For audiophiles, Fritz Reiner stands out from most of the "historical" conductors, whose recorded sound is often not the best. Reiner had the "serious" temperament of the 19th century-born Europeans, and lead the CSO in a rather "severe" manner. The results were very "muscular" sounding performances, which I like.
But what makes his recordings of particular interest to audiophiles is their sound quality. His RCA Living Presence LP’s (and CD reissues) are legendary for both performance and sq. The 1950’s "shaded dog" LP’s are not too hard to find (they sold well in the 50’s and 60’s), even in pretty good shape. After Harry Pearson and the writers at his Absolute Sound mag started touting their quality in the 1970’s, their price skyrocketed dramatically. Chesky started reissuing them on LP in the late-80/90’s, followed by Classic Records in the 2000’s. Look for the originals in your bin digging, they’re great!