boat in that way lol but I do think its a good recording.

stimmy,

You posted just as I amended my quote to include 'just jesting' 

I know virtually nothing about the music of this guy nor the recording so ignore my childish quip !!. Please give the Nils Lofgren a try - stunningly well recorded live concert 

Will do, appreciate your and everyone else's input

This, on vinyl. Because it is an extraordinary record.

Pretty much agree with the above. In fact if you were to walk into any good Hi Fi dealer in the 70s and asked for a demo, one or more of the above would probably have been used, on vinyl of course.

Graham.