This pile of gear is starting to come to life… and a list of vinyl test albums

Back in the day we bought this turntable new.  It’s an Akai AP-Q41C. The C vari­ant just meant that the turntable included a matched Orto­fon cart­ridge — which if you look at the photo closely, you’ll see is still attached.

I gave the turntable and cart a test spin a few months ago and was pleased that the table was rock sol­id, and dis­ap­poin­ted that the cart was muddy 🙁 To be expec­ted I guess.

So this stack is going to get freshened and set up in a small part of my home-office.

A new cart­ridge is on order — a Grado Prestiege Green should suit.

And I’m think­ing I’ll try out one of those ‘record of the month’ club / sub­scrip­tion things to see what’s up with mod­ern vinyl.

But what to play while rebuild­ing the col­lec­tion? The records that did sur­vive the purge are cool and all, but not really a chal­lenge for the cartridge.

So let’s see what the AI thinks. Here’s a list that Chat­G­PT sug­ges­ted for turntable/cart eval­u­ation — and yeah, can­’t argue with it, it’s a pretty good list for any music library:

1. Pink Floyd — “The Dark Side of the Moon” (Pro­gress­ive rock):
— This album is known for its metic­u­lous pro­duc­tion, intric­ate sound­scapes, and wide dynam­ic range. It fea­tures a vari­ety of instru­ments, spa­tial effects, and subtle details that can test the ima­ging cap­ab­il­it­ies and ton­al accur­acy of a turntable and cart­ridge. Listen for the deep bass lines, soar­ing gui­tar solos, and the pan­ning effects in songs like “Money” and “Time.”

2. Miles Dav­is — “Kind of Blue” (Jazz):
— As a time­less jazz clas­sic, this album is an excel­lent choice for test­ing turntables and cart­ridges due to its acous­tic nature and emphas­is on instru­ment­al tex­tures. Pay atten­tion to the del­ic­ate trum­pet solos, the cym­bal crashes, and the over­all sound­stage. The goal is to assess the repro­duc­tion of nat­ur­al timbres, instru­ment sep­ar­a­tion, and the abil­ity to con­vey the sub­tleties of the performances.

3. Fleet­wood Mac — “Rumours” (Rock):
— This icon­ic rock album offers a mix of ener­get­ic tracks and intim­ate bal­lads, provid­ing a good range of son­ic ele­ments to eval­u­ate. Listen for the rich vocal har­mon­ies, the punchy bass­lines, and the intric­ate gui­tar work. It’s a great oppor­tun­ity to assess the clar­ity, ima­ging, and dynam­ics of your setup.

4. Daft Punk — “Ran­dom Access Memor­ies” (Elec­tron­ic):
— Known for its lush pro­duc­tion and atten­tion to detail, this album incor­por­ates a blend of elec­tron­ic and live instru­ment­a­tion. It fea­tures a vari­ety of syn­thet­ic and organ­ic sounds that can test the ton­al accur­acy, sep­ar­a­tion, and ima­ging cap­ab­il­it­ies of your equip­ment. Listen for the intric­ate bass lines, layered syn­thes­izers, and the spa­cious­ness of the mix.

5. Radi­o­head — “OK Com­puter” (Altern­at­ive rock):
— This crit­ic­ally acclaimed album is char­ac­ter­ized by its com­plex arrange­ments, atmo­spher­ic sound­scapes, and emo­tion­al depth. It com­bines rock ele­ments with elec­tron­ic influ­ences, provid­ing a diverse son­ic land­scape to assess your turntable and cart­ridge. Pay atten­tion to the intric­ate gui­tar tex­tures, the nuanced vocals, and the over­all bal­ance and cohes­ive­ness of the mix.

6. Bob Dylan — “Blood on the Tracks” (Folk rock):
— Dylan’s intro­spect­ive and lyr­ic­ally rich album is a great choice for test­ing the abil­ity of a turntable and cart­ridge to con­vey the intim­acy and emo­tion­al nuances of acous­tic music. Listen for the clar­ity of Dylan’s voice, the del­ic­ate gui­tar strums, and the tran­si­ent response of instru­ments like har­mon­ica or piano. Focus on cap­tur­ing the subtle details and nuances in the recording.

7. Led Zep­pelin — “IV” (Hard rock):
— This clas­sic rock album is known for its power­ful and dynam­ic sound. It fea­tures heavy gui­tar riffs, thun­der­ous drums, and soar­ing vocals, mak­ing it an ideal choice for test­ing the abil­ity of a turntable and cart­ridge to handle high-energy music. Listen for the impact and tight­ness of the bass, the crisp­ness of the drums, and the over­all clar­ity and sep­ar­a­tion of the instruments.

8. Stevie Won­der — “Songs in the Key of Life” (Soul/R&B):
— Stevie Won­der­’s mag­num opus offers a diverse mix of soul, R&B, and funk. It show­cases Won­der­’s incred­ible vocals, rich arrange­ments, and a wide vari­ety of instru­ments. Pay atten­tion to the depth and tex­ture of Won­der­’s voice, the punchy bass­lines, and the intric­ate horn and string arrange­ments. This album can help eval­u­ate the abil­ity of a turntable and cart­ridge to repro­duce the warmth and energy of soul­ful music.

9. Nir­vana — “Nev­er­mind” (Grunge/Alternative rock):
— This influ­en­tial grunge album is char­ac­ter­ized by its raw energy and aggress­ive sound. It can be used to test the abil­ity of a turntable and cart­ridge to handle loud, dis­tor­ted gui­tars, and power­ful drum­ming. Listen for the punch and impact of the drums, the clar­ity and defin­i­tion of the gui­tar chords, and the over­all sense of energy and intensity.

10. The Beatles — “Abbey Road” (Rock/Pop):
— Con­sidered one of The Beatles’ best albums, “Abbey Road” show­cases the band’s song­writ­ing prowess, vocal har­mon­ies, and intric­ate stu­dio pro­duc­tion. It offers a mix of dif­fer­ent music­al styles and pro­duc­tion tech­niques, allow­ing you to assess the ima­ging, ton­al accur­acy, and over­all fidel­ity of your turntable and cart­ridge. Listen for the rich vocal har­mon­ies, the detailed instru­ment sep­ar­a­tion, and the smooth trans­itions between songs.

11. Bob Mar­ley & The Wail­ers — “Legend” (Reg­gae):
— This com­pil­a­tion album fea­tures some of Bob Mar­ley’s most icon­ic reg­gae tracks. It is an excel­lent choice for test­ing the abil­ity of a turntable and cart­ridge to repro­duce the infec­tious rhythms, tight bass­lines, and Mar­ley’s dis­tinct vocals. Listen for the deep bass, the intric­ate gui­tar skanks, and the over­all groove and rhythm of the music.

12. Michael Jack­son — “Thrill­er” (Pop/R&B):
— “Thrill­er” is one of the best-selling albums of all time, known for its pop, R&B, and funk influ­ences. It offers a mix of catchy melod­ies, elab­or­ate pro­duc­tion, and pre­cise instru­ment­a­tion. Pay atten­tion to the clar­ity of Michael Jack­son’s vocals, the punch and tight­ness of the bass­lines, and the over­all bal­ance and cohes­ive­ness of the soundstage.

13. Pink Floyd — “Wish You Were Here” (Pro­gress­ive rock):
— Anoth­er clas­sic from Pink Floyd, this album is renowned for its immers­ive sound­scapes and intric­ate music­al arrange­ments. It provides an oppor­tun­ity to test the depth and ima­ging cap­ab­il­it­ies of your setup. Listen for the eth­er­e­al gui­tar solos, the atmo­spher­ic sound effects, and the seam­less trans­itions between tracks.

14. Nina Simone — “I Put a Spell on You” (Jazz/Blues):
— This album show­cases Nina Simone’s power­ful voice and her unique blend of jazz, blues, and soul. It is an excel­lent choice for test­ing the abil­ity of a turntable and cart­ridge to repro­duce vocals with intim­acy and emo­tion. Pay atten­tion to Simone’s vocal nuances, the dynam­ics of her piano play­ing, and the over­all ton­al accur­acy and realism.

15. Radi­o­head — “Kid A” (Altern­at­ive rock/Electronic):
— “Kid A” marked a shift in Radi­o­head’s sound, incor­por­at­ing elec­tron­ic ele­ments into their altern­at­ive rock style. It offers a mix of exper­i­ment­al tex­tures, layered pro­duc­tion, and haunt­ing melod­ies. Listen for the intric­ate elec­tron­ic beats, the atmo­spher­ic syn­thes­izers, and the over­all spa­tial effects to assess the clar­ity, sep­ar­a­tion, and ima­ging cap­ab­il­it­ies of your setup.

16. Miles Dav­is — “Bitches Brew” (Jazz/Fusion):
— This land­mark jazz fusion album is known for its impro­visa­tion­al nature, com­plex arrange­ments, and layered instru­ment­a­tion. It provides an oppor­tun­ity to test the res­ol­u­tion, detail retriev­al, and instru­ment sep­ar­a­tion of a turntable and cart­ridge. Pay atten­tion to the inter­play between the instru­ments, the intric­ate drum­ming, and the over­all sense of energy and improvisation.

17. Dav­id Bowie — “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Star­dust and the Spiders from Mars” (Rock):
— Bowie’s concept album offers a mix of glam rock, art rock, and the­at­ric­al­ity. It show­cases Bowie’s cha­ris­mat­ic vocals, innov­at­ive song­writ­ing, and diverse music­al styles. Listen for the intric­ate gui­tar work, the the­at­ric­al arrange­ments, and the over­all son­ic present­a­tion to eval­u­ate the abil­ity of your setup to cap­ture the essence and artistry of Bowie’s music.

18. John Col­trane — “A Love Supreme” (Jazz):
— This influ­en­tial jazz album is a test­a­ment to Col­trane’s vir­tu­os­ity and spir­itu­al expres­sion. It fea­tures power­ful sax­o­phone solos, dynam­ic rhythm sec­tions, and com­plex impro­visa­tions. Pay atten­tion to the ton­al accur­acy of the sax­o­phone, the inter­ac­tion between the instru­ments, and the over­all sense of pas­sion and intens­ity in the performances.

19. Steely Dan — “Aja” (Jazz rock/Fusion):
— “Aja” is an album known for its metic­u­lous pro­duc­tion, jazz-influ­enced arrange­ments, and intric­ate com­pos­i­tions. It offers a mix of smooth grooves, intric­ate gui­tar solos, and com­plex har­mon­ies. Listen for the tight­ness of the rhythm sec­tion, the clar­ity of the intric­ate gui­tar and key­board parts, and the over­all fidel­ity and bal­ance of the mix.

20. Beast­ie Boys — “Paul’s Boutique” (Hip hop):
— This crit­ic­ally acclaimed hip hop album is renowned for its dense pro­duc­tion, sample-based approach, and clev­er word­play. It provides an oppor­tun­ity to test the turntable and cart­ridge’s abil­ity to handle dynam­ic beats, intric­ate samples, and the rhythmic flow of the vocals. Listen for the punchi­ness of the drums, the clar­ity and sep­ar­a­tion of the samples, and the over­all sense of rhythm and groove.

21. Tel­arc — “1812 Over­ture” (Clas­sic­al):
— This spe­cif­ic Tel­arc press­ing of the “1812 Over­ture” is often used to chal­lenge the track­ing cap­ab­il­it­ies of cart­ridges due to its fam­ously power­ful can­non shots. The explos­ive dynam­ics and low-fre­quency energy gen­er­ated by the can­nons can put a strain on the track­ing abil­ity of cart­ridges. Test­ing your turntable and cart­ridge with this record­ing can help assess their abil­ity to handle demand­ing and dynam­ic pas­sages, par­tic­u­larly the can­non shots, while main­tain­ing clar­ity and accur­ate track­ing of the music­al ele­ments through­out the performance.

This par­tic­u­lar record­ing of the “1812 Over­ture” by Tel­arc is renowned for its son­ic impact and fidel­ity, mak­ing it a pop­u­lar choice for eval­u­at­ing the track­ing per­form­ance of cart­ridges and the over­all dynam­ic cap­ab­il­it­ies of turntables.

Now to find the least expens­ive way to acquire this col­lec­tion. Should be fun!