Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsodies (piano versions--Balint Vazsonyi), Sonata
(Clifford Curzon)
Concertos (Brendel inter alia)
Mephisto Waltz (orch version--Reiner Chicago); Tasso
Avoid: piano paraphrases of operatic songs--they wring every drop of charm
out of the originals

Mahler--Really anywhere, although many beginners find the first four
symphonies and the Wunderhorn songs more manageable than the rest.
Peformances:  Kubelik (any), Szell (#4 and songs), Kletzki (#4), van
Beinum/Concertgebouw (#4), Klemperer/Philharmonia (#2), many others

Chopin--for the most famous numbers start with the nocturnes (esp.  op.
19, #2) and the 2nd sonata (with the funeral march).  I also enjoy the
f-minor concerto (Smiendzianka/Rowicki/one of the Warsaw orchestras)
although much of his strength was felt in smaller character pieces.  You
can't go wrong with Rubinstein, and there's no shortage of others to pick
from.

I realize that I have failed your criterion of "modern" recordings, however
the artistry on those that I have suggested is as timeless as the music
itself.  Good luck you won't need--you're moving in a direction where you
cannot fail.

Aaron J. Rabushka
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http://www.cowtown.net/users/arabushk/