 | Anthology Of American Folk Music (Edited By Harry Smith) by Various Artists
Buy new: $76.48 / Used from: $49.99 The defining document of American traditional music. One of the finest releases ever, exquisitely reissued by Smithsonian/Folkways--the best your money can buy. If--nay, when--you're hooked on this, turn to Yazoo's 'Times Ain't Like They Used To Be' series for solace.
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 | Anthology Of American Folk Music Volume 4 (Edited By Harry Smith) by Various Artists
Buy new: $31.98 / Used from: $19.88 Disc One of this fourth volume may well be the most impressive part of the entire collection. That should say enough. Indispensable.
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 | American Primitive, Vol. 1: Raw Pre-War Gospel (1926-36) by Various Artists
Buy new: $16.98 / Used from: $8.00 Early gospel from Revenant Records. A beautiful collection.
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 | American Primitive, Vol. 2 by Various Artists
Buy new: $31.98 / Used from: $18.00 This second volume is even more impressive, with some lesser known, but mind-blowing artists, such as Homer Quincy Smith and Geeshie Wiley. Can stand next to the Anthology. THAT good.
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 | Avalon Blues : Complete 1928 Okeh Recordings by Mississippi John Hurt
Buy used from: $2.80 Mississippi John Hurt's early recordings are as mellow and moving as they are haunting and sweet. A completely unique blues record.
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 | Hard Time Killin' Floor by Skip James
Buy new: $17.98 / Used from: $12.59 Impressive selection from the always dependable Yazoo Records. Where Mississippi John Hurt's voice is soft and gentle, James's eerie falsetto easily sends chills down your spine. One of the best and most easily overlooked blues artists out there.
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 | Important Recordings 1934-1949 by Leadbelly
Buy new: $28.98 / Used from: $25.33 One of the best titels in JSP's enormous back catalogue. A blues collection without Lead Belly is not worthy of the name. His 'Last Sessions' are equally good, but this set gives a more varied survey of his career.
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 | The Complete Blind Willie Johnson by Blind Willie Johnson
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $10.49 'Dark Was The Night' should send you cowering under your bed. The barklike growl of Blind Willie Johnson makes him one of the most distinctive voices in early blues/gospel.
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 | King of the Georgia Blues by Blind Willie McTell
Buy new: $47.99 / Used from: $31.00 Very cheap box set. The packaging is not spectacular, but the music all the more so.
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 | Texas Blues by Blind Lemon Jefferson
Buy new: $45.99 / Used from: $34.80 Blind Lemon Jefferson is one of the more mysterious men in music history. His songs--like his life--are intensely gripping. Do not miss out on this one.
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 | The Complete Recordings by Robert Johnson
Buy new: $15.98 / Used from: $9.95 Not my favourite blues artist, but nevertheless unavoidable, because of his enormous influence on today's popular music.
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 | The Godfather of Chicago Blues by Big Bill Broonzy
Buy new: $10.98 / Used from: $7.89 Saga Blues is a very dependable, cheap label that did a fantastic job on this single Big Bill Broonzy disc. This is a personal favourite of mine.
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 | Down In The Basement: Joe Bussard's Treasure Trove of Vintage 78s 1926-1937 (Jewel Case with 28-page booklet) by Uncle Dave Macon
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $12.21 Amazing, and I mean AMAZING, collection from the always excellent Old Hat Records. This old collector's basement is turned upside down and the result is a 'treasure trove' of American roots music. Must-buy.
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 | People Take Warning! Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs 1913-1938 by Various Artists
Buy new: $51.98 / Used from: $32.98 Great, fun box set from Tompkins Square, with an introduction by Tom Waits. From country to Jiddish folk, this set covers a great range of genres and styles.
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 | Good For What Ails You: Music of the Medicine Shows 1926-1937 (Digipak with 72-page booklet) by Pink Anderson
Buy new: $27.49 / Used from: $19.11 This is what you call a FUN double disc set. It features music from travelling shows of the 20's and 30's. This is history at its finest. Makes you sorry you were born so late.
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 | This Machine Kills Fascists by Woody Guthrie
Buy new: $34.98 / Used from: $13.55 A major influence on Bob Dylan. One of the best country performers out there. If I could choose over, I'd go fo his 'Asch Recordings'.
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 | You Ain't Talkin' to Me: Charlie Poole and the Roots of Country Music by Charlie Poole
Buy new: $22.97 / Used from: $18.56 Perhaps the best early country box set ever released. 3 discs filled with the most amazing tunes. Well worth the money, as it is handsomely packaged in a cute cigar case.
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 | Country Blues: Complete Early Recordings by Dock Boggs
Buy used from: $60.99 Dock Boggs is no stranger to people who are familiar to the Anthology. They will know just how great and unique this American monument is. Unfortunately, this fantastic re-release is out of print.
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 | Ernest Stoneman: 1928 Edison Recordings by Ernest V. Stoneman
Buy new: $16.98 / Used from: $7.95 Often shamefully forgotten in country music history, this was a defining voice in the genre. Top notch. Try to look for the double disc set 'The Unsung Father of Country Music' (which is a bit pricey) as well.
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 | The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of by Various Artists
Buy new: $26.98 / Used from: $16.64 Excellent double disc set, and one of the few sets to include the magnificent Bradley Kincaid (alond with the Anthology's fourth volume). One of Yazoo's finest releases.
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 | Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry 1891-1922 by Various Artists
Buy new: $32.99 / Used from: $42.68 Archeophone Records deserves a mention here as well, as they make it their personal mission to save turn of the century music from oblivion, and succeed wonderfully. The oldest and most historically valuable recordings, you'll find here. 'Lost Sounds' is a fine example of such a great Archeophone collection. A bit expensive, though. For collectors only.
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 | Black Mirror: Reflections in Global Musics 1918-1955 by Various Artists
Buy new: $16.98 / Used from: $12.09 Not only American roots music is interesting and fun to listen to. Check out Yazoo's 'Secret Museum of Mankind' series as well.
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 | Victrola Favorites: Artifacts from Bygone Days by Various Artists
Buy new: $41.49 / Used from: $77.26 Like 'Black Mirror', an excellent Dust-to-Digital world music release. For those of you that aren't afraid of a little challenge.
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 | Goodbye, Babylon
Buy new: $104.95 / Used from: $80.00 Dust-to-Digital's flagship release is an impressive overview of early gospel in glorious packaging. This is well well well well worth the money. It's a real beauty.
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 | Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton by Charley Patton
Buy new: $169.98 / Used from: $130.00 This bastard belongs in a museum, both in terms of packaging and content. Hands down, the most beautiful box set I've ever seen.
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