based on what you say are your preferences for choral music (but be warned
- there is only one chorus in the ring and that is the low point, for me,
of the entire cycle!) and everything sacred, I'd recommend the Furtwaengler
readings of the Ring to you.  There is the '50 recording from La Scala,
which is the best musically and has Flagstad as Brunhilde, none to compare
since, but has inferior sound, and the '53 RAI ring, which is isn't quite
in the same exalted region regarding singing, but makes up for it by sound
that is a lot better.  It's also out on some cheap label (I think Opera 'd
Oro).  The reason for my recommendation is that Furtwaengler's reading is
the most weighty, 'profound' (and, for that matter, slow) of all.  You
always have the impression of being privileged to attend a hugely important
and significant event.  It is quite a thrilling experience.

For my money, I think Wagner's art is overwhelming and serious enough to
begin with and therefore prefer Bohm's live performance on DGG.  He keeps
things really on the move and emphasizes the dramatic aspect of the cycle.
That makes it easier to follow for me, and more fun.  You can get the Bohm
cycle really cheap (but without libretto) from www.zweitausendeins.de
currently.  I do not like the Solti too much because I think his directing
is erratic and often too much 'in your face'.

A great resource if you want to get into the intellectual substance of
the work (which is much more considerable than at least I had believed
until I delved into it) is a CD-ROM called 'the Ring disc' which contains
the entire piano study score and Solti's ring cycle on a single CD.
It contains very well written essays about the work as such and, most
importantly, detailed analyses of 100 leitmotives which are linked to the
score so as you hear something that you cannot immediately identify (and
that will happen a lot at first), you can go and explore it immediately.
The sound quality is slightly (but not much, really) inferior to the
14-CD-package.  The firm that made the CD ROM is bankrupt now, but you can
still pick it up at record stores or on ebay.

Regards, Andreas