top Mahler on vinyl

For sets, I would recommend either Bernstein/New York Philharmonic on Columbia or Kubelik/Bavarian Radio Symphony on DG in terms of most fittingly portraying Mahler's odyssey. For some other, very fine individual performances, try Kletzki or Klemperer on EMI, both conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra or Solti/Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra on London/Decca in the Fourth; Barbirolli/Berlin Philharmonic in the Sixth and Walter/Columbia Symphony in the Ninth.

Correction: The Barbirolli Sixth I refer to above is with the New Phiharmonia Orchestra, and not the Berlin Philharmonic. It can be found in EMI's earlier incarnations and that company's later reissue, Classics For Pleasure. Like many other British EMI recordings, it was also made available on the Angel label for mainly the U.S. market. However, I tend to avoid Angel lps, whose sound quality I often hear as a bit too bright.

Angel/emi is the worst modern label I have ever heard. A budget label and does not use the original masters.

I was being somewhat charitable in my criticism. I think the worst of the Angel lot are/were those earlier light blue label pressings. They are downright strident at times. Anyone looking for some typically very fine sounding classical lps should go for London CS and STS(Stereo Treasury Series)recordings, which were made by The Decca Record Company, Ltd. The CS pressings have red labels with silver print while the SDS labels sport the same red/silver format, but in some cases, an orange label with black lettering. AVOID both the later inferior American red,yellow,blue and light yellow with black lettered pressings.

Here's a list of my favorites of most of the symphonies - I skipped the 8th because I don't know it well enough to make any recommendations. I also included a couple of disks of my favorite songs.

Symphonies
1 Kubelik DGG 139331

2 Bernstein (NY) Columbia M2S 695
Klemperer Angel 3634B
Mehta Decca SXL 6744-5

3 Bernstein Columbia M2S 675
Tennstedt EMI SLS 5195

4 To Avoid - Bernstein
Kletzki EMI SAX 2345
Klemperer EMI SAX 2441 (Testament reissue)
Van Beinum London LL618

5 Tennstedt Angel SZB 3883
Leinsdorf RCA LSC 7031
Levine RCA ARL2 2905

6 Barbirolli Angel S 3725

7 Bernstein Columbia M2S 739
Solti London CSA 2331

8 No recommendations

9 Barbirolli Angel SB 3652
Karajan DGG 2707125
Giulini DGG 2707097

Songs

Five Ruckert Songs Barbirolli / Baker EMI SLS 785 or ASD 2518-9. Also has the 5th symphony

Kindertotenlieder Barbirolli / Baker EMI ASD 2338

Das Lied von Der Erde Klemperer / Lugwig / Wunderlick EMI SAN 179