Beethoven Symphonies - best perf + sonics on CD

To expand on Lowrider57's comments.

There are distinct styles at play here. Furtwangler in many ways set the standard in the 40's and 50's with a slow and majestic performance. Barenboim in is that mode. On the other side are those who more recently play the symphonies as they believe they were originally played, often at a faster pace and with original phrasings and other techniques and sometimes with traditional instruments. That would be Gardiner and Harnoncourt for example. Klieber was more traditional, but at a much faster pace that Furtwangler, although the sonics on the Klieber are not up to modern standards. Many people think Bohm just got it right, with a good mix of tempo and expression. Although his recordings are from the 70's, the sonics are very good for the time. It is good to recognize these styles in determining what appeals to you.

Fortunately, several of these sets like Barenboim, Gardiner, Haroncourt, are now available for $25 or less so it is pretty easy to get several and compare. Even the Bohm on separate CDs are only about $45. Berenboim's versions with his new West-Eastern Divan Orchestra is also available from HDTracks in 24 bit 96 KHz for people looking for high rez versions.

Crazee, I also like Greensburg's lectures. He has quite a few different lecture sets and they are all worthwhile in my opinion.

As you can see from the above, the LvB symphonies are a place where one can do a good bit of sampling without spending a ton of money. Based on your clarifying comments and your original critera, I still think Parvi on RCA may be your best bet. You will find these to have generally fast tempi and good dynamics. That is the sort of approach that generally falls into the "thrilling" as opposed to "profound" category. You can also pick up the Vanska set pretty inexpensively now. Later, you might well want to gain exposure to some of the older classics, from Furtwangler, Toscanini, Bohm, etc.

"I still think Parvi on RCA may be your best bet."

.....if u mean Jarvi, I would agree for Crazee01 to start with that.

Again, thank you all for sharing your knowledge and experience. I ordered a Jarvi CD (Symphonies 3 and 8) from Amazon and will go from there.

Lowrider, thanks for the correction. Would you believe P. Jarvi?