Music: Best of 1981: Music

CLASSICAL. Bach: Goldberg Variations (Archiv). Harpsichordist Trevor Pinnock captures all the stately grandeur and dashing spirits of Bach’s masterpiece. Beethoven:

The Nine Symphonies (EMI, 8 LPs). The 1981 winner of the Beethoven sweepstakes, with London’s Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Kurt Sanderling.

Elgar: Symphony No. 2 (Classics for Pleasure). The noble E-flat symphony gets a refined reading from Vernon Handley and the London Philharmonic.

Janáček: Sinfonietta, Taras Bulba (London). The Sinfonietta is exhilaratingly played by Sir Charles Mackerras and the Vienna Philharmonic.

Mahler: Symphony No. 9 (Deutsche Grammophon, 2 LPs). Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic summon the otherworldliness of Mahler’s last completed symphony.

Mozart: The Symphonies, Salzburg 1766-1772, Vol. 2 (L’Oiseau-Lyre, 3 LPs). The latest in the Academy of Ancient Music’s revelatory Mozart cycle, on period instruments.

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 (Telarc). The Russian show-stopper by Lorin Maazel and the Cleveland Orchestra.

Strauss: Waltzes, Polkas, Marches and Overtures (Deutsche Grammophon, 3 LPs). Felicitous music by the Strauss family in sleek readings by Karajan and the Berliners.

Wagner: The Ring (Philips, 16 LPs). Conductor Pierre Boulez dominates this incisive live performance at Bayreuth.

Weill: The Unknown Kurt Weill (Nonesuch) Treasures from the The Threepenny Opera composer, sung by Teresa Stratas.

POP. The Blasters (Slash). Hard fun and easy lyricism from five Los Angeles rockers.

Gary U.S. Bonds: Dedication (EMI America). Reborn rhythm and blues by a soul-solid singer.

The Clash: Sandinista! (Epic). Shots below the belt of the body politic by a band that never misses.

Joe Ely: Musta Notta Gotta Lotta (Southcoast/MCA). Joe Ely knows where to find the rockabilly roots along those back-country roads.

Garland Jeffreys: Escape Artist (Epic) Streamlined street anthems from a man who keeps the faith.

Rickie Lee Jones: Pirates (Warner Bros.). Tales of lovers, losers and wanderers, delivered with a bopster’s inflection and the sidling sensuality of a carhop.

The “King” Kong Compilation (Mango). The neatest reggae package since The Harder They Come.

The Million Dollar Quartet (Sun) In December 1956, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash did a little casual singing in a Memphis studio. Perkins is hardly discernible; Cash can’t really be heard; but Elvis and Jerry Lee go toe to toe on a little R&B and a lot of gospel. It’s like going to chapel inside a Seeburg.

Frank Sinatra: She Shot Me Down (Reprise). Love songs after a long life. Nobody does it better. For that matter, nobody does it as well.

X: Wild Gift (Slash). Garage-band rock with no quarter given.