Try buying a copy of the Gramophone Classical Good CD Guide and reading it :-) This is not just like reading the telephone book. Many of Gramophone's editors are musicologists, and the discussions under any given composer's work often describe the style as well as the recordings available. I've found a surprising amount of good music this way.
Also, I enjoy having reference books that can occasionally supply some context around styles. One such tome is Robert P. Morgan's "Twentieth Century Music" (Norton, 1991) but I'm sure there are others if you rummage through Borders or Barnes and Noble. Eggheaded, I know.
Also, I enjoy having reference books that can occasionally supply some context around styles. One such tome is Robert P. Morgan's "Twentieth Century Music" (Norton, 1991) but I'm sure there are others if you rummage through Borders or Barnes and Noble. Eggheaded, I know.