One to avoid (IMHO) is this one:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00005Q6NX/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21
Played in typical Minkowski fashion, with lots of energy, but, unlike Gardiner's Monteverdis, who can perform miracles on command, Minkowski's cannot, and sometimes it shows.
A very good older one is this one:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000006DES/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21
The highlight is Paul Esswood's "For who may abideth"/"For He is like a refiner's fire", which is positively spine-chilling in its intensity, the best I have ever heard. And it has the marvellous Janet Baker, who sings "He was despisèd" wonderfully.
Another very good version is one from the A(ustralian)BC - you get both CD and DVD:
https://shop.abc.net.au/products/cantillation-handel-messiah-deluxe-edition-2cd-dvd
The bass sings it as if he meant it:
Finally, one shouldn't forget The Other Messiah, which was THE Messiah for a long time - the version reorchestrated by Mozart. Some wealthy Viennese patrons commissioned Mozart to produce a German version. By this time, continuo instrumentation had fallen completely out of fashion, so Mozart had to rewrite much of the score. The biggest headache was "The trumpet shall sound", because nobody could play the high-flying trumpet part any more. Mozart briefly considered the unthinkable, leaving it out, but eventually transposed it down for horn. A good performance of
Der Messias, such as this one, has much to commend it:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000026GW2/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21