Best recording labels for orchestral music


I am in the process of building my music library. Some of my favorite composers are Holst, Copland, Gershwin, and Ravel to name a few. The problem is I'm not sure which recording label to go with on these and other artists. For example I have a recording of Holst's Planets performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by John Williams. The recoding label is Decca. This has got to be one of the best recordings I've heard of this piece of music.
My question is this: Are there specific recording labels to stay away from and which in your opinion are the better ones to look at?

Thanks.
128x128foehn
i've only been into classical music for the past 5-6 years, so I'm no expert. I generally prefer conductors from the 50's-70's,

So I have found a few remasters that I love from these:

Decca Legends 96kHz 24 bit remastered
EMI
Philips 50 great recordings remastered
RCA Red Seal remastered
Mercury Living Presence remastered

These labels are for the most part excellent:

Reference Recordings
AliaVox (Early & Baroque)
Harmonia Mundi
Archiv (Baroque)
Telarc (most but not all)
Chandos (English composers)

and some great budget recordings from:

Naxos
Sony

Of the conducters you mention I have a Decca remaster of Ravel/
Dutoit & Montreal/ Daphis et Chloe; that is great.

Good luck
You have chosen some good "pop" sounding composers. You may also like Shostakovich - try getting Lorn Maazel and the Cleveland Orchestra doing Shostakovich Fifth - they seem to be having a load of fun! Prokoviev is fun too. A lot of the Russian stuff is pompous and bombastic and can be fun (often based around military marching themes). Copland's Hoe Down is worth getting too.

Telarc is hands down the best quality in contemporary recordings....of course, like all labels - the performance/musicianship varies...

I also agree about Naxos and Chandos.

Stay away from RCA and DG - generally poorer quality stuff - although they have gems too.
Actually, one of the most tragic, soul-gripping music in the world of classical music is that of Shostakovich. He barley survived a cruel dictatorship, which killed aout one-fourth of the population of its own country. His music is really about the sufferings and about the fear of human beings. He belongs to the very small group of composers, who devoted his music to the tragedies of his own time.
record labels to consider:

klavier
harmonia mundi
glossa

you will hear excellent sound and good performances.
My favorite classical labels are:
Hyperion
Chandos
Glossa
Alia Vox
But there are many, many more with fine sound and performances.