Best Vinyl Bach - Solo Cello Suites recording?

^^^ Yep. Considering that original mono sets of Starker hit $500 and the
stereo ones fetch around $1500, the Speakers Corner set is practically a gift,
especially considering its exceptional quality in all aspects.

There's a reason for that, in case you're wondering what the go-to LP set of
the Bach Suites is. The Starker-on-Mercury was legendary from its 1965
debut. And the more you play it, the more you understand why--50 years
later--it still is.

I use a Yo Yo LP as a phono cartridge tester, and when I simply want to hear that greasy killer tone of his as a Large Reference. Kills me, and I usually wind up playing guitar too loud through a small tube amp immediately after.

What Yo Yo LP are you referring to? Most of his stuff, especially the earlier
stuff, sounds a bit thin and buzzy to me, esp compared to Harrell. Maybe this
one is closer-miked.

If you want to hear a monster cello tone, listen to some Lynn Harrell.

Johnnyb, totally agree on Harrell. He is a consummate musician, and I find the sound of his cello much to my liking. I've heard Starker, Ma, Mork, Alban Gerhardt, Bailey, and so many others live. I've heard Ma live multiple times. Harrell beats them all. Best Dvorak concerto I have ever heard, and not by a slim margin. Funny, I have so few Harrel recordings. That is a deficiency I really should rectify.

I never had the pleasure of hearing Rostropovich.

I have only heard two players of note play the cello suites
live.
One was Rostopovich, the other Anner Bylsma who is the towering figure of historically informed music on the cello and a musician declared a national treasure by the Dutch.
Can't say one was better than the other. I thought Rostopovich made the music sing, Byslsma made it dance.
If you want a CD, Bylsma made a recording of it using a borrowed strad which is most wonderful and the one I listen to over and over.