My main complaint (as I've been vocal about in the past) is the lack of exceptional classical performances in surround. I actually think it's a better format for rock/pop fans since they are remixing a lot of classic rock to surround though often fleecing people to buy the expensive deluxe/super deluxe box sets to get the surround mix.
In my hundreds of classical surround discs I have (and I do make a strong effort to research and buy discs with good performances) I estimate fewer than 10% if I'm being generous would have exceptional performance and be in surround compared to recordings that are in stereo or mono. But then those moments when everything does align like Mahler's second symphony with Abbado (great hi def video as well) it's truly stunning on a big screen with good speakers. But those instances are very rare.
Then again I should probably be turning in my audiophile card as I'm currently listening to a Naxos digital transfer Benno Moiseiwitsch playing Chopin's Ballades... scratchy 78 rpm surface noise and all
What does or does not constitute an "exceptional" performance is obviously highly personal. I agree that the Abbado BD-Video set of Mahler symphonies is truly exceptional, as are some others from the Lucerne Festival by him and by also by the Concertbouw under Nelsons in the Shostakovich 8th. One could hardly wish for better, though I find the Abbado BDs to be a bit uneven in sound quality and less than state the art, particularly in the releases from the earlier years of the Lucerne Festival BD Mahler cycle. Later ones, including also the Abbado Bruckner 5th, are absolutely great. Great Mch sound and HiDef video together can be stunning. And, I had been quite cool to Abbado until seeing these beloved BDs.
I do consider myself a somewhat discerning listener and performance counts, hugely. But, I never flipped out over Karajan's Beethoven, for example, though the critics did. I am fortunate in having had frequent access to world class live music from the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera, and an an exceptional local chamber series. Occasionally, one hears a mind blowing performance with the wonderful richness of sound that only live conveys, but I always thoroughly enjoy it in any case. One simply has to enjoy the performance and superb sound that is there for what it is on its own terms. As often or not with recordings, my old favorite performance or a critical rave is frequently displaced by something different, something with newer and fresher insights, and sometimes better sound makes all the difference.
Big names do not guarantee great performances. There are, however, a fair number of big names on Mch SACD, like Boulez, Haitink, Colin Davis, Muti, Tilson Thomas, Levine, Harnoncourt, Ashkenazy, Argerich, the Concertgebouw, SFS, LSO, Boston Symphony, etc. But, I have also been very enthusiastic about discovering less well known performers and performances in excellent sound, like:
--Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra for Mahler, Dvorak, etc. on Channel Classics
--Manfred Honek and the Pittsburgh Symphony for Richard Strauss, etc. on Reference Recordings
--Osmo Vanska and the Minnesota Orchestra for Sibelius, etc. on BIS
--Stile Antico for Renaissance choral works on Harmonia Mundi
--Mandelring Quartet for Shostakovich on Audite
--Many Classical period, Baroque and before specialist European ensembles on numerous labels
-- Etc., etc. to name but a few
Big names aside, I don't find the "batting average" for "exceptional" musical performances in Mch to be any worse than in my CD or LP collections, each also numbering in the thousands. And, I have found the critiques of music, performance and Mch sound to be a quite useful and reliable guide at:
https://www.hraudio.net/