| BBC Music Magazine's list of the 50 Greatest Classical Recordings | |||||
| RANK | COMPOSER | PIECE | ENSEMBLE | CONDUCTOR/SOLOIST | YEAR |
| 50 | Bach | B Minor Mass | ViennaBoys/ConcentusMusic. | Harnoncourt | 1968 |
| 49 | Mahler | Symphony No. 9 | Vienna Philharmonic | Walter,Bruno | 1938 |
| 48 | Smetana | Ma Vlast | Czech Philharmonic | Kubelik | 1990 |
| 47 | Schubert&Mozart | FantasieOp.103/SonataK448 | Perahia/Lupu | 1984/90 | |
| 46 | Britten | Billy Budd | London Symphony | Britten | 1961 |
| 45 | Bartok | Concero for Orchestra | Chicago Symphony | Reiner | 1955 |
| 44 | Bach | Well tempered Clavier | Fischer, Edwin | 1933-36 | |
| 43 | Berg | Lulu | Paris Opera | Boulez | 1979 |
| 42 | Strauss, Richard | 4 Last Songs | Berlin Philharmonic | von Karajan/Janowitz | 1971 |
| 41 | Stockhausen | Gesang der Junglinge | 1963 | ||
| 40 | Janacek | Jenufa | Vienna Philharmonic | Mackerras | 1982 |
| 39 | Beethoven | Fidelio | Philharmonia | Klemperer | 1962 |
| 38 | Mozart | Marriage of Figaro | Vienna Philharmonic | Kleiber | 1955 |
| 37 | Chopin | Noctunes | Arrau | 1978 | |
| 36 | Verdi | Requiem | Philharmonia | Giulini | 1964 |
| 35 | Ravel | Daphnis et Chloe | London Symphony | Monteux | 1961 |
| 34 | Brahms | Symphony No. 4 | Vienna Philharmonic | Kleiber | 1981 |
| 33 | Bellini | Norma | Teatro alla Scala | Serafin, Tullio | 1960 |
| 32 | Shostakovich | Preludes and Fugues | Melnikov,Alexander | 2010 | |
| 31 | Mahler | Das Lied von der Erde | Vienna Philharmonic | Walter,Bruno | 1952 |
| 30 | Debussy | Pelleas et Melisande | 1941 | ||
| 29 | Elgar | Violin Concerto | London Symphony | Elgar/Menuhin | 1932 |
| 28 | Chopin | Etudes, Op. 10 & 25 | Pollini | 1972 | |
| 27 | Mozart | The Magic Flute | Philharmonia | Klemperer | 1964 |
| 26 | Allegri | Miserere | Tallis Scholars | Phillips,Peter | 1980 |
| 25 | Handel | Messiah | Acad. Of Ancient Music | Hogwood | 1980 |
| 24 | Strauss, Richard | Der Rosenkavalier | Philharmonia | von Karajan | 1956 |
| 23 | Mozart | Horn Concertos | Philharmonia | von Karajan/Brain | 1953 |
| 22 | Reich, Steve | Music for 18 musicisns | 1978 | ||
| 21 | Britten | Peter Grimes | Royal Opera House | Britten | 1958 |
| 20 | Mozart | Piano Concertos | English Chamber | Barenboim | 1967-74 |
| 19 | Chopin | Sonata No. 3 | Argerich | 1965 | |
| 18 | Rachmaninoff | Piano Concerto No. 4 | Philharmonia | Michelangeli/Gracis | 1957 |
| 17 | Monteverdi | Vespers of 1610 | English Baroque/Mont.Choir | Gardiner | 1989 |
| 16 | Von Bingen, Hildegar | A Feather on the Breath/God | Gothic Voices | Page/Kirkby | 1981 |
| 15 | Beethoven | Piano Sonatas | Schnabel, Arthur | 1932-38 | |
| 14 | Various | Various arias | Orch.Royal Opera House | Sutherland/Molinari | 1960 |
| 13 | Janacek | Katya Kabanova | Philharmonia | Mackerras | 1977 |
| 12 | Beethoven | Late String Quartets | Busch Quartet | 1930s | |
| 11 | Bach | Cello Suites | Casals, Pablo | 1936-39 | |
| 10 | Gershwin | Porgy and Bess | London Phil./Glyndebourne Ch. | Rattle, Simon | 1988 |
| 9 | Tchaikovsky | Symphonies Nos. 4-6 | Leningrad Phil. Orchestra | Mravinsky, Evgeny | 1960 |
| 8 | Ravel/Berlioz | Sheherazade/Nuits d'ete | L'Orchestre de la Suisse Rom. | Ansermet, Ernest | 1963/67 |
| 7 | Wagner | Tristan und Isolde | Philharmonia | Furtwangler/Flagstad | 1952 |
| 6 | Elgar | Cello Concerto | London Symphony | Barbirolli/duPre | 1965 |
| 5 | Puccini | Tosca | Teatro alla Scala | de Sabata/Callas | 1953 |
| 4 | Bach | Goldberg Variations | Gould, Glenn | 1955 | |
| 3 | Britten | War Requiem | London Symphony | Britten/Vishnevskaya | 1962 |
| 2 | Beethoven | Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 | Vienna Philharmonic | Kleiber | 1975/76 |
| 1 | Wagner | Ring Cycle | Vienna Philharmonic | Solti/Flagstad/Crespin | 1956-65 |