As somebody who is basically a novice in the study and lifestyle
of classical music, it can be a bit overwhelming at times, when
shopping a retail store or browsing a library, to know which particular
label/orchestra/performance is the best example of a particular piece
of music, and at times, the untrained listener (i.e.  me) must go with
his gut instinct and pick one performance or another just based on price,
length, or presentation of a disc.  That's why I wanted to ask, as
seasoned veterans of collecting, are many of us loyal to a particular
label, orchestra, or conductor?  I ask this because, in my brief history
buying these CD's, I've developed a particular fondness (almost a fettish)
for any CD which boasts the golden Deutsche Grammophon label.  If it's
good enough for Alex in "A Clockwork Orange", it's good enough for me!
But besides that, this seems to be the most consistently great label
that I have found, and it occupies almost 90% of my collection.  Anybody
else have any favorites?

   ---Barrett