Customer Reviews

Gramophone Classical Good CD Guide 2004, 17th Edition (Gramophone Classical Music Guide)

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It's true what many classical music fans have said about Gramophone's "British bias." They do tend to lean toward British performers and labels, and they often lavish praise on artists who don't quite measure up to the hype (Gramophone Magazine's recent article on Kathleen Ferrier comes to mind.) Also, their reviews tend to be very short, and the Guide, or at least the 2002 edition that I have, does not tell you who the reviewers are, leaving you unsure whose taste you agree with and whose you don't. However, with these caveats in mind, I have found a lot of great recordings by browsing through this book. Their ratings (zero, one, two or three stars) are consistent and they also tell you what price range the CD is in. Some recordings that they list (for example, Veronique Gens's CD of Handel cantatas) are difficult to find in the U.S.
In addition to this guide, I recommend checking out ClassicsToday.com and browsing through Fanfare magazine (longer reviews, more detail, less slick and gossipy than Gramophone).

[also, I agree with the reviewer below from Colorado - thumbs down on the Lindsay Quartet. All the British CD guides seem to love them, though.]

As others here have noted, the reviews in the Good CD Guide are gossipy and tainted by a British bias. They can also be annoyingly repetitive; sometimes every review of a piece will include general comments about the piece, in addition to the review of the recording itself. As a consequence, perhaps, surprisingly few recordings are actually reviewed, despite the size of the book. Also worth noting is that the book is printed on cheap, rough paper, the text is printed too close to the spine, and the book will not lay flat -- all in contrast to the Penguin Guide.

If you're seeking an antidote to the Penguin Guide, I would suggest www.klassik-heute.com or www.classicstoday.com, rather than another printed guide.

The latest edition of the Gramophone Guide is a marked improvement over previous editions. The Guide now has a better rating system, and key recordings are better represented.

However, with over 50 contributors, there is somewhat of a lack of consistency in the ratings. Many recordings that have very favorable written reviews are rated one disc or no discs at all. Take Stephen Kovacevich's Grieg Piano Concerto, for instance. In the text, it is described as a "benchmark offering." But the rating is no discs out of three! This happens repeatedly in the Gramophone Guide. It is not clear how the ratings were arrived at (whether individual reviewers gave each disc a rating, or whether the editor simply tacked on ratings to each review). This makes the Gramophone Guide less useful than, say, the Penguin Guide, which, for whatever else you can say about it, is very consistent in its reviews and ratings.

Stick to the Penguin Guide if you agree with the opinions of its three editors, who together write all the reviews, making for a more consistent system of ratings. True, a British bias, but consistent ratings nonetheless.

I would first like to thank "sky" whose reviews here are really a fountain of knowledge for neophytes to classical music like myself.

Don't let the fact that Bose, hucksters of the most overpriced and poorly designed audio equipment foisted on a naive public, are sponsors of the Gramophone guide. Thankfully Gramophone reviewers are more competant at reviewing classical music than finding quality audio sponsors! The Grammophone Classical Good CD Guide is a good read but difficult for beginners to use.

If you're a beginner like myself, already have classical cds and you are interested in finding out whether it is referenced in the guide it is a bit of a chore if you don't know what kind of sub-genre your dealing with [choral, orchestral, instrumental, chamber etc; being a beginner I have some difficulty with classificaitons]. I spent the better part of an hour trying to find whether some cds I owned were a part of the guide. Terrible indexing. What is needed in the index is a list of players/artists with their cds.

Much better to use it as a guide to procure cds rather than read up on what you already own, which is it's real benefit. All in all it's an interesting read and I wish I'd have purchased it before any collections of classical cds.

I've been a reader of Gramophone for many years and have learned, as have many non-Brits, to make allowances for the strong British bias in the opinions offered in the magazine. This carries over to the Good CD Guide. I don't have the newest one--the 2005 edition--and most likely won't buy it largely because I have this recent one, and more important, because although the opinions in the book are often well-reasoned, they tend to be, how shall I say, old-fogeyish. I'm a great believer in preserving and treasuring historic recordings, but surely good recordings (excepting British ones, of course) didn't dry up in, say, 1980.

I agree with a previous reviewer who indicated that the Penguin Guide (which is also British) is more helpful. It's easier to navigate, too.

Go for the Penguin Guide, it is more comprehensive than this. I am sure you will appreciate and enjoy reading it as much as I do.
Trust me, this is only suitable and appropriate if you are already very well informed on the classical recording industry. The editor only provide a list of the recordings to their preference, unlike Penguin Guide where it give many alternatives for consideration. If you don't believe me, go to the book shop and take a look and make a comparison between these 2 books, before you commit a purchase. I read the 2003 edition, and it is a great disappointment. I will not buy again, Penguin Guide is cheaper and better!