I think you should not limit yourself to vinyl Mahler. I own almost all of the Mahler that was issued on LP since I bought my first Mahler LP in 1964. In my earlier years I made a point of listening to every Mahler symphony recording and I bought most of them.
By 1964 there had been about 30 commercial recordings of Mahler symphonies. By the early days of the CD (1986) the number had grown to 300. As of 1997, the date of the latest Smoley Mahler discography, the number was around 1000!
Probably around 100 are really "must listen" performances if you like Mahler. While for each of the symphonies there is a truly great recording available somewhere on vinyl, many are either truly or practically available only on CD.
Furthermore, without starting another vinyl vs. CD flame, many of the CD reissues clarify Mahlers orchestral textures over the original vinyl issues. This is particularly true if you only have domestic pressings of European recordings. This conclusion is based on direct comparisons listening with a score.
By sticking to vinyl you cut yourself off from some truly marvelous performances.
By 1964 there had been about 30 commercial recordings of Mahler symphonies. By the early days of the CD (1986) the number had grown to 300. As of 1997, the date of the latest Smoley Mahler discography, the number was around 1000!
Probably around 100 are really "must listen" performances if you like Mahler. While for each of the symphonies there is a truly great recording available somewhere on vinyl, many are either truly or practically available only on CD.
Furthermore, without starting another vinyl vs. CD flame, many of the CD reissues clarify Mahlers orchestral textures over the original vinyl issues. This is particularly true if you only have domestic pressings of European recordings. This conclusion is based on direct comparisons listening with a score.
By sticking to vinyl you cut yourself off from some truly marvelous performances.