If anyone has ever set themselves up to be hoisted by their own petard, then surely it is I and the time is now. It seems as if much of the time that we discuss classical recordings it ends in disaray and chaos. That's fine and I enjoy spirited debate but I suspect often the OP's question is left unresolved. The following is a list of recordings that I would feel comfortable recommending to newb and veteran alike. Are these the be-all-end-all in recording/mastering and production? Sometimes. Are these the finest examples of performances of a given piece? Possibly. I make no claim other than that these twenty discs represent an outstanding combination of production and performance. Enjoy, flame away, add to the list, or just take it as you will...

--Mahler Symphony No.7 in E Minor~San Fransisco Symphony/SFS 821936-0009-2(SACD)
--Mendelssohn:"Italian" Symphony(No.4)~Berlin Phil/Karajan/DG 423 209-2(CD)
--Mahler Symphony No.4~Boston Symphony/Ozawa/Philips 422 072-2(CD)
--Stamitz,Richter-Early String Symphonies~New Dutch Academy/Simon Murphy/Pentatone PTC5186 028(SACD)
--Mozart Sinfonia Concertante~Midori,Nobuko Imai, Christoph Eschenbach/Sony ss89488(SACD)
--Beethoven Symphony No.5~Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra of London/Sir Adrian Boult/Silverline Classica 288253-9 (DVD-A)
--Handel:Music for the Royal Fireworks-Water Music~Martin Pearlman/Boston Baroque/Telarc SACD-60594
--Rachmaninoff & Prokofiev Sonatas~Emanuel Ax/Yo Yo Ma/Sony sk90397(CD)_
--Mozart's Requiem in D Minor~Weiner Singverein Berliner Phil/Karajan/DG 471 639-2(SACD)
--Kreisler,Brahms,Sarasate,Weiniawski~Joshua Bell/Decca B0004205-02(CD)
--Robert Schumann: Klavierkonzert-Cellokonzert~Weiner Phil/Bernstein /DG 427 819-2 GDC
--Rimsky-Korsakov-Scheherazade~Atlanta Symph/Robert Spano/Telarc CD-80568
--Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake~ Abravanel/Utah Symphony/Silverline Classics 288235-9(DVD-A)
--Wynton Marsalis "The London Concert:Haydn,Hummel,Mozart"~English Chamber Orchestra/Raymond Leppard/Sony ss57497(SACD)
--Schubert Symphony No.8~Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields/Neville Marriner/Philips 412 472-2(CD)
--Bach Violin Concertos by Hilary Hahn~Los Angeles Chamber Orch/Jeffrey Kahane/DG 474 639-2GSA(SACD)
--J.S. Bach: The Complete Orchestral Suites~Pearlman/Boston Baroque/Telarc SACD-60619
--Brahms Cello Sonatas~Yo Yo Ma & Emanuel Ax/BMG/RCA 82876-59415-2(CD)
--Handel:Flute Sonotas~Academy Chamber Ensemble/Philips 412 606-2(CD)
--Mahler's Symphony No.8~Chicago Symph.?Sir George SoltiDecca 289 460 972-2DM(CD)

Cheers to all