Depends what you mean by "best", but if you're basically asking what would we pick as a ONE "desert island" label -
I would have to agree (and expand) Sean's pick by saying Decca/London. Their catalog is huge and varied, and the sonics are almost 100% between very good and outstanding depending on the specific recording and pressing.
My next "desert island" choice - if Sean already had taken the Decca/London's to his island - would be Philips. Also a great catalog with generally very good sonics. Not nearly as many in the "outstanding" category, but predictable with very few clinkers.
3rd choice might surprise you - MHS - that's right - Musical Heritage Society. If audioSnob appeal means little to you, this is a fantastic catalog of both superbly remastered AND pressed reissues from all over the world, as well as MHS's own recordings which are really top notch - especially the earlier ones done under Kurt List. Their later Digital recordings and thoe mastered by Bill Kipper are also excellent. I would much rather have their catalog on a desert island than say, Mercury or RCA. MHS is the best-kept semi-secret in the Classical Vinyl universe.
re: Mercury Living Presence and RCA Living Stereo - they do have some really spectacular recordings which are must-haves, but IMO Many, many of them are overrated and/or very "pressing specific" in my book. I have had many Living Presence lp's that outright sucked. Also, the size and variety of their classical catalogs, mostly centered on large scale orchestral, doesn't compare with the above three. Unless you have a cheap source for the originals of these, I would stick to high quality reissue versions like those from Classic Records which are already handpicked for their underlying content.
There are many boutique or smaller labels that are often superb sonically and performance-wise such as Harmonia-Mundi France, Lyrita, Claves, Finlandia, Proprius, Wergo, Telarc, etc., etc.
I would have to agree (and expand) Sean's pick by saying Decca/London. Their catalog is huge and varied, and the sonics are almost 100% between very good and outstanding depending on the specific recording and pressing.
My next "desert island" choice - if Sean already had taken the Decca/London's to his island - would be Philips. Also a great catalog with generally very good sonics. Not nearly as many in the "outstanding" category, but predictable with very few clinkers.
3rd choice might surprise you - MHS - that's right - Musical Heritage Society. If audioSnob appeal means little to you, this is a fantastic catalog of both superbly remastered AND pressed reissues from all over the world, as well as MHS's own recordings which are really top notch - especially the earlier ones done under Kurt List. Their later Digital recordings and thoe mastered by Bill Kipper are also excellent. I would much rather have their catalog on a desert island than say, Mercury or RCA. MHS is the best-kept semi-secret in the Classical Vinyl universe.
re: Mercury Living Presence and RCA Living Stereo - they do have some really spectacular recordings which are must-haves, but IMO Many, many of them are overrated and/or very "pressing specific" in my book. I have had many Living Presence lp's that outright sucked. Also, the size and variety of their classical catalogs, mostly centered on large scale orchestral, doesn't compare with the above three. Unless you have a cheap source for the originals of these, I would stick to high quality reissue versions like those from Classic Records which are already handpicked for their underlying content.
There are many boutique or smaller labels that are often superb sonically and performance-wise such as Harmonia-Mundi France, Lyrita, Claves, Finlandia, Proprius, Wergo, Telarc, etc., etc.