Must have classic recordings

Then the Peguin Guide book, however, just like Grammaphone, very biased toward preferring British recordings.

Its probably because the Brits tend to do things better than other 'nations' musically,lol...............

The globetrotting days of a ALL once great empires does indeed come to an end, sometimes a very sticky end, take note America!lol.
Seriously though, I have bought many a recommendation from the Grammophone catalogue, and I must say that many a recording are indeed from 'International' companies rather than be biased from one particular country.
As classical recordings are usually very good, I also agree that it maybe best to choose between performers rather than labels.