I saw two shuttle launches when I was a child. The sound was amazing. It is not a smooth sounding thrust. It is more like a machine gun of explosions,one after the other, Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! If you have good speakers, some youtube videos have an accurate sound.
I once saw a night shuttle launch with my family. We were on the beach. From miles away, it lit up the beach like bright daylight. Amazing experience.