The Minnesota Orchestra/Vanska cycle has supplanted the 1963 BPO/Karajan set for me as my go-to cycle. They were originally released on SACD by BIS, and the recordings are every bit as good as we've come to expect from that label. EDIT: You can get them as high-res downloads at eClassical; $73.65 for the complete set, or buy them a la carte.

For HIP, I haven't heard anything to top the Manchester Camerata/Boyd cycle. You can buy them as downloads at The Classical Shop, Chandos' site.

Picking the perfect Beethoven set is hard!


If you want a complete cycle, my personal favorite has always been the 1962 Von Karajan Set.



People will bitch about it because it is a bit hissy. This is true but it's also a good sign that the tapes weren't no-noised. I have heard rumors that there are better tapes of this cycle but I have yet to hear them or even know of a commercial release using the better tapes.




My next favorite is this set:





Gardiner did a fantastic job with this cycle. I believe he used period instruments. The sound quality - stock - is superb and you can pull A LOT out of this set using a good EQ.




Now...as far as individual performances go...


This is one is just superb...



Benjamin Zander is not only a conductor and pianist but a great musicologist and researcher. He went in-depth when studying Beethoven's works and noticed that most, if not all performances, were done at the wrong tempo. Further research led to this performance and the result is nothing short of exhilarating and great. Hearing the correct tempi for these symphonies is an eye and ear opener. This is definitely my favorite performance of the 5th and 7th. Sound quality is superb.


Here is a small sample but trust me - the recording is much better.






Ditto on the above except for the 9th. Probably the most glorious 9th I have heard. I really wish Zander would do the entire cycle. He definitely has a special touch with classical music. Here is a TED TALK he did...



Hope that helps out a little bit. I have a ton of Beethoven and these are my favorites.

Picking the perfect Beethoven set is hard!

If you want a complete cycle, my personal favorite has always been the 1962 Von Karajan Set.

Yeah, it's hard, especially if sound quality is a consideration.

I didn't enjoy the Karajan set (except the Eroica); I found it uninvolving / emotionally detached and glossed over. Maybe Szell offers a compromise: quite good performances and somewhat OK sound.

Thanks for recommending Zander. I'll check it out.

Both for interpretation and sound, hard to find a better set IMO:

 Otmar Suitner/Staatskapelle Berlin, Denon. Everything well judged.

 And as  always with Denon they show that there is nothing wrong with early digital, if only the sound engineers do their job.

Out of print but often found on Amazon etc.

Example of the interpretation/style