Hi, thanks for the suggestion, I realise that many books are available. Covering types of music quite removed from "classical" music, I have the AMG All Music Guide to Jazz and The Music Hound Guide to Blues. I don't know if any of you remember, but the little guide issued by Stereo Review was really a simple affair, maybe eight pages in all. The problem with books is that by the time they are in print, some new recordings have been issued that may be preferable to the ones listed. The problem with serious music magazines like Fanfare is that a lot of people are not interested in becoming full-blown record collectors and buying multiple recordings of the same piece. I also think that, while not relegating the quality of the performance itself to the level of a minor concern, the emphasis could be put on the quality of the recording. The idea is to have what basically would be a short list of available audiophile quality (or as near to any such ideal may exist, all arcane disputes aside) recordings of what is the more standard bread and butter repertoire. Moreover, the opinion of audiophiles on what recordings someone should really short-list would be interesting, I guess... How someone might decide to branch out later is another issue. Regards.