Recommendations

I'm not sure what you mean by "what is the best". I think it all depends on personal preference. One of my favourite pieces is vivaldi's four seasons.

Bach is the best! If you're a christian you'll especially enjoy his works. Start with his St. Matthews and St. Johns Passions in English. Then listen to his over 200 Cantatas with a good English translation.

You'll never be the same again!

I personally think they are all unreal and amazing! What it comes down to really is personal preference. Bach is what is more or less seen through the church music today, along with Mendelssohn. If you want something a little more fiery, Beethoven.....light hearted? Handel and Haydn..... elaborate, Liszt, ...... passionate and intense, Rachmaninoff.....romantic, Brahms, Chopin. It's funny I list things like this, because I often find myself listening to them as my mood changes! The music ALWAYS displays my mood! Hope this helps! God bless!

I wouldn't worry too much about what's "the best" - it's such a personal choice, and it's okay to like the music of a BUNCH of composers! I have trouble choosing when asked "who's your favorite composer?"

Do a lot of listening... Amazon is nice that way because you can hear so many clips. If you like it, buy it. Then learn more about those composers... find out what else you can listen to by them, what composers influenced them (that's a good way to find new names to listen to). You can also pick an instrument you enjoy, find a top artist in that field, and listen to their CDs... it's a great way to expose yourself to more composers.

Like ASUBelle, I listen as my mood changes! Lately I've been on a piano kick, listening to Vladimir Horowitz CDs... found a lot of great pieces I'd never heard before.

Mahler.

I recommend Chopin and Tchaikovsky.

Always personal preference.

I love Russian music: the great classical composer for the Russians is Tchaikovsky.

One of my favourite scores is The Nutcracker.