@jmtennapel My comment was not intended to be taken seriously, of course one track is not enough for a proper demo but if a dealer rather annoyingly suggests you make a decision based on one track it may be rather annoying to said dealer to choose one at 43.46 minutes.
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I’m gonna cheat - find more time or get a home trail - one track can’t do it all!
I do prefer the Killer (Acoustic) version from his best of 1991 - 2004 album. It has a lot more going on that a good system should pick up.
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The only track that matters to me is How High the Moon on Jazz at the Pawnshop. I heard it once when all the hifi stars aligned and I felt this holographic sound I’d never heard before or since.
Interesting expression! So it bears analysis as to what/where was that, and thence what made that track stand out so well?
For me there was such a single occasion though I would never have expressed in that way. The occasion was using my own system of the day, but outdoors. My system has improved markedly since then, but based on memory of sound (which I know is not infallible) it hasn’t had the same effect since. The singular fact about said occasion was that playing outdoors effectively removed all room effects. I’m sure that if I were to do the same now it would sound even better, so room treatment to remove room effects as far as possible is my final hifi target (and if I’d analysed that way 17 years ago it would have become the primary target from then).
Could your experience perhaps have been in an effectively treated room?
Please no not again…,
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In guitar shops, this used to be the song of choice for customers trying out new instruments, until, that is, it was comically shamed into oblivion by staff with the “please no, not again” rolling of the eyes.
These days, anyone bold enough to strum it deserves much respect. 
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“No Stairway?……Denied.”
Pat Metheny, The Truth Will Always Be, is a go-to demo track for me.
Good for discerning lots of attributes.
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This topic would cause “indecisive Dave” from the Fast Show to have a burnout.
At the moment, my choice would be “Every Picture tells a Story” from the eponymous (50 years old!) LP . Great vocals, propulsive bass and drums , superbly produced IMHO.
A good album, thanks for the recommendation. I had not heard of the album before. I like the track. After seeing your post, I listened to the 2014 Remastered version on Tidal. The live vibe of the whole album is enhanced by the wide sound stage and good recording.
This is a great question but really tricky because we are back to the thorny issue of “do you listen to your system, or do you listen to the music?”.
I’m probably in both camps from time to time. Some pieces of music move me, no matter what I hear them on but some make me want to switch off if they sound horrible.
As stated above, Dire Straits sound pretty good on any set up.
I want to hear something that I know is a bit tricky to dig all the detail from, or make sense of. But I also think it’s tough to judge a system, or new component, on the strength of one track.
Jacko’s Beat It is a great tester but could make me tap my feet on any system.
Roxy Music’s Same Old Scene is quite tricky to get right and The Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street is also hard to get you into that sweaty basement - so Loving Cup would be on my short list.
But the building crescendo of Nick Cave’s Jubilee Street is a solid test for me too.
I know that I’ve got a new bit of kit that I think is great when I just don’t want to stop playing it and keep on thinking “I wonder what ??? sounds like…”
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Jazz at the pawnshop. Only joking 
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I often use ‘Aarp’ from this album.
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This has been one of my go-to recordings when I assess a component. No doubt much of it has to do with familiarity.
Jimmy LaFave - Never is a Moment
Close Encounters of the Third Kind John Wlliams Opening :Let there be light
crank up the volume and close your eyes a real stunner
Dare I suggest Echoes, the live version from Gdańsk …. 20 odd mins of sheer bliss !!
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Prior to this experience I had little interest in hifi. It was in my brother in law’s room. He has a nice system and the room has nearly perfect layout and good acoustics. I’d listened to his system dozens of times before this (including this track) and it always sounded nice but it never had this magical quality. Since then I’ve tried to recreate the experience with his system and have had no luck. My feeling is that in that moment everything was perfect including my physiology.
Just a few days later I bought my first hifi system and started down this path believing I would be able to recreate this sound. That was eight years ago and I’m still trying even though all evidence suggests it’s more related to perception than the equipment/room. Even considered buyIn the big ass monolith electrostats.
I was thinking the same…’Sweet Black Angel’ too.
‘Black and Blue’ is, conversely, a great recording which let’s you hear right into the studio on a well set up system.
G
I think a lot of the ‘I only listen to music, not my system’ comments here are missing the OP’s point (not to mention coming across as rather sniffy and superior).
The thread title explicitly refers to assessing a system so we are suggesting a track for a situation where the system itself is being listened to, insofar as one can listen to a system without listening, in some way, to the music.
Having made one suggestion earlier, here’s another: any track from Annie Lennox’s Diva (1992). Why? Because, despite enjoying it musically, I always found it sounded dull and muffled on any system I tried until one day on my system, after an upgrade, it finally sounded the way I’d always wanted it to, the way it had always sounded in my head. I’ve derived extra pleasure from it ever since, but only on a decent system!
Mark
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Any track on Graceland, Paul Simon. Everywhere: Fleetwood Mac. The Man’s Too Strong: Dire Straits. Any really good recording of A Night On Bare Mountain , Mussorgsky
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