After many hours of listening and discussion, the Presto editorial team has finally decided on our Top 100 Recordings of the Year: you can browse through the finalists below, and until 21st January 2026 we're offering discounts of up to 30% on almost all of the featured titles (excluding downloads). Our Top 10 recordings and the winners in six special award categories will be announced on the evening of Thursday 4th December...
Tenebrae, Nigel Short
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Hallé Orchestra, Thomas Adès
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
The Age of Extremes
WF Bach, G. Benda & CPE Bach
Francesco Corti (harpsichord/director), Il Pomo d'Oro
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Estonian Festival Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
Bacewicz: Orchestral Works, Vol. 2
Symphony No. 2 - Piano Concerto - Concerto For Large Symphony Orchestra
Peter Donohoe (piano), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
Available formats: SACD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
James Ehnes (violin), Yosuke Kawasaki (violin), Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
King of Kings
JS Bach Orchestral Transcriptions
BBC Philharmonic, Sir Andrew Davis, Martyn Brabbins
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Julie Roset (soprano), Beth Taylor (mezzo), Lucile Richardot (alto), Emiliano Gonzalez Toro (tenor), Christian Immler (bass), Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
WDR Sinfonieorchester, Elena Schwarz
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Gábor Bretz (Bluebeard), Rinat Shaham (Judith), Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Karina Canellakis
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin), Dmytro Choni (piano)
Available format: SACD
Víkingur Ólafsson (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Karim Said (piano), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Domingo Hindoyan
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Orchestre de Paris, Klaus Mäkelä
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Bojan Čičić (violin), The Illyria Consort
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
BBC Philharmonic, Michael Seal
Available formats: SACD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Francesco Piemontesi (piano), Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Manfred Honeck
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Krystian Zimerman (piano), Maria Nowak (violin), Katarzyna Budnik (viola), Yuya Okamoto (cello)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Havergal Brian: Agamemnon
and Symphonies Nos 6 & 12
John Findon (Agamemnon), Eleanor Dennis (Clytemnestra), Stephanie Wake-Edwards (Cassandra), Robert Murray (Watchman), Clive Bayley (Herald/Old Man)
English National Opera Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
British Piano Concertos
Philip Cannon - John Addison - Francis Chagrin
Simon Callaghan (piano), BBC NOW, William Boughton
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Nicky Spence (tenor), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Manze
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Anna Tilbrook (piano), Kitty Whately (mezzo), Nicholas Phan (tenor) et al
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Curtis Stewart (violin), National Philharmonic, Michael Repper
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Belcea Quartet
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Helmut Deutsch (piano)
Available format: CD + DVD Video
Takács Quartet, Marc-André Hamelin (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Mary Bevan (soprano), Joseph Middleton (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Christian Tetzlaff (violin), BBC Philharmonic, John Storgårds
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Raphaela Gromes (cello), Julian Riem (piano), Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Anna Rakitina
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
Future Horizons
Escaich - Bacri - Jarrell
François Leleux (oboe), Lisa Batiashvili (violin), Hr-Sinfonieorchester, Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
Ben Goldscheider (horn), Roderick Williams (baritone). Marta Fontanals-Simmons (mezzo), BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Jaime Martín
Available format: 2 CDs
Sonya Yoncheva (soprano), Olga Zado (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Miró Quartet, Kiera Duffy (soprano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Ruth Gipps: Orchestral Works, Vol. 4
Violin Concerto - Symphony No. 5 - Leviathan
Charlie Lovell-Jones (violin), Bill Anderson (double-bassoon), BBC Philharmonic, Rumon Gamba
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Erin Morley (soprano), Lawrence Brownlee (tenor), Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Ivan Repušić
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Sir Stephen Hough (piano), The Hallé, Sir Mark Elder
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Abel Selaocoe (cello)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Iberia
Chabrier - Debussy - Ravel
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Domingo Hindoyan
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Nei Giardini d'Amore
Baroque Arias For Two Alti
Carlo Vistoli, Hugh Cutting (countertenors), Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Agneta Eichenholz (Jenůfa), Katarina Karnéus (Kostelnička), Aleš Briscein (Laca), Nicky Spence (Števa), Jan Martiník (Starek, the Foreman/Mayor), Carole Wilson (Grandmother Buryjovka)
London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Simon Rattle
Available formats: 2 SACDs, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Brecon Baroque, Rachel Podger
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano), Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Scarlett Strallen (Eliza Doolittle), Jamie Parker (Henry Higgins), Alun Armstrong (Alfred P. Doolittle), Malcolm Sinclair (Colonel Pickering), Laurence Kilsby (Freddy Eynsford-Hill), Julia McKenzie (Mrs Pearce), Penelope Wilton (Mrs Higgins)
Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
Available formats: 2 SACDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Fatma Said (soprano), Malcolm Martineau (piano), Joseph Middleton (piano), with Huw Montague Rendall (baritone), Sabine Meyer (clarinet), Anneleen Lenaerts (harp), Quatuor Arod
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Julian Bliss (clarinet), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Taavi Oramo
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Lines of Life
Schubert & Kurtág
Benjamin Appl (baritone), György Kurtág (piano), James Baillieu (piano), Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano), Csaba Bencze (trombone), Gergely Lukác (tuba)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Maestra
Piano Concertos by Julia Perry & Doreen Carwithen
Samantha Ege (piano), Lontano Orchestra, Odaline de la Martinez
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 44.1 kHz, 16 bit)
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Simon Rattle
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha (soprano), Dame Sarah Connolly (mezzo), Hallé Orchestra, Choir & Youth Choir, Kahchun Wong
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
Pavel Haas Quartet
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Bernard Foccroulle (organ), Alice Foccroulle (soprano), InAlto, Lambert Colson
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Yuja Wang (piano), Cécile Lartigau (ondes martenot), Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Nicolas Baldeyrou (clarinet) and friends
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 44.1 kHz, 24 bit)
Andrew Staples (Idomeneo), Magdalena Kožená (Idamante), Sabine Devieilhe (Ilia), Elsa Dreisig (Elettra), Linard Vrielink (Arbace), Allan Clayton (High Priest of Neptune), Tareq Nazmi (Voice of the Oracle)
Symphonieorchester und Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Simon Rattle
Available formats: 3 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
Pene Pati (tenor), Antonello Paliotti (mandolin), Giulio d'Alessio (violin), Il Pomo d'Oro
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Paganini: 24 Caprices
plus Caprices by Berlioz, Cervelló, Kreisler, Ortiz, Saint-Saëns, Sarasate, Wieniawski
María Dueñas (violin), Itamar Golan (piano), Boris Kuschnir (violin), Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Mihhail Gerts
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Palestrina Revealed
Byrd - White - Mundy
The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, Graham Ross
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Ene Salumäe (organ), Vox Clamantis, Jaan-Eik Tulve
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Tom Winpenny (organ)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Cristian Sandrin (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Joyce DiDonato (Dido), Michael Spyres (Aeneas), Fatma Said (Belinda), Beth Taylor (Sorceress), Hugh Cutting (Spirit), Laurence Kilsby (Sailor), Alena Dantcheva and Anna Piroli (Witches)
Il Pomo d'Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Mirjam Mesak (soprano), Pavel Petrov (tenor), Andrii Kymach (baritone), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Chorus, Vasily Petrenko
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Boris Giltburg (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Seong-Jin Cho (piano)
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Zachary Wilder (tenor), Marie Lys (soprano), Cyril Costanzo, Cécile Achille, David Witczak, Mathias Vidal (tenor), Alexandre Duhamel (baritone), Juliette Mey
La Chapelle Harmonique, Valentin Tournet
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Hugh Cutting (countertenor), Audrey Hyland (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Gävle Symphony Orchestra, Jaime Martín
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 44.1 kHz, 16 bit)
New York Philharmonic, Synergy Vocals, Colin Currie Group, Jaap van Zweden, Colin Currie
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Andrey Gugnin (piano)
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
The Sad Smile
Mompou Piano Music
Paul Crossley (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Jennifer Holloway (Nunciata), Gaëlle Arquez (Vanina), Hélène Carpentier (Margarita), Julien Henric (Tébaldo), Michael Arivony (Raphaël), Matthieu Lécroart (Bursica)
Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Philharmonic Chorus of Tokyo, Kazuki Yamada
Available formats: CD + Book, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Mirco Palazzi (Cublai), Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani (TImur), Marie Lys (Alzima), Fabio Capitanucci (Orcano)
Les Talens Lyriques, Chœur de Chambre de Namur, Christophe Rousset
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
I Musicanti, Leon Bosch, Peter Donohoe
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Bertrand Chamayou (piano), Leif Ove Andsnes (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Steven Osborne (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Yevgeny Sudbin (piano)
Available format: SACD
Sibelius: Symphony No. 5
Two Serenades - Two Serious Melodies - Swanwhite
Christian Tetzlaff (violin), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Collon
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Smetana: Má Vlast
Symphonic Works
Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Petr Popelka
Available format: 3 CDs
Reginald Mobley (countertenor), Brandon Acker, Douglas Balliett
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Timothy Ridout (viola)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
The Fourth Choir, Jamie Powe
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Lea Desandre (mezzo), Thomas Dunford (lute, theorbo), with Alex Rosen (bass-baritone), Jess Dandy (contralto), Laurence Kilsby (tenor), Huw Montague Rendall (baritone); Jupiter
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Bamberger Symphoniker, Jakub Hrůša
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Pavel Kolesnikov (piano), Samson Tsoy (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Daniil Trifonov (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Telemann: Violin Concertos
Overture - Suite - Fantasie
Isabelle Faust (violin), Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Bernhard Forck
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
The World Feels Dusty
Songs by Barber, Chausson, Copland, Debussy and Wallen
Dame Sarah Connolly (mezzo), Joseph Middleton (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Clare Hammond (piano), BBC Symphony Orchestra, George Vass
Available format: SACD
The Hermes Experiment
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Antonio Pappano
Available formats: SACD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Verdi: Simon Boccanegra
Original 1857 version
Germán Enrique Alcántara (Simon Boccanegra), Eri Nakamura (Maria/Amelia), William Thomas (Fiesco), Iván Ayón-Rivas (Gabriele Adorno), Sergio Vitale (Paolo Albiani)
The Hallé, Chorus of Opera North, RNCM Opera Chorus, Sir Mark Elder
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
Lise Davidsen (Senta), Gerald Finley (The Dutchman), Brindley Sherratt (Daland), Stanislas de Barbeyrac (Erik), Anna Kissjudit (Mary), Eirik Grøtvedt (Steersman)
Orchestra and Chorus of Norwegian National Opera, Edward Gardner
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Jonathan Aasgaard (cello), Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
Available formats: SACD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Owain Arwel Hughes
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
