Beethoven Symphonies - best perf + sonics on CD

Well said, Brownsfan. That generation of brilliant recording engineers is long gone; and the music business along with it.
I have some very good late 1950s recordings from EMI. It's a shame that DG had a hold on many of the best artists.

Lowrider and Brownsfan, I truly respect your opinions but I cannot completely agree that great recordings are a thing of the past. I would even make the claim that while a large number of todays recordings do fall short of what should be considered the industry standard, that a larger percentage of todays recordings are superb when compared to the percentages in the past.

To name some of the labels that I believe offer excellence more often than not;
ECM New Series, Harmonia Mundi, Allia Vox, Hyperion, Musikproduction Dabringhaus und Grimm, Challenge Classics, Pentatone, BIS, OEHMS, OPUS 111, Naïve, Zig Zag, Praga, ERATO, Koch,Teldec Das Alte Werk and yes, even a good many from Deutsche Grammophone.
Also there are the budget labels like Naxos, Channel or Brilliant (compared to URANIA?).
Plus the remastering and restoration releases from Andante, d'Orfeo, Testament, Music and Arts of America, and Pearl.

I collect mono vinyl from the mid to late 1950's and there are some fine recordings in my record bin but the production costs alone during that era made the volume of recordings limited when compared by todays standards. That's why the American and British labels became iconic and European labels where esoteric even with serious collectors.

Goofyfoot, you are correct that there is plenty of high quality music today, but look at the labels u have listed; they are all indies or niche labels.
I was referring to a time when the mega-labels were buying up the quality labels and their studios; Polygram buys Decca and DG, Universal buys Polygram, Sony buys Columbia, EMI, RCA and all it's classical entities, etc. There were budget cuts and elimination of classical labels and studios. Teldec is no more; it is Warner Music, who at least is still recording classical.
My point is that in the 40s, 50s to 60s, music was a craft with many technical advances and the engineer was the most important person in the room.
The labels you list are what I look for when buying new music and they have a commitment to excellence and have contributed to further advances in technology. So u are absolutely correct that there is high-end music being produced. My point is the business went thru a period of instability and I realize I was also sounding very nostalgic for the pioneers of music recording.

"Plus the remastering and restoration releases from Andante, d'Orfeo, Testament, Music and Arts of America, and Pearl."

and I'm glad we have companies like these (also the Cheskys) to preserve the great music of the past. The major record labels either cut the classical budgets or shut down operations worldwide. That's one reason a company like Naxos is thriving.
I hope this makes sense of the earlier posts.

OK, thanks for clarifying Lowrider, now I see your point. Also, these smaller niche labels like Harmonia Mundi are able to rise from the ashes and become a major player in the recording industry. Even though they have been around for a fairly long time, it wasn't until the affordability of the compact disk that they could be taken seriously. In a way, I view this as an improvement but there is nothing to be gained from RCA Victor's lack of involvement by comparison to its past and no, that's not being overly nostalgic. I just wish there could be more of an emphasis put on live recordings and damn the mistakes, that's just part of the process.