Classical music newbie needs your suggestions

Glen Gould playing the Bach Goldberg Variations;

the first recording ! Also someone recommended Gershwin’s rhapsody in blue. Listen to the Dallas Symphony recording with Andrew Litton. I was the principal clarinetist at that time & it is I playing the opening glissando.

I second the support of Mozart symphony works.  Also Bach Goldberg.  Good starting points

I also would suggest going to a used record store or craigslist and buying a bunch (2 or 3 movie theater movies worth... or a week of Starbucks worth) of used classical vinyl or CDs ... and explore.   IMHO it is a fun (and relatively inexpensive way) to discover new music.

So there.

Some great suggestions, but I'm not going to add any more as they've already bust your budget two times.

@drawding   I bought up all the used golden period classical vinyl in the late 80s for £1 a disc or less.

It's all being sold at collectible money now as many have come to realise a lot of digital recordings suck and are going back to vinyl.  The market is streaming vs. vinyl now.  But most current vinyl has nothing on the Deccas etc of the late 50s and 60s.

@clearthinker  ... £1  Maybe you got them all in the UK?  : )  Apologies if your comment was sarcastic this comment is based upon taking your statement literally.

I am near a US West Coast major metropolitan area.  I find great classical vinyl all the time (maybe not near mint with a perfect sleeve ... but after a good clean, very nice with some gems along the way ... plenty of London blue backs).  I pay way less that £1 per disc.  More like a £1 ($2) for 10 albums.  Sometimes I get 100s for just the price of loading them up and taking them away.  You just have to keep your eyes out and explore methods other than Discogs or eBay.  In my case it helps to be within a hours drive of ~ 8.5 million potential sellers.  In America at least, there is a YouTube vinyl collector with a  store front (Noble Records) that refuses (based upon his comments on past Youtube videos)  to even take in classical records at any price.  So yes, though if vinyl popularity keeps up, it will be tougher to find good deals, they are still out there.  Especially in America.