Let us, first, define what classical music is. Classical music is not written for a particular period of time or meant for people of a particular age. If we compare it with popular music, we will not say that classical music is better than the popular one, or visa versa. They have different purposes: popular music is created for entertainment, while classical music is meant to express something great and significant. It carries out an idea to a listener and makes him speculate. The crowds do not enjoy classical music, but it does not loose its meaning and importance through the ages. Classical music can be hard to understand and it will take several listenings to understand the sense of it. Some samples of classical music, such as Vivaldi's Four Seasons or Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, are attractive at once, the others will take much time to comprehend. In addition, the best way to learn how to listen to classical music is to listen to it, but not to read books or study music theories.
Today, the lovers of classical music or the beginners of listening to it often come across a problem of how to buy classical music, as there are no less than thirty recordings of the same music at a different price. We can give several recommendations in this connection.
      1. If you do not want to find yourself in a tight corner, when you have decided to buy classical music, you should find the best CD store. The managers and assistants in high-level classical music CD stores usually like and have a hand in classical music. They can help you find an exclusive piece of music and choose the best recording of it. They want to be sure that if you buy classical music from them once, you will be back again.  
2. You should listen before you buy classical music. A classical music CD can cost up to thousands of dollars and that is why you should make sure of what you are going to buy. Musical CD stores often let the customers listen to the music right in the shop.
3. There are CDs, dated to various periods. In this case, you have to decide whether you like and prefer an old recording to a new one. Nevertheless, bear in mind that the recording technology is improving all the time, although an old performance can be actually better than a new one, and you will not pay much attention to the date of CD's launch. 
4. If the disc is expensive, it does not mean it will be the best. As a rule, expensive discs are sometimes rare, imported or the recent recordings of big name artists, however, each recording is not necessarily the best one: listen first before buying it.
Finally, you can use the Internet and you will certainly find everything, concerning classical music DVD and CD collections. The Internet guides include books (the Penguin Guide to Classical Music, the Stevenson guide), magazines (Fanfare, Gramophone, American Record Guide) and other web-based resources (All-Music Guide, Classic.net). Here you will find reviews on old and new CDs, as well as good or bad ones, to help you in your search. Good-Music-Guide.com offers CDs that have good music, great performances, an excellent recording quality and a forum, where people share their experience about classical music only.