What's yout favorite reference CDs for when you're mixing and mastering?

  The subject line says it all basically. I am wondering what to use as reference CDs to make sure i get the spectrum of lows. mids, highs in balance, and instrument/vocal levels balanced, and the front to back / dry to wet settings balanced, for a mucis CD project i am 'producing' for a local musician song writer. I'm finding this to be not as easy as i would have expected, maybe because it's hard to be objective after working on this project for so long. What CDs do you use? BTW - I'd describe the music as acoustic/electric/melodic with a fair bit of vocals.

Well, it's not a CD, but I'd check the Bob Katz Honor Roll:

http://www.digido.com/media/honor-roll.html

Dean

That's a tough one because how do you build a mix when really the only reference material you have is a completed master. There's obviously a difference between a mix and a final master. In my early days I used to try to make my mixes compete with the reference disc....big mistake. I find that I go with what Razorwit said. I recently did a live DVD mix for a Skynyrd tribute band so naturally used one or their live discs to get a feel for how the mix should come together.

I'm not sure if this is to provide good reference tracks, or just to help learn how to listen to mixes.
 
I can't remember where I read this, it may have been Roey Izhaki.
 
Choose several tracks you admire and import twenty seconds or so of each track into your DAW one after another.  Then listen to them.
 
I have used this with various selections both  as "Ear Training" and as references, and have found it very useful.

If you are mixing and mastering a more professional project for a client then then client themselves is usually the best source of ref CD's. They should have some  fine examples for you to check out. Just get a lend of them and rip a cross section of tracks that are close or relevant to the project you are doing. 

It is also important that you monitor any ref CD's at the same level as your mix. They will be mastered and much louder so you must lower the level to your mix and they will be more effective. They will also give you some idea about how loud to master your final product as well when you are mastering. The client is going to say they want their CD to be the same volume as the commercial CD's.   

It is definitely better to do this rather than just use great recordings you know (eg Steely Dan) or the Katz honor roll. They are only good if the music and the mix is right in the ball park but if they are not they are not as helpful as you might think. What those sort of ref recordings are good for though is going into a shop and testing and possibly buying monitors etc..

I use XM Radio to compare what I'm mixing with other tunes from the same genre.

I listen to everything.

Don't forget people. Enjoy the music too!