A few days ago, I asked which recording of Dvo?ák's Cello Concerto they liked best. Both responded saying they liked Rostropovich and the Berlin Philhamonic under Von Karajan. Neither really answered "why" they thought this, though I'm sure many others will agree that this recording is one of the "better" Dvo?ák's Cello Concerto's out there. So why is this answer so definitive? That is why do you music experts agree one recording is better than another? HOW can you agree on this? I fail to comprehend how a particular recording can be "better" than another. Shouldn't music, as with all arts, be opinionated?

Say I enjoyed listening to Helfgott's rendition of rach3 the most. Why is this so wrong? Why would this make me so ignorant to music if I prefered this over Horowitz/Ashkenazy?

Or what if I enjoyed listening and playing my Bach cello suites like I play my romantic pieces with full use of vibrato and wide range of emotions? One could argue this is "wrong" from a purely historica
What about when getting into composers such as Xenakis, or maybe even computer generated music? Can one really say one recording is better than the other? Based on what?

Or even more extereme - suppose I get the computer to play a piece. Each note is played with perfect precision, dynamic, rhytm, etc without any fluxuation (granted depending on the program, one can add randomness to it, but suppose we're not doing this). Say I told it to play the moonlight sonata, 1st mvt. Why is it so wrong to like this version more than one played by a human?
I also want to mention I've never actually heard Helfgott's version of rach 3, but I know his version is flamed upon quite a bit from "expert classical music reviewers"

I agree about the historical part, maybe because I'm a pianist. I far prefer Bach on piano to harpsichord and clavichord, and honestly, I think if he were alive today he'd also prefer modern piano. And I also play him with a wider range of emotions and more dramatic dynamics, because I think you can get more subtlety out of piano. And I *gasp* use a little pedal on the passages where Bach obviously wanted it somewhat smoother. Who's to say he wouldn't have done it himself if pedals had existed then? But the purists stare at me like I'm an idiot when I use it. Honestly, restricting interpretations to the historical way of playing is so confining. Not that there can't be room for creativity in it or that historical recordings aren't good... But it just seems so confining to criticize anyone for trying something new. Weren't most (ok, not Brahms) of the great composers original and daring in their times? I'm sure they'd appreciate the experimentation

I think almost anything can work so long as it's deliberate and well-informed. A musician who fully understands the subtleties of his/her instrument, historical periods and the music itself and then consciously plays something differently is fine. Let the snobs say what they want. But a mediocre pianist playing Bach with little understanding of the counterpoint, or even a skilled technical pianist playing Schubert like it's Rachmaninoff (which, God forbid, I never want to hear again)... This is pure bad taste. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but well-informed opinions are always better

And I think Horowitz's "legendary" recording of rach3 is awful. Yes, it's fast and technically impressive, but there's little subtedly and beauty. I like Ashkenazy's so much better

Regarding your main question, it seems to me you already have a fair understanding of "classical" music. As you say, music should be opinionated. You are entitled to your preferences: it's a free country.
Although the performance of Baroque music with Romantic expression and emotion is something I would not necessarily agree with, you are perfectly entitled to do it.
As a fellow pianist, I admire the playing of Ashkenazy (whom I happen to hold as my favourite), preferring his renditions of Chopin, etc, to other pianists and this is because I appreciate his technique and interpretative style. I don't just say Ashkenazy is the best to sound clever, it is really my opinion. If someone believes otherwise, that is their prerogative.
Each to his own.

Sounds like they're just saying that so that they seem sophisticated and cultured. They probably do the same thing with foreign films and wines.