What is a good song to test my stereo?

“Cleanin’ Out My Closet” by Eminem is good to test the bass and the treble at the same time… during the choruses where the sample of Dido is singing over the bassline of the song… that’s what I use in my car every time someone messes with the bass and treble on my car stereo lol.

You can probably get a good ratio of bass/midtones if you use Apocalyptica… it’s four cellos who generally do covers of heavy metal songs… lots of Metallica. There’s a pretty decent range there, I think… to see what chops your stereo has.

The whole album: Dark Side of the Moon.

1812 Overture. Pick a version where they use real cannons for the last movement.

If a DVD player is hooked up to it try popping in a disc with THX sound and do the audio test. Otherwise put on something electronica.

Try 20 Ghosts III by Nine Inch Nails. It’s really just a wave of noise, with many oscillating frequencies. That will be a tourture test for the stereo.

Aja by Steely Dan.

Thanks for a lot of great answers!

In my store, we have a song called “warrior (show me the way)”. I don’t remember the artist. I’ve searched, but I can’t find the right version. it starts with just some noise, and then it builds up a little. Anyone know what song this is? Usually when i put on that song, the customer ends up buying the stereo/mac

RATATAT!!! and Justice

Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith

“In The Hall of the Mountain King” by Grieg. It’s a well-known classical piece, it builds throughout the entire song, and is a great way to test dynamic range. Also, the entire “Rising Tied” album by Fort Minor, “Intergalactic” by the Beastie Boys, and “Paradise” by the Vengaboys. Yeah, it’s a weird list, but the first one helps you test realism and dynamic range, the Fort Minor album lets you assess the quality of your bass, and the last two songs will help you hear if you are overloading your system.

Oh, and if you do the 1812 Overture, get the 1979 TelArc digital recording ON A CD, not a compressed format. Start with the volume very low, the cannons are recorded at full volume.

Dovregubbens hall, or In The Hall of the Mountain King as you call it is a great suggestion, also i’ll have to check out the 1812 Overture.

On a sidenote, since i asked this question i’ve kinda been using Tacobel Cannon by Ratatat to test my bass.