I have to agree that J.S. Bach is the best, as the global consensus confirms. The Glenn Gould Goldberg variations are as serious a recording of music as I have ever encountered. Seriously. Bach was an absolute technical master, and his proficiency of the elements of his brand of Baroque classical music are shocking. But dude, I really wanted Chopin on there. He only composed for the piano, and was very particular about the type of music that he would write, but my oh my some of his Ballades, Etudes, Preludes, are on another level of music. He understood how to “tap into the unconscious” as Tommasini describes Claude Debussy, better than anyone, in my opinion. Even Debussy. Still, though, this whole series is an excellent read, and a healthy reminder about that incredible contribution to society Western classical music had.

The Top-10 Classical Composers Of All Time (well, according to the New York Times)