I have to admit to a fondness for the big orchestral arrangements since I first saw 2001: A Space Odyssey and got hooked on The Blue Danube (Johann Strauss, Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert Von Karajan cond), and Also Sprach Zarathustra (Richard Strauss)...
Nothing beats Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, (my favourite version is the Telarc recording of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Erich Kunzel cond) for greeting the sunrise on a morning when you stayed up way too late partying and haven't got around to bed yet...
I discovered other pleasures in the Romantic and Baroque periods- Vivaldi's the Four Seasons, Holsts Planets, and others should be part of a basic classical repertoire.
A great avenue to discover classical is through a modern Dutch conductor/violinist- Andre Rieu.
I have seen Andre Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra at both Maple Leaf Gardens, and at Skydome in Toronto, both thoroughly enchanting shows. He focuses on the Romantic period, with excellence.
Many CDs and live concert DVDs- start with From Holland with Love and work from there...
Here's a bit of background:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/ ... -interviewAnother approach (to discover an interpretation of Bach) would be to find a copy of Virgil Fox Heavy Organ LIve at Fillmore East, or Live at Carnegie Hall. A man who put modern, controversial sensibility into the interpretation of Bach's music.
I used to enjoy browsing the record store shelves, the premium classical labels like Deutsche Grammophon:
http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/ , and
Angel Records: "Angel Records was a record label founded by EMI in 1953. It specialised in classical music, but included an occasional operetta or Broadway score. The Angel mark was used by EMI, its predecessors, and affiliated companies since 1898. EMI's classical-music operations were sold to Warner Music Group in 2013" --Wikipedia ...always had something I wanted but couldn't afford...
Then there's the "audiophile" labels like Telarc, Chesky, Nimbus, Mobile Fidelity and others, who offer wonderful-sounding recordings of performances that may or may not justify the technical excellence of the recording.
Budget classical labels like Naxos
https://www.naxos.com/...had nice displays of stuff you could peruse, and some excellent performances/recordings, too. Now, I guess you can do that online.
Have fun exploring the world of "classical" music, i'ts all just punk-rock from a pre-electric world.
Cheers