On this, Aphex Twin's attempt as something commercial friendly, the songs veer crazily from smooth, playful ditties to abrasive noise. Aphex Twin is notoriously finicky about the sound of his records, which he records in seclusion---in, legend has it, the privacy of his own bank vault.
One of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 1990s, Kevin Shields, the lead singer and song writer, worked for over two years to make this landmark shoegazer record. Featuring waves and waves of distortion, this album must be played at the highest volume for proper effect.
A favorite of audiophiles, this prog rock classic was recording in 1972 and 1973 in Abbey Road studios, making use of state-of-the-art recording techniques, including multi-tracking and the looping of tapes. Legendary audio engineer Alan Parsons, of Alan Parsons Project fame, did much of the production on this.
No composer has ever made an orchestra sound quite as large and magnificent as the Russian Stravinsky. Petrouchka, Stravinsky's 1911 ballet, veers from soft, delicate numbers to roaring bombast. There are many performances of this work: try for Leonard Bernstein's 1969 recording with the New York Philharmonic.
Jay-Z assembled an all-star cast of producers---Just Blaze, Rick Rubin, Kanye West, Timbaland, 9th Wonder, DJ Quik, and The Neptunes---who all brought out their best stuff for Hova. This is a good one for testing car stereos, as nothing in the last decade of rap has every quite matched "99 Problems" for the sheer ability to rattle a trunk.
Brian Wilson was said to have gone slightly mad recording "Pet Sounds," in which he pioneered a fleet of new recording techniques to craft what he called "a teenage symphony to God." Few records have ever come out sounding as lush and complex. Make sure to try out "God Only Knows," the record that Paul McCartney dubbed "the greatest pop song of all time."
One of the finest jazz records of all time, "Ah Um" is perhaps the irascible Mingus's poppiest number. Legendarily picky about how his sound was recorded, this is a perfect album to test out the interplay between different instruments.
Unlike most bands, Boards of Canada adds in the sound of scratches and dusts onto their songs, all of which are quiet, usually quite gorgeous electronic numbers. Use these to test what your stereo can pick up.
Recorded using all vintage analog equipment, "Elephant" boasts a wonderfully coarse, textured sound, like a dusty 1960's vinyl dug out of someone's basement. For a band with only a drummr and a guitarists, the songs cover an enormous range, from the howl of "Ball and Biscuit" to the hush of "In the Cold, Cold Night."