You know the deal: a certain banger comes on the radio (sorry, I can’t bring myself to say “the streaming service”) and you are legally obligated to crank it. Sadly, that one particular track exposes the limits of your sound system. Inevitably, you’ll use this same cut to test the tunes in other cars you drive, or are considering plopping down money on. What could be more important when buying a car? The Car Radio Test Song is key for any real subjective automotive analysis.
Before I got my first “real” car in the late nineties, I inexplicably daily’d a black, 200,000 mile 1988 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series to my first professional job. Despite all of its typical Ford Panther shortcomings exacerbated by several round trips to the moon, the factory JBL audio system within could replicate the sound of a person in the trunk banging on the rear seat back with a baseball bat while you sat on a couch identical to what you see below. It was glorious.
This was especially true when playing music from a compact disc, which in the case of these medieval years meant the CD’s ones and zeroes were transmitted by a Discman sitting on the transmission tunnel tray, plugged into one of the three cigarette lighters and interfacing with the head unit via a cassette tape adapter. The Town Car rode so smoothly that the player didn’t skip, though half of you readers are likely too young to even know what I’m even talking about.
Still, even with the low fidelity of the radio, you could easily get trim pieces vibrating annoyingly. Return Of The Mack over the airwaves would get a terrible buzzing going in one of the front doors, and no matter how many times I investigated as the bass thumped, I could not for the life of me figure out what was the cause.
A station playing Breathe by The Prodigy caused me to pull over, stop the car, turn up the volume, and try to source exactly what the hell was rattling on the package shelf, dash top, or doors, despite tightening every screw I could see and shoving business cards into gaps.
Anything by The Crystal Method caused the loose thermometer on the driver’s mirror to bounce up and down.
It was all extremely annoying. Thankfully, the $20,000, 98,000 mile Mercedes S-Class that replaced the Lincoln solved the issue by having what was quite possibly the worst-sounding stereo I have ever experienced in a motor vehicle. No more rattles, and no more bass or treble for that matter. “Problem solved.”
How about you? What are your favorites for testing the stereo in a car? Are you going to fess up to playing the acoustic Hotel California to push your speaker’s limits (apparently that tune is a favorite for stereo analysis) or will you select some deep track to show us how much of an I’m-so-cool scenester you are? The Autopian is asking!
Back in the late-90s and early 2000s, during a time when I was big into car stereos and also big into buying crappy cars and installing sound systems worth more than the car itself, my go-to test audio was either Bass Mechanik (specifically Sonic Overload) or something from Swishahouse. Nowadays, I’m too old with too many things to worry about to really care about how my car audio sounds. Womp womp.
I listen to different stuff in the car than I do at home (more hard rock/punk/metal) so my criteria for car audio is different. At home, the first thing I’ll put on is side one of Boston’s Third Stage album, and listen for all the little beeps and boops at the start of “The Launch.” Or Neil Young’s “Cowgirl In The Sand,” which can sound muddy on a bad stereo, but magical on a good one. Or any early Chicago or Earth, Wind, & Fire album.
In the car? I’m reaching for Operation Ivy, or Monster Magnet’s Powertrip album, or Stain by Living Colour. The Beats stereo in the Chrysler I inherited from my dad passes all these tests with flying colors.
EWF, “Getaway” or “Serpentine Fire”
Peter Gabriel, anything from “So”
Rush, “Red Barchetta”
Vanessa Carlton, “A Thousand Miles”
Waterboys, “The Whole of the Moon”
M83, “Oceans Niagara” (seriously…give it a try)
Yes, Close To The Edge, but only the 2013 Panegyric version GYRBD50012, I find most other issuances really underwhelming in the mid…
Nah, canvas top, it’s not going to matter.
This had just come up on my feed this AM:
“15 Most Overused ‘Audiophile Test Albums’ That Need to Retire in 2025, According to Audiophiles”
1. Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
2. Steely Dan – Aja (1977)
3. Eagles – Hotel California (1976)
4. Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms (1985)
5. Various Artists – Jazz at the Pawnshop (1977)
6. Miles Davis – Kind of Blue (1959)
7. Diana Krall – Live in Paris (2002)
8. Norah Jones – Come Away With Me (2002)
9. Eva Cassidy – Songbird (1998)
10. Patricia Barber – Café Blue (1994)
11. Alison Krauss & Union Station – Live (2002)
12. Shelby Lynne – Just a Little Lovin’ (2008)
13. Amber Rubarth – Sessions from the 17th Ward (2012)
14. Hans Zimmer – Interstellar (2014)
15. Daft Punk – Random Access Memories (2013)
https://www.headphonesty.com/2025/07/overused-audiophile-test-albums-need-retire/
Nope. “Aja” is a great album, not just for testing, but for listening. It’s even good background music for while I’m doing other things.
Steely Dan’s best album in my opinion. Followed closely by Can’t Buy A Thrill. I’ll never retire Aja.
Royal Scam
I always forget about The Royal Scam.. now I’m gonna go dust off that record and give it a listen.
That’s all because most audiophiles are male boomers whose musical tastes haven’t expanded since Skynyrd’s plane crash.
Something a little different, “Mediterranean Sundance” off the album Friday Night in San Francisco. 3 acoustic guitars recorded live on stage. They are recorded on separate channels making it an incredible album to listen to on a good sound system. I still remember the very first time I heard it playing on my local NPR station. Incredible feeling that evening!
Fun record!
For even more madness, the s/t Shakti record with John McLaughlin and the classic lineup (Shankar, Vinayakram, and Zakir Hussain).
Thank you for something a little different! This is awesome! I’m listening to it now.
Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue
It has everything, near-vocal instrument solos, roaring sounds, highs, mids, bass. And it sounds so nice.
Sadly United Airlines has ruined that piece for me. I keep on expecting to hear about the airplanes safety features anytime I hear it.
Yes, it reminds me of going through the tunnel from the C gates at O’Hare at 11PM and trying to remember if I drove to the airport or need a ride
.
Bernstein’s 1959 recording with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra is wonderful. It’s also the exact same length as my morning commute. Ellington’s version really swings too.
How far away do you think the moon is?? 😮
Also some of the Beat Dominator CDs from the mid-1990s will tax most audio systems.
Not quite answering the question, but a related story.
Back in 1996 I installed a new Pioneer head unit in my first car, a 1986 Chevy Celebrity which I only had for a year before the Iron Duke rod knocked itself to death. I was proudly testing the tunes by blasting Killing Me Softly with His Song by The Fugees when my dad came out to see what I was doing, and promptly started singing along with the song.
I was perplexed how my dad could know the lyrics to a current (at the time) Fugees song. That is when I learned the Fugees version was a cover of Roberta Flack’s, and to this day I still think of my long departed dad when I hear the song.
Everytime I run across the question “Which cover song is better than the original version?” I really struggle when considering this song.
Give a listen to the original version. Lyrics and tune written by Lieberman / Gimbel / Fox, and performed by Lori Lieberman. Best version in my opinion.
At this point, this comment section has turned into “stuff I’m going to be listening to on my commute for the next several days”.
Steely Dan, Iron Maiden, Queen, Daft Punk, the list goes on
Any group with high production quality and that I’m familiar enough with the music to know what it should sound like at hi-fidelity.
Summertime – DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince – As the song says, adjust the bass and let the Alpine blast. Sound advice. Enigma’s Sadeness Part I is another solid choice.
If I’m testing something for sustained bass with some mid and high with voice…Dead Prez – Hip Hop.
Clarity is something old school like U2 or newer school like Michael Kiwanuka.
1) I am freaked out that I had Firestarter on my office stereo 5mins before reading this
2) Jump-scare to see an Autopian headline with the car that drove my wife and I away from our wedding. Written by the driver of that car. (Beats the hell outta the 10y/o, destroyed Dodge Caravan that took her TO the wedding)
3) Cheer up, at least the Becker in the Benz made up for sounding bad by having THE WORST stereo UI I’ve ever seen
4) Peter Gabriel’s Secret World. If a stereo can’t reproduce the growl of Tony Levin’s bass solo, it can go home.
Golden Earring – Twight Zone.
Volume at 11.
Gotta watch the speedometer with that one
I go with Radar Love.
Their two songs are both excellent
Not to flex about my career as a professional audio technician here, but whether I’m testing a $500,000 stadium sound system, or a pair of headphones, or a home or car audio system, I’m reaching for a hi-def copy of the entire “Aja” album by Steely Dan.
Doesn’t hurt that it’s an absolute banger (as the kids say) with not a single bad track on the entire album.
Aja is a great call.
I saw that listed on a lot of sites as a benchmark of testing, along with Paul Simon’s Graceland. But Aja has Michael McDonald in all of his yacht rock glory.
And a Steve Gadd drum solo. ‘Nuff said.
Steely Dan is the answer in general because their production was so good. If I can’t hear the difference between Chuck Rainey plucking or strumming the bass, the audio is no good
I always go with classic 70s/80s R&B…because:
1). I love it and it’ll probably make up 20% of whatever is played in my car
And
2). A lot of the arrangements are deceptively complex and layered. When you throw on an Earth Wind and Fire record there’s a lot going on that you might not be able to pick up on without good audio. I want to hear dynamic bass (both traditional bass guitar and bass played through a synth, both of which are common in that era and even present in the same songs), crisp high hats, the chords in the upper register of a guitar that come along with R&B, disco, and funk…and I want to be able to hear each vocal track clearly enough to tell them apart.
If Earth Wind and Fire sounds good most things are gonna sound good. You could also sub many similar artists of your choice here too…for example Prince and MJ’s arrangements are complex enough that you can more or less do the same thing. It also never hurts to hop on the mothership and throw on some P Funk to make sure your bass is bassing adequately.
Oh yeah, anything Prince or MJ. They were perfectionists in their mixing and it really shows.
EWF is an amazing choice too, anything 70’s funk was always crazy high quality
“Getaway” an absolute winner here.
The 1812 Overture with real cannons not the digital ones.
The soundtrack to Star Wars is another of my testers…but only at night.
Ya beat me to 1812. It will definitely find failing speakers. And Duel of Fates sends me into full on nerdgasm.
I gotta know, are the cannons considered percussion or brass instruments?
I believe they are classified as audio artillery.
NO Stairway to Heaven.
No Stairway?! Denied!
Money for Nothing by Dire Straits. Absolutely incredible on a good system. First experienced that one in my friend Tyson’s Acura TL (3rd gen) with the ELS DVD-Audio setup on a DVD-A disc.
Other notable options – Please Please Please by Sabrina Carpenter. The Power of Love by Celine. Mama, I’m Coming Home by Ozzy.
And fun reminder, Spotify is garbage for this sort of thing in any car. Apple Music or Tidal with lossless streaming is the way to go.
Counterpoint: Spotify may be garbage but hundreds of punk/metal/hardcore shows have damaged my hearing to the point that most things sound like garbage. I’ve finally smartened up and wear earplugs.
Younger people please wear earplugs at concerts. You’ll be happy you did. Thankfully they have become much more widespread and common and good ones don’t mess with the sound too much.
Hearoes FTW at concerts. Also work great when using power tools, lawn mowers, etc.
I bought them for riding my motorcycle, but pack them to every loud venue and when I’m using power tools.
The recording quality and way an album is mixed/mastered matters more than the bit rate (provided it’s not below 128 Kbps) anyway, especially in a car.
My daily is a 2012 kia soul. Not exactly a great environment for a great hi fi music experience.
I have a pretty fixed set actually:
If all those clear, I consider things good enough.
I too reach for the EWF. There’s just so much going on in all of their songs that if you can make everything out clearly it’s a pretty good indication that you’ve got a decent sound system….and the other way around holds true as well, if your system somehow manages to make EWF of all artists sound bad then it’s completely fucked, because that’s a nearly impossible feat.
Ministry’s “Everyday is Halloween”. In fact, the entire “12 Inch Singles” EP
Skrillex
Korn, those bass plucks will reveal a weak system
Eagles “One of These Nights”, can you hear all of that crazy stuff going on underneath?
Daft Punk’s “Around The World” will stress your woofers big-time, be careful or you’ll blow them to smithereens
Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”, especially “Great Gig in the Sky”
Black Eyed Peas “Rock Your Body”
Whatever you do, don’t use Godsmack, because they’re so good that they sound awesome even on a shitty system
Ministry? You mean the “bop bop” song?
Bop BEEP Bop Bop
You had to be there for the Michelob Dry commercial
+1 for Pink Floyd Michael…
“One Slip” by Pink Floyd from “A Momentary Lapse of Reason”. The bass line slaps, the drums are thunderous and the keyboard part is an excellent test of imaging. Not to mention that it’s a great driving song to boot and not something you hear all the time.
That’s a good one
Sorrow is also a good one to test for bad/worn out speakers.
Keep Hope Alive by the Crystal Method is my default test, great bass line and drops throughout.
I got some Crystal Method
This is easy, for every stereo, speaker system, laptop, bluetooth, etc that I’ve bought since 1989 the only song I’ve used for testing and tuning the equalizers is The Real Thing. The way the drums open the song giving you a good 25 seconds to tune the bass and highs before the bass guitar and later the vocals join in. If you get the equalizers properly set during those first 25 seconds every song you play afterwards will sound perfect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYFDKk4K1tY
Nice.
King for a Day is great for testing fidelity. It’s a very dry and punchy production. The songs are killer, too.
Bohemian Rhapsody.
Only Pintos.
Or Pintoes, per Webster.
I’d try it in an AMC Pacer personally, but I feel like it’s been done before.
Much better choice but then we wouldn’t learn a fun fact about the word “pinto”.
Definitely not because I botched the original joke….