I have the Penguin Guide, the one that came out in '96, I was also just given The Rough Guide by my wife. The Rough Guide says it is good for people just getting started in classical and I agree.
I find the Penguin guide to be very good, giving alot of options or reviews of a particular piece most times. The problems I have with Penguin are the updated volumes usually contain very few new entries and soemtimes things that are reviewed are out of print or very hard to obtain in the U.S.A., but all in all in my view Pengiun is very good.
I think it is a good idea to focus on a particular style, era, or composer, then buy what you like. I think you will find that every once in a while, you read a review, it sounds good, you buy it, and then you listen and you don't like it. This happens to me every so often and to me its just part of the classical music thing.
If you can find a shop that sells used cds in your area that is a very good thing to do and you can usually listen to them in the store before you buy.
I find the Penguin guide to be very good, giving alot of options or reviews of a particular piece most times. The problems I have with Penguin are the updated volumes usually contain very few new entries and soemtimes things that are reviewed are out of print or very hard to obtain in the U.S.A., but all in all in my view Pengiun is very good.
I think it is a good idea to focus on a particular style, era, or composer, then buy what you like. I think you will find that every once in a while, you read a review, it sounds good, you buy it, and then you listen and you don't like it. This happens to me every so often and to me its just part of the classical music thing.
If you can find a shop that sells used cds in your area that is a very good thing to do and you can usually listen to them in the store before you buy.