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acix said:

My reference songs: http://www.acixrecordings.com/audio/store.htm

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Wow nice picks! I like "City in the Sky"

Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells 1973 (Clarity, detail, soundstage.)
Kagrra - San (Bass, layers, fun sound, vocals.)
Funk - (Whatever has good bass lines and grooves, a headphone that is no good for Funk is junk for me.)
Souls Of Mischief - Curb Your Nerve (If the bass on your headphone lacks definition and control, this track makes it audible.)
Adele - Hometown Glory (Vocals, piano, sound stage, vocal impact.)
 
In practice the first four are usually used for sure. If you really want to test your headphones try Miles Davis' 'Bitches Brew' and/or King Crimson's 'In The Court Of The Crimson King'. I am sure Rage Against The Machine's self titled debut already has been mentioned, if not it is a good test album. There is a lot of music to test your audio gear with. 

ZOX - Thirsty
 
After that I randomly put on whatever I think is well recorded. Usually something like Miles Davis. Or something like Sgt Pepper's.
Also the album Odd Blood, by Yeasayer. It has nice bass, but it's not too prominent, so it's a good test for how well the cans can separate instruments.

I ALWAYS start with KING CRIMSON - 21th Century Schizoid Man, but I also have reference albums for my various genres. All on vinyl, or rather 256 VBR aac rips, and most are original issue:
 
Jazz
Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um (what can I say? He's the reason I listen to Jazz.)
Sloche - Stadaconé (Jazz fusion, local band and a great sound)
Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come (Good bass and dissonant brass, love it)
 
Hard Rock
Captain Beyond - Captain Beyond (just love how it all goes together)
Armageddon - Armageddon (incredibly lucky find at my local record store. Their only album unfortunately)
 
Progressive Rock
King Crison - In the Court of the Crimson King (Very varied sounds)
Hawkind - Space Ritual (Great band, crazy live album)
Magma - Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh (Absolutely crazy, with very varied male and female vocals)
Rush - Moving Pictures (...cause it's Rush)
 
Punk Rock
The Misfits - Walk Among Us (Very catchy, I find that they sound terrible on my ATH-ESW9)
Samhain - November-Coming-Fire (that's probably all the punk I actually listen to anyway)
 
Heavy Metal
Manilla Road - The Deluge (Classic underground, with great sound. Cost me an arm, twice)
The Lord Weird Slough Feg - Hardworlder (hated it at first, but it really grew up on me)
 
Doom Metal
Saint Vitus - Born Too Late (pure classic)
Cirith Ungol - Frost and Fire (good dynamic range and nasal vocals)
The Gates of Slumber - Villain, Villain (my first vinyl album, and a great one at that)
 
Thrash Metal
Mekong Delta - Dances Of Death (And Other Walking Shadows) (Very complex for thrash)
Tankard - Zombie Attack (fast, simple, funny and catchy: perfect thrash)

Suzanne Vega - Luka

For most songs, it's:
Lion in a Coma - Animal Collective
Brain Damage/Eclipse - Pink Floyd
Orchestrion Suite - Pat Metheny.
 
When I'm feeling lucrative: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygI-2F8ApUM

Excellent thread!
 
Talk Talk - Happiness Is Easy
Porcupine Tree - Way Out Of Here
Talking Heads - Papa Legba
Nils Lofgren - Keith Don't Go (Acoustic Live)
Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Time Is Right
Gentle Giant - Aspirations
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Change Your Mind

Hey I'm not the only one that uses some Porcupine Tree to test out new phones
 
I also use Radiohead, Tool, Massive Attack, and various others... I don't really have any set songs, though.

Quote:

dartmouth said:

For most songs, it's:
Lion in a Coma - Animal Collective
Brain Damage/Eclipse - Pink Floyd
Orchestrion Suite - Pat Metheny.
 
When I'm feeling lucrative: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygI-2F8ApUM

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Funny link, lol...
 

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deep funk said:

Quote:
Funny link, lol...
 

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The bass response on the video is amazing.
I kid, LOL.

I like to use Dead Can Dance's - The wind that shook the barley.  Amazing female vocals and you can hear the inside of the hall perfectly.

If I could only pick one, I'd have to say Valentina Lisitsa's Beethoven Moonight Sonata, Movement 3.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zucBfXpCA6s
 
Lossless audio is a bit better on the ears, but the quality of the youtube stream is fairly high and I enjoy watching it too. She's a piano monster.

I was looking for a first nice full sized can for mostly rock. Not my perfect list, but just what I've been using the last month.
 
Van Halen - Running with the Devil - Michael Anthony's opening bass line has to make me feel a sense of urgency, like the ground is about to open up on a dark street lit by a red light.
 
Van Halen - Eruption.
 
Van Halen - I'm The One - Do Alex's drums blow me away or do they sound muddy. I should use Hot for Teacher.
 
Black Sabbath - Symptom of the Universe(Castle Remaster) - Drums, Guitar, Ozzy simply screaming "YEAH!" all has to give me goose bumps. The bass can't disappear.
 
Pink Floyd - Money - 3 minutes in Gilmore's guitar solo mainly, but the rest of the song has a ton of treble - if it pierces my ears and I can't hear the drums and bass properly, I move on. Most any Floyd will do, One of These Days would be awesome.
 
Alice In Chains - All Secrets Known and Check My Brain and Your Decision, just because they are on my player, but I really should be using Them Bones and "Whale and Wasp".
 
311 - Come Original - 1st 30 seconds: Does the bass sound prominent, does the snare drum snap? They have better songs, but I like the balance in the beginning.
 
Catherine Wheel - anything loud on Ferment such as Indigo Is Blue - love that wall of guitar.
 
Incubus - Pardon Me - Trippy stuff in the beginning, tight bass and drums, crunchy guitar riff with drums, then bass and beginning vocals with trippy flourishes in the background.
 
Incubus - Nice To Know You - Does the beginning sound swirl and pulsate around my head in a circle? Does the quiet vocal scat in the beginning sound detailed, the exhales AND the more subtle inhales? More crunchy guitar/bass/drums should sound clear. 
 
Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song - Aww a Awwwwwwww AAAAH! Do the drums sound like a god is playing them? Does John Paul Jones' fast bass run 40 seconds in hit me right or does it disappear?
 
Led Zeppelin - Tangerine - That phasey guitar and solo should make me feel like I'm trippin.
 
Led Zeppelin - That's The Way - one of my favorite Zep songs.
 
Jane's Addiction - Mountain Song - Opening bass line has to sound heavy and the vocals and guitar huge.
 
Nirvana - Territorial Pissings - One of their rawest songs. The most simple guitar riff but it must cut through me. Drums and Bass are simple and powerful as usual.
 
Santogold - Starstruck - It's one of the more sub bass heavy songs I have.
 
Talking Heads - This Must Be the Place - very clean sounding with some nice varied detail throughout.
 
Beck - most any song from Sea Change or Mutations. So much subtle detail going on all over the place.
 
The English Beat - Mirror in the Bathroom and the rest of I Just Can't Stop It.
 
Norah Jones & Hope Sandoval - my female voice test material, though it's impossible for either of them to sound terrible to me.
 
Beatles - Revolver to Abbey Road.
 
Hendrix - Anything from his 4 official originals. Some sonic fun: EXP(the space ship!),  "And the God's Made Love" and Gypsy Eyes panning guitar.
 
Sorry, couldn't stop...
 
 
 
 
 

Adele's 'My Same' is very good for acoustic bass I noticed.
 
Kyuss has some killer tracks for headphones but I usually play the entire albums: 'Blues For The Red Sun' and 'Welcome To Sky Valley'. These albums are about bass, drums, guitars, detail, layers and giving you a certain mood, or should I say experience? These tracks are always on my 'tracks to test headphones'-list: 'Apothecaries’ Weight, 50 Million Year Trip' and 'Capsized'. 
 
Update!: sorry, 'My Same' is the wrong track for I meant 'Best For Last'.

Feist - The Reminder (album)
Melody Gardot - My One And Only Thrill (album)