Best single volume guide to classical music

I can recommend "Classical Music - The 50 Greatest Composers and Their 1,000 Greatest Works" by Phil Goulding, 1992.

@8th-note I think you might have found just the right balance.

The Penguin Guide is pretty good for choosing specific recordings, but is not that great a guide for determining which specific piece is significant or a good introduction to a particular composer or type of music. It is unfortunate that the Penguin Guide has not been updated for more that a dozen years or so.  But, some other people have used the Penguin ratings for identifying the better recordings that can be bought from their site.  The very best recordings that are contained in the Penguin Guide earn a "Rosette."  You can find lists of Rosette winners by googling Penguin rosette.  This particular website has Rosette winners categorized by different musical eras which is quite helpful:

Here is a book that might be what you are looking for.

Composers, Their Lives and Works

I'd go with this:

I recently helped an elderly friend dispose of their CD collection. The one classical CD that caught my eye was called: "Classics at the Movies." It's a 4 CD set that featured classical music used in 40 different movies, including: 2001, A Space Odyssey; Apocalypse Now; The Last Emperor; Fantasia; The Godfather III; Out of Africa; A Clockwork Orange & Amadeus. It was released on the "Classical Heritage" label; so, there should be some familiarity with many of the chosen selections.

I did some checking on “Year of Wonder” playlists and they are available on Spotify and Apple Classical Music. Can’t locate on Qobuz or Tidal…perhaps a labor of love opportunity for you to create a Qobuz version.

For a survey that is about composers and their works, and not about recordings, I would recommend "A History of Western Music" by Burkholder.  Another classic is "The Lives of the Great Composers" by Schonberg.

The ultimate book source of information on music is the New Groves Dictionary of Music it is a fairly large encyclopedia with topics arranged alphabetically.   Even very old sets are north of $500 and it does take up a lot of room.  It is fun to browse if you have an interest in music, but, it is primarily a tool for very serious students.

@fredapplegate Thanks for the suggestion, but not really what I'm looking for.  Want a book about the composers and the compositions rather than the performers.

@goethe58 Looks interesting! Perhaps one can find the same referenced pieces on Qobuz....

My favorite addition to the many good and worth recommendations so far:

"The Life and Death of Classical Music featuring the 100 Best and 20 Worst Recordings Ever Made" by Norman Lebrecht, Anchor Books, 2007

Eccentric, personal, knowledgeable, cranky, informative and fun.

www.normanlebrecht.com

Greene's Biographical Encyclopedia of Composers by David Mason Greene. Best classical music bathroom reading of all time. Not in print apparently but not at all expensive used.

Funny that you pose this question as I am looking at what I have been using as I read your post. In any event you may want to check out Penguin Guide to the 1000 Best Classical recordings.  What I have is a 2011 version so perhaps there is a newer version.  The penguin guides used to be very well regarded but now the older versions are dated unless you collect records in which case they still would be useful.

Funny that you pose this question as I am looking at what I have been using as I read your post. In any event you may want to check out Penguin Guide to the 1000 Best Classical recordings.  What I have is a 2011 version so perhaps there is a newer version.  The penguin guides used to be very well regarded but now the older versions are dated unless you collect records in which case they still would be useful.

Maybe not exactly what you’re looking for but “Year of Wonder, Classical Music For Every Day” by Clemency Burton-Hill presents a classical work each day with a back story. There is a companion playlist (unfortunately on Spotify). 

I would start with something simple, then go for ’best’.

https://www.google.com/search?q=guide+to+classical+music&rlz=1C1JSBI_enUS1081US1081&oq=guide+to+clas&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgAEAAYgAQyBwgAEAAYgAQyBggBEEUYOTIHCAIQABiABDIHCAMQABiABDIHCAQQABiABDIGCAUQRRg8MgYIBhBFGDwyBggHEEUYPKgCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

I haven’t actually read this type of book in decades, so any recommendation I might make will be outdated and perhaps unavailable.  Martin Bookspan had a book that I used in the seventies, and I saw a copy in a used bookstore a bit back.  You might try a college bookstore and see what they have in the music appreciation section 

If you are looking for recommendations for not just pieces, but good recordings of those pieces, I recommend “1,001 Classical Records You Must Hear Before You Die.”  It is organized chronologically by date of composition and covers early, pre-renaissance to 21st century music.  I like the examples chosen for each era and the specific recordings are also quite good.  The balance of selections-between large scale, chamber, solo, choral and vocal works is reasonable.