By James Kelly
My sister, Casey, loves to share with me her system testing playlists when she’s touring with bands. This is the part where I’d like to brag but alas, I shall refrain from such touting. The perfect crossroads between her industry and, well, the one I take great amusement in writing about, is the music used to test the audio systems in cars.
Manufacturers tend to outsource the manufacturing of its premium sound systems to companies that specialize in that field. Companies like Alpine, Bose, JBL, and Harman Kardon have their products featured in a multitude of vehicles to give occupants a cocoon of sound. Our cars are some of the best ways to experience music because of how many speakers there are, as well as the way the sound can be distributed throughout the cabin.
While we all have our favorite songs to blast, and think we know what sounds the best in our cars, there’s actually a playlist that different audio companies use to test the systems that are in vehicles.
On the opposite end of the industry, the folks that make the music are keeping in mind the best way everybody listens outside of a good set of headphones. Rick Rubin, a producer who has worked with everyone from Red Hot Chili Peppers to Tom Petty. While he was working with Tom Petty on his album, Wildflowers, they utilized the stereo of a rented Toyota to make the final adjustments to the record.
“We would bring cassette tapes from the studio out and listen in the car. We would obviously work on them and mix in the studio and it would sound great in the studio, but if it didn’t sound good in the car, then it didn’t matter. That was the final test. It was the car.”
Now let’s take a look at what the professionals use to test their systems.
Bowers & Wilkins Playlist, BMW Website, 2018
- Gregory Porter, Kem Holding On
- Lorde Royals
- deadmou5, Grabbitz Let Go
- ZZ Top Blue Jean Blues
- The Black Keys Gold on the Ceiling
- José James Trouble
Harman’s playlist for loudspeakers, headphones and automotive audio systems for its brands: JBL, Harman Kardon, AKG, Mark Levinson and Lexicon.
- Shelby Lynne Just a Little Lovin’
- Dido Don’t Believe in Love
- Jennifer Warnes Bird on a Wire
- Donald Fagen Morph the Cat
- Leon Jessel, John Morrissey, Dallas Wind Symphony Die Parade der Zinnsoldaten, Op. 123 (arr. J. Morrissey)
- Michael Bublé Fever
- Holly Cole Trio I Can See Clearly Now
- Gregory Porter Holding On
- Marcus Miller Cousin John
- James Taylor Gaia
- The King’s Singers Seaside Rendez-vous
- James Taylor Stretch of The Highway
- Little Feet Long Distance Love
- Diana Krall Temptation
- Igor Stravinsky, Mariinsky Orchestra, Valery Gergiev The Firebird (L’oiseau de feu) – Ballet (1910): Dance of the Firebird
- Spoonbill Framed By Funk
- Arianna Neikrug Changes
- Ola Gjeilo Roxbury Park
- Ola Gjeilo, Johannes Martens, Tom Barber North County II
- Malia, Boris Blank Magnetic Lies
“Bose engineers all over the globe share a master playlist.” – Benjamin Hunting, Car and Driver, November 2021 Issue
- Mono Pink Noise
- Holly Cole Trio I Can See Clearly Now
- Bruno Mars 24K Magic
- Winterplay Billie Jean
- Tom Petty Learning to Fly
- Dave Brubeck Quartet Take Five
- Steely Dan Hey Nineteen
- Straight No Chaser Homeward Bound