Our Price: $14.99 | You Save: $1.98 (12%)   

2. "Piazzolla: Tango Ballet"
Gidon Kremer, violin; KremerATA Baltica
Like Argerich, violinist Gidon Kremer has had more than his share of great releases this year (he also took our No. 10 slot). On "Tango Ballet," Kremer continues his ongoing exploration of tango master Astor Piazzolla with a disc of dance-infused chamber-music gems. This is an emotive, graceful, and gorgeous disc. Read more

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3. "Pandolfi: Complete Violin Sonatas"
Andrew Manze, violin; Richard Egarr, harpsichord
It's difficult to single out any one Andrew Manze disc as the best of the year--he released four baroque gems in 1999 alone. But his recording of the mysterious violin sonatas of Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli is easily the most exciting. Here, we get challenging, inventive, and short baroque dances and arias for which Manze and Egarr clearly set the standard. Read more

Our Price: $16.99 | You Save: $1.98 (10%)   

4. "Terry Riley: Book of Abbeyozzoud"
David Tanenbaum, Gyan Riley, guitars; Tracy Silverman, violin; William Winant, percussion
Minimalist godfather Terry Riley composing music for acoustic guitar? You bet. Riley's "Book of Abbeyozzoud" is nothing short of brilliant, a collection of flamenco-influenced classical guitar works that sounds nothing like his previous music. Performed mostly by Riley's son Gyan and David Tanenbaum, these lyrical pieces are exotic and gorgeous; think of them as the classical music that John Fahey never got around to composing. Read more

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5. "Chopin: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2"
Polish Festival Orchestra; Krystian Zimerman, piano and conductor
Thanks to Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman, we may never hear Chopin's two piano concertos the same way again. Zimerman and his hand-assembled Polish Festival Orchestra give an unconventional but enlightening reading of these two works that seems to focus more on orchestral colors and drama than piano artistry. Not your typical Chopin, but a fascinating interpretation. Read more

Our Price: $12.58 | You Save: $5.39 (30%)   

6. "Feldman: Coptic Light"
New World Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Atmospheric, ambient, background music--call it what you will, but Morton Feldman's "Coptic Light" sounds just plain powerful. Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony deliver a riveting performance of this drifting piece where clusters of sound fade, focus, and erupt to great, almost ominous effect. Performances of Feldman's "Piano and Orchestra" and "Cello and Orchestra" are equally exciting. Read more

Our Price: $14.99 | You Save: $1.98 (12%)   

7. "Mahler: Symphony No. 8"
London Symphony Orchestra; Jascha Horenstein, conductor
Performing Mahler's "Symphony of a Thousand" is an enormous undertaking, made exponentially more difficult in 1959, when there were few reference recordings of the work and the composer was hardly in vogue. But Jascha Horenstein, conducting to a packed Royal Albert Hall, shows us the beauty of this work with a simple (if any performance requiring 750 players can be called "simple") but profound rendition of this glorious work. Forty years old, but a timeless classic recording. Read more

Our Price: $22.47 | You Save: $2.50 (10%)   

8. "Ives Plays Ives"
Charles Ives, piano and vocals
Composer Charles Ives never really liked the act of recording; he entered the studio just four times in hopes of working out the kinks of some compositions in progress. But, as these 42 fascinating, low-fidelity tracks of 17 different works attest, Ives was no slouch as a performer. Whether pounding through works on the piano or howling his wartime anthem "They Are There!" Ives proves to be a fascinating, if chaotic, character. Not a disc for everyone, but a revelation, nonetheless. Read more

Our Price: $14.99 | You Save: $1.98 (12%)   

9. "Beethoven: The Five Piano Concertos"
Alfred Brendel, piano; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Simon Rattle, conductor
Alfred Brendel's latest (and fourth) take on Beethoven's piano concertos proves to be his most effective--thanks in part to Simon Rattle and the Vienna Philharmonic, who provide a historically accurate, but still colorful, performance. Highly musical and simply beautiful. Read more

Our Price: $44.07 | You Save: $4.90 (10%)   

10. "Vasks: Distant Light, Voices"
Gidon Kremer, violin; KremerATA Baltica
If the works "Distant Light" and "Voices" are any indication, Latvian composer Peteris Vasks is one of our greatest living composers. These elegiac works display a profound sense of passion, energy, and folksiness that seems to pull at the listener's heartstrings. Gidon Kremer, as usual, delivers an inspiring performance here. If you like Arvo Part and want to hear more music from the Baltic region, this is a great place to start. Read more

Our Price: $11.88 | You Save: $5.09 (30%)   

BOX SETS & OUR BACH 2000 GIVEAWAY
Nineteen ninety-nine has seen an explosion of big (really big!) box sets. From Artur Rubinstein to Teldec's "Bach 2000" edition of the complete works of the baroque master, there have never been so many great classical box sets to beef up your collection. Here's a list including the most impressive new releases. And remember to check Amazon.com's Classical Store for our exciting Bach 2000 giveaway promotion, starting November 30. Read more

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