 | Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton by Charley Patton
Buy new: $169.98 / Used from: $119.95 You can find all the music elsewhere cheaper and (some would argue) with better remastering, but you will never find anything more complete or as gorgeous. This is the mother of all box sets!
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 | Beg, Scream & Shout!: The Big Ol' Box Of 60's Soul by Various Artists
Buy used from: $118.18 Variety is the key to this collection's success and the packaging is very clever too . There are some things missing but this does an excellent job capturing the arc of soul music during the decade.
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 | Anthology Of American Folk Music (Edited By Harry Smith) by Various Artists
Buy new: $76.49 / Used from: $54.99 A touchstone for so many different musical styles including folk, country, blues and rock. It includes Smith's clever original notes and a sublime essay by Greil Marcus about this "old weird America".
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 | Zombie Heaven 4-CD Box Set by The Zombies
Buy new: $69.98 / Used from: $39.51 This is pure, sumptuous pop from a band that never really got their due. It includes comprehensive liner notes, some rare gems and the whole of 'Odyssey & Oracle'. Brilliant!
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 | The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-1968 by Various Artists
Buy new: $99.98 / Used from: $61.18 There are nine discs in this collection, the first is disposable and the next eight capture the ascendancy of a premier soul record label. It includes every single which means many hidden treasures.
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 | Goodbye, Babylon by Various Artists
Buy new: $104.95 / Used from: $82.83 Gospel can be enjoyed by secularists too! This broad collection contains music (mostly pre-WWII) from noted artists like the Carter Family to obscure backwoods church choirs. Truly transcendant!
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 | Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968 by Various Artists
Buy new: $53.99 / Used from: $31.99 This collection expands on Lenny Kaye's 1972 compilation (included in it's entirety on Disc 1) adding 3 more discs of punky, fuzzed out rock, hippy dippy psychedelia and frat house party tunes.
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 | Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond by Various Artists
Buy new: $58.49 / Used from: $41.49 The amazing thing about this comp is it shows the world-wide explosion of youth culture in the 1960's. From skinny ties and tight black suits to frilly shirts and paisley jackets. Crank it up!
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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: $20.58 If Harry Smith's Anthology represents the 'old weird America' then this is the old weirder America only hinted at in Smith's comp. It's historically relevant, true, but also big fun!
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 | You Ain't Talkin' to Me: Charlie Poole and the Roots of Country Music by Charlie Poole
Buy new: $35.99 / Used from: $24.45 The best re-issue of 2005. Poole didn't write songs, but chose material that reflected his lifestyle. The way he removes the blackface from minstrel tunes and makes them his own is a marvel.
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 | Eno Box II: Vocals by Brian Eno
Buy used from: $45.00 Eno's main instrument is the studio,he is an absolute master with it. This represents the best of his vocal efforts along with some collaborations, rarities & music from the aborted My Squelchy Life.
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 | Peel Slowly and See by The Velvet Underground
Buy new: $59.98 / Used from: $28.07 VU purists abhor this box but I find it very utilitarian. Besides their 4 masterful and wildly disparate records this includes great material you can find elsewhere but at a lot of time & expense.
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 | Doughboys, Playboys and Cowboys: The Golden Years of Western Swing by Various Artists
Buy new: $29.98 / Used from: $16.10 If you like country swing this set is a must. Familiar tunes like 'Pistol Packin' Mama' & 'I Want To Be A Cowboys Sweetheart' along with more obscure, but still wonderful stuff. You can't go wrong.
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 | Howlin Wolf: The Chess Box by Howlin' Wolf
Buy new: $49.98 / Used from: $29.99 Sam Phillips described his music being "where the soul of man never dies". If you don't know his work, you need to. This box is NOT the be all and end all, but a lot of excellent material in one place
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 | Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by Louis Armstrong
Buy used from: $14.75 Again, lots of useful stuff in one place. The recordings that started the ripple effect still heard today. Truly the work of a genius!
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 | Yardbird Suite: The Ultimate Charlie Parker by Charlie Parker
Buy used from: $10.99 Like Wolf, this isn't the be all and end all, but an excellent overview with an insightful booklet.
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 | Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queens: The Big Ol' Box of New Orleans by Various Artists
Buy new: $53.99 / Used from: $29.28 A set that includes jazz, brass bands, cajun, zydeco and some A-1 classic N.O. R&B. Not so much a box, more a tasty pot of musical gumbo!
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 | Arhoolie Records 40th Anniversary Collection: The Journey Of Chris Strachwitz 1960-2000 by Various Artists
Buy new: $54.98 / Used from: $44.15 This set bookends exquistely with the Smith Anthology. Chris Strachwitz explored some obscure cultural corners of America (mostly) and recorded some modern day treasures. Seek it for yourself.
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 | One Kiss Can Lead to Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found by Various Artists
Buy new: $69.98 / Used from: $34.49 A big blast of hairspray, cigarette smoke and bubblegum. This is a marvelous and diverse collection, by turns funny, soulfull and stomping. Fingers will pop, toes will tap.
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 | The Legend by Johnny Cash
Buy new: $26.97 / Used from: $19.64 This aptly named set is by no means complete, but it does offer the best overview of this musical icon out there and its presented in an interesting way. Dylan aside he may be our greatest folk singer
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 | The Doo Wop Box by Various Artists
Buy new: $62.99 / Used from: $34.90 From Rhino (who seem to be the cultural curators of Rock music) comes another stellar set of music that captures an era. The lame-o boy bands of today can't hold candle to these masters of harmony.
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 | Bessie Smith: The Complete Recordings, Vol. 1 by Bessie Smith
Buy used from: $10.70 Bessie Smith recorded blues,jazz and popular tunes infused with sexuality and humor sung in a voice that could knock down walls.She worked with many big names & was popular with both blacks & whites.
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 | Rough Trade Shops: Post Punk by Various Artists
Buy new: $34.99 / Used from: $15.96 Only two discs in this set, but it is of such prime importance to modern rock it must be included. Music that is simple, rugged and raw just how it's supposed to be. F***k art lets dance!
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 | A Musical History by The Band
Buy new: $53.97 / Used from: $46.98 The musical history of The Band as layed out by Robbie Robertson. The remastering is incredible, the unreleased material is not just filler and the accompanying book is spectacular, plus a dvd.
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 | Arkology by Lee "Scratch" Perry
Buy new: $49.98 / Used from: $34.44 He is a mad genius and this captures the cream of his work with the Upsetters and some big time early reggae stars.Goes together with the Rough Trade collection like peanut butter & jelly.Get dubwise!
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