There are so many excellent recordings of the late quartets.  Many of the
postings so far have keyed on older recordings.  My current favorites are
Tokyo, Italiano, Emerson, Vegh, Melos, Alban Berg, and the Lindsays.  It's
a minefield of riches; you'd nearly have to go out of your way to buy a
poor set.

As for the Budapest, I agree that their earlier mono recordings are much
better than the stereo ones.  Also, I am in relative agreement concerning
the recordings already recommended by list members except for the LaSalle
on DG.  it has a "gritty" sound with performances that do not offset it at
all.

Don Satz
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