Oh man, great performances plus audiophile sound? You know the old, cynical saying, right? Here's a vinyl list, countless glaring omissions, (none are my personal "must haves" anymore, and some are not my current favorite performances), but I've tried to imagine myself just starting out and you want at least "good" sound:
Bach: Brandenberg's/Overtures Collegium Aureum German DHM
Barber: Adagio for Strings ASMF Marriner Argo
Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra Boulez/NYP Columbia*
Beethoven: Symphony 5 Kleiber
Chopin: Nocturnes Moravec Connoisseur Society
Copland: Rodeo/Billy the Kid Bernstein Columbia
Dvorak: Symphony 9 Walter Columbia
Grofe Grand Canyon Suite Ormandy/Columbia
Holst: Planets Solti/London/MFSL
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition Ansermet/Suisse Romande London
Orff: Carmina Burana MTT/Columbia
Prokofiev Symphony 5 Maazel Cleveland London
Rachmaninoff Rhapsody/PC #2 Rubenstein/Reiner
Ravel: Complete Orchestral Works: Scrowakzewski/Minnesota Vox
Rossini: Overtures Gamba/LSO London
Respighi: Pines/Festivals Maazel Cleveland London
Stravinsky Firebird Suite Muti Philadelphia EMI
Suppe Overtures Solti/VPO London
Tchaikovsky 1812/Romeo Previn LSO EMI
Vaughan Williams Tallis Fantasia Barbirolli/LSO EMI
Wagner Overtures/Scenes Szell Cleveland Columbia
*Columbia's house sound can often be dismal, but the few listed above--while not audiophile quality--aren't bad at all.
Bach: Brandenberg's/Overtures Collegium Aureum German DHM
Barber: Adagio for Strings ASMF Marriner Argo
Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra Boulez/NYP Columbia*
Beethoven: Symphony 5 Kleiber
Chopin: Nocturnes Moravec Connoisseur Society
Copland: Rodeo/Billy the Kid Bernstein Columbia
Dvorak: Symphony 9 Walter Columbia
Grofe Grand Canyon Suite Ormandy/Columbia
Holst: Planets Solti/London/MFSL
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition Ansermet/Suisse Romande London
Orff: Carmina Burana MTT/Columbia
Prokofiev Symphony 5 Maazel Cleveland London
Rachmaninoff Rhapsody/PC #2 Rubenstein/Reiner
Ravel: Complete Orchestral Works: Scrowakzewski/Minnesota Vox
Rossini: Overtures Gamba/LSO London
Respighi: Pines/Festivals Maazel Cleveland London
Stravinsky Firebird Suite Muti Philadelphia EMI
Suppe Overtures Solti/VPO London
Tchaikovsky 1812/Romeo Previn LSO EMI
Vaughan Williams Tallis Fantasia Barbirolli/LSO EMI
Wagner Overtures/Scenes Szell Cleveland Columbia
*Columbia's house sound can often be dismal, but the few listed above--while not audiophile quality--aren't bad at all.