Rating: 
Summary: Reliable, Informative - Indispensible.
Review: Absolutely the best, most helpful guide to recorded classical music there is. Indispensible when trying to buy unfamiliar music. I've used prior editions of this guide over and over to choose cd's of music I don't know well. Every time the guide has given a cd 3 stars, it has been terrific. One caveat: the reviewers do like performances on period-instruments, and they like old (sometimes mono!) recordings, and they like complete operas. So they will often give a cd a very high rating when the average listener would not necessarily enjoy it that much. But they always provide that information in the text, so you can watch out for it. I find these reviews consistently more reliable than reviews in other guides, eg Gramophone, etc. Also a pleasant book to just read.
Rating:
Summary: The Classical CD "Bible" Only Gets Better
Review: Admittedly I am occasionally infuriated by some of the reviews in the Penguin Guide to Classical CDs; there's an unfortunate tendency to emphasize recordings by great British and European conductors, soloists and ensembles over equally memorable ones by their American counterparts (For example, why isn't Solti or Bernstein mentioned as frequently as Karajan?). Yet it remains the indisputable guide to the latest available great recordings of classical music. While Grammophon has made the dubious decision to list only its preferred recordings, Penguin's latest edition offers a wide variety of choices for the discriminating classical CD collector. Admittedly there may be too many choices for popular works such as the entire Beethoven symphony cycles, yet I greatly appreciate such generosity with respect to choices. This is easily the largest edition of the Penguin Guide I've come across, but one still worth its weight in gold. Without question this is my reference "Bible" when it comes to finding the best classical recordings currently available.
Rating:
Summary: The usual excellent job...
Review: As the Gramophone Guide continues to look for its voice, the Penguin Guide remains as reliable as ever in its new, easy to read, clean format. Most readers know what Penguin offers - over 1,000 pages of concise disc reviews. Now, Penguin is up against a wall as it has reached its maximum size and editors are soliciting ideas for the next ed. in two years - only including top choices, having two volumes, or relegating minor composers to the off year "year book." Any choice Penguin makes will be fine so long as it does NOT opt for the choice Gramophone made - only rating and reviewing top selections while leaving other excellent recordings out. This decision has rendered Gramophone's guide a distinct second place finisher to the Penguin Guide. The Penguin Guide could only be improved with a comprehensive index of composers and artists. Still, it's the best out there at the moment.
Rating: 
Summary: Getting A Weighty Mater Off My Chest
Review: Classical music fans/gasbags (such as myself) have been known to stroke their hairy chins - and their charge cards - while pouring over a new, updated edition. The latest edition of the esteemed Penguin Guide has that kind of influence, and is that kind of a big deal. As always it's a swell read indeed. And certainly the latest edition is swollen with new entries and updates. But it's not enough. Even when joined at the hip with the companion volume - the bargain guide - this famed pokey puppy misses yet again with even approaching anything like being comprehensive. That's been my chronic disappointment with PG. And here's an example of what what I mean: you mean to tell me that there are only 4 or 5 recordings of Gabrieli material worth considering or recommending? Same thing for Zelenka? Feh! Same story edition to edition. Nevertheless, it is still a good reference guide,especially for the novice, and a very entertaining read to boot. And hey, has anyone else noticed how often the word, 'forward'used as some kind of soft jargon, sonic descriptor has been used in this edition? It's a subtext puzzler gang. I've tallied approximately 27 times its appeared in reviews - and that's only halfway through the book!
Rating:
Summary: A must for the serious collector
Review: Clearly the best reference guide. Its main competition the Gramophone Yearbook includes too few reviews of major works. It makes it very difficult to use as a shopping guide, since most masterpieces have at least four or five equally good recordings, and many stores don't always have the exact recomendation in the book. The NPR guide is too idiosyncratic and somewhat unreliable, as well as too biased towards american composers and recordings. The Rough Guide is very good but far too devoted to modern music to be completely useful. It also has a few idiosyncratic choices and it is in need of an update. The Penguim guide and its companions (Bargain Guide and Yearbook) include detailed reviews of almost any (good) available record. You may not always agree with them (and I certainly don't) but it is always useful information. It is certaily too heavy in the british repertoire, but since it is originated in the UK that is expected. It also gives too much deference to british artists. Nevertheless once one is aware of that it is rather easy to discount all those factors and still obtain an enormpous wealth of information unavailable anywhere else we can just ignore some of those pages.
Rating:
Summary: penguin guide still definitive
Review: Contrary to the opinion of a previous reviewer rapid obsolesence is not one of the failings of this fine series in my opinion. In this latest incarnation it continues to live up to the indispensible reputation of it's predecessors. New recordings (or re-issues) are picked up in the year books (and it takes a special one to dislodge well regarded older recordings of well worn repetoire so you are pretty safe using this guide right up until the next one comes out in 2 years). The guide remains unashamedly opinionated but the passion (and the prose) of the reviewers makes it a pleasure to read in it's own right. In addition to the usual great depth given to well established works, the reviewers continue to champion fine recordings of little-known composers and repetoire they feel are unfairly ignored or under represented. I can remember reading in a previous edition a review of a lone CD of a composer (Jan Zelenka) whose music I had at the time never heard but who I knew was a direct contemporary of JS Bach. It was such a passionate and well argued review I went right out and ordered the CD. Zelenka is now one of my favourite Baroque composers. I'm sure such reviews have actually influenced the choice of content of some new recordings (because conductors must read the guide too). The historical and social context of composers or compositions that sometimes accompanies reviews is also an added bonus. Still the definitive guide complete with all it's quirks.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good, but could be even better
Review: Despite the authors' disclaimer that they are as objective as possible concerning American orchestras and artists, the fact remains that American artists and recordings are still underrepresented. Nevertheless it is still a great guide that I use frequently when I look to purchase new works or compare my feelings on a recording to what they say. I must say I am shocked by some inexcusable omissions from this new edition, the most glaring oversight being Dvorak's Symphony no.9 "New World" with Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic, which is a brilliant performance garnering not even a word of credit from these guys. I agree with another reviewer that they need to expand their format to keep up with technology. There are just too many classical cd's out there to fit all the good ones in one book.
Rating:
Summary: The mysterious *N*
Review: Does anyone know the meaning of the bold *N* next to some of the reviews? I assume it means that recording is not available in the US. I can't find any documentation for the notation. Overall the book has been very helpful to me. I have found it is best used as a starting point. Checking other sources against it leads to the best results. Finally, I agree there is a bias towards Britain, especially with contemporary composers. Regardless of what you think about their music, it is hard to imagine ignoring Cage and Feldman.
Rating:
Summary: In my humble opinion... a MUST for collectors and laymen
Review: Ever stare bleary eyed at rack upon rack of CD stands, wondering which one to choose? Do you get the "La Boheme" with Domingo, or Pavoratti? How about "Rhapsody in Blue?" For the novice, the selection is overwhelming, and many people go home with CD's which do not meet high standards of performance or recording. This monolithic book dispels that. Written as a collaboration with 3 different people, the reviews are concise and helpful, allowing consciences consumers to purchase the "right" albums... and avoid those that are not. I have come to purchase only albums that this book reccomends. It's truly a godsend. For those of you who fear that this book is only for the novice, it is easily appreciated by those who are devoted collectors, as it points out major "vintage" recordings that any fan of, say, Wagner or Stravinsky must give a listen to. Please place this book in your shopping cart. You will not regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Very Useful
Review: I find this to be a very comprehensive and useful guide. You will really find everything, from Symphonies to Piano Concertos, Oratorios to Operas...well as I said Everything. This Edition includes also "some" DVD reviews, but here a lot is missing. Only a bunch are available and not the best... To sum it up, I think that everyone needs an advice, or a guide, especially for the amateur so as not to be stuck with some ugly versions and there are lots... This Guide is Very Useful. I Recommend it.
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