As reviewers, we rely on lab tests to evaluate gear, but we rely more heavily on our collection of stereo test tracks, which have been collected, expanded, and pruned through years of testing experience. Most of these tracks are stored on computers as WAV files, on mobile devices as MP3 files, and on countless CDs. These are tracks that we can play through speakers or headphones to judge how good (or not) a product sounds.

Every audiophile should compile a selection of these kinds of tracks. It’s useful to check out headphones in stores, a friend’s new stereo speakers, or the audio systems you see at hi-fi shows. You can edit the tracks if you like, and skip straight to the parts you want to hear and test.

To get the best possible fidelity from tracks, purchase the CD (or digitize vinyl LPs) to create lossless digital music files. Or at the very least, download the highest quality MP3 tracks available: 256 kbps or better recommended.

While your audio test tracklist will evolve over time, you should keep a few go-to tracks that you know well and don’t change. The folks at Harman Research, among the world’s top audio researchers, have been using Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car and Steely Dan’s Cousin Dupree for over 20 years.